to a state of emergency overnight. >> 300,000 people in west virginia are being told to stay away from their tap water, not to use it for anything, cooking, bathing, washing, anything at all. >> the source of the problem that's closed restaurants and schools is 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, a chemical that's used in coal processing. >> january 9th, a tank belonging to freedom industries ruptured leaking coal cleaning chemicals into the river. gary southern stood in front of a microphone pounding bottled water while 300,000 people had a tap water ban. he then complained to the media that he's been having a long day. >> look, guys, it's been an extremely long day. i'm having trouble talking. i'd appreciate it if we could wrap this thing up. >> we actually have a lot of questions. this is a long day for a lot of people who don't have water.