RESOURCES

Since 2019, a nationwide lawsuit has been ongoing in South Carolina Federal Court concerning PFAS water contamination. PFAS are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they resist degradation in the natural environment. One of several defendants agreed to a settlement fund of at least $10.5 billion to pay public water systems (PWS) who qualify.

Currently, 3M has agreed to contribute at least $10.5 billion and up to $12.5 billion to the settlement fund to be made available to ‘eligible’ PWS. The Dupont-related companies agreed to contribute an additional $1.185 billion to fund a water district settlement fund. It is possible more than 20 other companies could add additional amounts into the fund at later dates as the case is continuing against these chemical manufacturers and distributors. The proposed settlement will now be submitted to the court for approval, with payments starting as early as 2024. After the Court approves the settlement, there could be a 60-day deadline to submit claims.

Public Water Systems servicing at least 3,300 people may qualify. If your system has any detectable level of several PFAS chemicals in it, your system should qualify for a payment.

Yes. The EPA has proposed an MCL of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFAS in its current PFAS regulation. If this regulation is enforced as anticipated starting in 2024, your PWS will be legally required to test and show less than 4 ppt in your system. Testing ahead of any such regulation makes sense so you can obtain compensation in the settlement to remediate the system if necessary.

A Court Appointed Settlement Administrator will consider many factors to allocate funds, including:

• Concentration of PFAS
• Adjusted flow rates with averaging for three highest rates in a 10-year period

The goal is to calculate a ‘Capital Costs Component’ and an ‘Operations and Maintenance Costs Component’ for each settlement award. From there, your award may also qualify for a 4x multiplier if your PFAS test result reaches a certain level. Individual awards could be substantial, totaling millions of dollars for highly contaminated water systems.