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The manufacturer of a firefighting foam that\u00a0contaminated the water supply\u00a0in northeastern Wisconsin with PFAS chemicals for decades agreed to a $10 million settlement with the state, the governor and attorney general announced on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The settlement comes as residents, communities, regulators and environmental activists across the country are struggling with how to address contamination from PFAS, also known as \u201cforever chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers hailed\u00a0the settlement\u00a0with Tyco Fire Products as a \u201chistoric and important milestone\u201d in the fight for clean water.\u00a0The lawsuit\u00a0filed in 2022 alleged that Tyco, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls, had contaminated the area around a firefighting training center since the 1960s and did not do enough to address it.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s a key step toward making sure polluters are held accountable, take responsibility for their actions, and ensure Wisconsinites don\u2019t have to foot the bill for cleaning up the messes that others made,\u201d Evers said in a statement announcing the deal.<\/p>\n
But residents of the affected city of Marinette were hoping for more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe word of the day is underwhelming from our perspective,\u201d said Doug Oitzinger, a former mayor of Marinette and current president of the advocacy group Save Our Water. \u201cThe dollar amount disappointed us. Ten million is kind of a drop in the bucket.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyco ended outdoor training sessions with the foam containing PFAS chemicals in 2017. Also that year, the company first started providing bottled water and water purification systems to affected residents. The company says it has spent more than $100 million addressing the contamination.<\/p>\n
Tyco said in a statement Thursday that it was pleased to have reached the deal, saying it \u201creflects the extensive work Tyco has undertaken\u201d to address PFAS pollution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been part of the Marinette community for over 100 years and the spirit of doing what is best for our neighbors and the environment will continue to be our priority,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n
PFAS are often referred to as forever chemicals because they resist breaking down, whether in well water or the environment. In the human body, they accumulate in the liver, kidneys and blood. Research has linked them to an increased risk of certain cancers and developmental delays in children.<\/p>\n
The chemicals were developed as coatings to protect consumer goods from stains, water and corrosion. Nonstick cookware, carpets, outdoor gear and food packaging are among items that contain the chemicals. They also are an ingredient in firefighting foams.<\/p>\n
Government estimates suggest that up to half of all U.S. households have some level of PFAS in their water \u2014 whether it comes from a private well or a tap. It is a widespread problem in Wisconsin and spawned\u00a0numerous lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Under the terms of the settlement announced Thursday, Wisconsin will put the $10 million from Tyco into a trust fund earmarked for PFAS cleanup. Tyco also agreed to continue to provide for replacement wells to provide clean drinking water to affected residents, conduct required monitoring and reporting, and implement further measures for the long-term remediation of the area.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit, filed by Democratic Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, alleged that the company violated state law when it failed to notify regulators about a PFAS discharge and did not investigate or remediate the contamination around the Fire Technology Center in Marinette, a city of about 11,000 people that borders Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula.<\/p>\n
Tyco officials said at the time the lawsuit was filed that the company has invested \u201cconsiderable resources\u201d on investigating and remediating PFAS pollution from the Marinette firefighting training facility, including offering bottled water and in-home filtration systems to affected residents as well as building a groundwater pollution extraction system.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0second lawsuit\u00a0filed by the state against Tyco and more than a dozen other companies over PFAS contamination in Wisconsin remains active.<\/p>\n
The settlement announced Thursday will take effect if it\u2019s approved by the judge overseeing the case.<\/p>\n
Oitzinger, the former Marinette mayor, said Tyco was getting off too easy.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegally you may have gotten off of some hooks, but morally you\u2019re not there,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re not there by a long shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
#Wisconsin #governor #hails #historic #10m #settlement #chemicals #mayor #sees #drop #bucket<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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