A lawsuit is on tap. Below is the information released from the City of Eau Claire regarding a lawsuit filed against the makers of PFAS.
The City of Eau Claire filed a lawsuit today in Eau Claire County Circuit Court against PFAS manufacturers.
PFAS chemicals have been detected on the City Well Fields property and the groundwater the community depends upon for our drinking water supply. The City Water Utility has taken proactive steps to test for and mitigate the effects of these chemicals so that our drinking water remains within Wisconsin’s safe drinking water standards. However, these steps have required the City to shut down the use of nearly half its wells, test its wells (both those in active use and those idled due to higher PFAS levels), construct temporary mitigation methods to reduce PFAS levels entering the public drinking water supply, and plan to construct permanent treatment facilities.
Costs for the City’s PFAS response are already over $1 million and expected to rise to over $20 million with the construction and long-term maintenance of new treatment facilities.
The PFAS manufacturers, not the public, should be responsible for these costs. These companies knew long ago that PFAS chemicals were harmful yet failed to warn the public or remove the product from the market, all the while profiting greatly from its continued sale. There have been recent announcements of proposed class action settlements with 3M and DuPont.
The City is monitoring these efforts and may recover significant funds if the settlements are approved. The lawsuit filed by the City is a further step to protect the City’s rights and ensure all those responsible for the PFAS contamination at the City Well Fields are held accountable for the clean-up and the damages they have caused.
