The Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) multi-district litigation based in Charleston, South Carolina generated major settlements in June. Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva reached a tentative agreement to resolve all PFAS-related drinking water claims with a class of U.S. public water systems. The companies will collectively establish and contribute a total of $1.185 billion to a settlement fund. Chemours will contribute $592 million, DuPont will pay about $400 million), and Corteva will contribute about $193 million. The class includes water systems with a current detection of PFAS at any level and those that are currently required to monitor for the presence of PFAS under EPA monitoring rules or other applicable laws. However, in August, state attorneys general from California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin submitted a letter to the court contending that settlement amount is too low given the scope of environmental contamination and health impacts caused by the decades-long manufacture and sale of PFAS compounds. They claim the settlement does not account for DuPont’s broader PFAS liability from manufacturing and selling many other PFAS products for decades, citing studies showing that it will cost $47.3 billion to ensure that U.S. waterways comply with the federal maximum contaminant level. The coalition is led by the State of California, which is pursuing its own PFAS claims against manufacturers.
As part of the same litigation, 3M announced that it has entered into a broad class resolution to support PFAS remediation for public water suppliers that detect PFAS at any level or may do so in the future. 3M has agreed to contribute up to a present value of $10.3 billion, payable over 13 years. It is reported that a coalition of 22 state attorneys general, also led by California, are opposing the 3M settlement. Indiana is not among the opposing states.
Also in June, Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced an agreement resolving certain PFAS related claims in New Jersey. Solvay will pay $75 million to NJDEP for Natural Resource Damages and $100 million to fund NJDEP PFAS remediation projects in areas of New Jersey near the company’s West Deptford site. The settlement also includes commitments for Solvay to complete remediation activities that the company began in 2013, including testing water and soil near the West Deptford site. Solvay has agreed to establish a remedial funding source in the amount of $214 million to fund those activities.
Finally, in July, the State of Delaware announced a settlement regarding PFAS claims it had previously filed against numerous companies, including DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva. The companies are set to pay $50 million to Delaware for “environmental restoration, improvement, sampling and analysis, community environmental justice and equity grants, and other natural resource needs.” If the companies settle with other states for an amount exceeding $50 million, they are responsible for paying Delaware an additional $25 million. The $50 million will be divided among the companies, with DuPont and Corteva providing $12.5 million each and Chemours providing the remaining $25 million.
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