Sheboygan Common Council approves joining multi-district PFAS settlement
SHEBOYGAN — The City of Sheboygan Common Council voted last week to authorize staff to file a claim in a multi-district settlement to resolve claims for PFAS in drinking water.
PFAS are widely used, long-lasting chemicals whose exposure may have harmful health effects for humans and animals.
The council's vote allows the city to file a claim in the Aqueous Film-Forming Product settlement in South Carolina District Court. During the meeting, City Attorney Charles Adams said while some cities with high PFAS readings may pursue their own claims, since Sheboygan has low readings for the chemical, this is the best step for the city to take.
“By being part of this litigation, we can ensure that our interests are protected both should more be discovered and because it is still not entirely clear the extent of the negative impact even at the low levels they may be found,” he said.
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Last year, Wisconsin passed standards for PFAS readings at 70 parts per trillion. One part per trillion is equivalent to about one drop of contaminate per 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Over the last few years, concerns surrounding PFAS readings in drinking water have increased with some communities shutting down drinking wells.
In 2023, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources required quarterly testing for PFAS. In Sheboygan, the test looked for 18 PFAS compounds and found traces of two, according to Joe Trueblood, superintendent of Sheboygan water utility.
In the first quarter, 1.9 parts per trillion PFOA and PFOS were detected. The second-quarter reading was lower than the first and because 1.9 ppt is the lowest detectable reading, the result was undetectable.
Trueblood said it’s unclear why the compounds were not detected in the second quarter.
The settlements the city will file claims in are against 3M and DuPont.
According to the settlement website, the 3M settlement class includes two categories. One category is all active United States public water systems with one or more Impacted Water Sources as of June 22, 2023. The second category is all active U.S. public water systems that do not have an Impacted Water Source as of June 22, 2023, and are required to test for PFAS or serve more than 3,300 people.
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The DuPont settlement class consists of similar guidelines with a section including all Public Water Systems in the U.S. that collect water from a source that on or before June 30, 2023 contained PFAS at any level. This settlement also includes all Public Water Systems in the U.S. that, as of June 30, 2023, are subject to monitoring rules or are required by law to test for PFAS before the UCMR 5 Deadline.
Adams said he doesn’t know how much money the city will see from the settlement, but they think the claim will maximize the city’s ability to receive some level of reimbursements for future costs.
The 3M and DuPont settlements have different estimated allocation ranges provided on the settlement website.
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This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan council approves joining PFAS settlement
