May 19—Thurmont officials are considering filing a complaint in federal court against manufacturers of "forever chemicals" known as PFAS following the chemicals' presence in town wells.

In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, Mayor John Kinnaird and the Board of Commissioners authorized retaining two law firms to investigate Thurmont's water system.

If the attorneys at D.C.-based Baron & Budd and Hagerstown-based Poole Law Group find sufficient evidence tying the water system to PFAS contamination, the town would join multidistrict litigation in a South Carolina federal court, according to town attorney Leslie Powell.

Powell said the town would not incur any upfront out-of-pocket costs from the law firms, but instead agree to a 25% contingency for any money received from the complaint, which would be filed against chemical manufacturer 3M and other PFAS manufacturers.

The Frederick News-Post left a message on Friday afternoon with 3M's media office seeking comment, but did not get an immediate response.

Before voting on authorization, Powell and Kinnaird described the action as a necessary way to recoup costs associated with installing multimillion-dollar PFAS filtration systems.

"We are not going to be made whole out of this action, but we will be getting, hopefully, some kind of compensation to help our community pay for this," Kinnaird said Tuesday. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be getting anything in support of that."

Last October, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) tested for PFAS in five of the town's wells.

The results showed elevated concentrations of two specific PFAS compounds, known as PFOA and PFOS, in water samples.

In a December letter accompanying the town's PFAS results, MDE recommended that Thurmont officials take the affected wells offline, acquire an alternative drinking water source, or install equipment to remove PFAS.

The town has since applied for a grant through MDE to fund such equipment and has tasked town engineers to design a filtration system to remove PFAS to undetectable levels, aligning with a federal rule proposed in March that could go into effect this year.

More recent tests by the town on Feb. 15 showed a slight rise in PFOA and PFOS levels at the five town wells MDE tested in October.

One of the town wells with a higher PFAS concentration began operating on an "as-needed basis to supplement water when the demand arises" in March.

Under the new federal rule, utilities would have to keep PFAS concentrations in drinking wells below 4 parts per trillion (ppt).

Tests conducted by the town on Feb. 15 showed PFAS levels of 48.52 ppt at the aforementioned well.

Kinnaird said in an interview on Thursday that it is not fair for town residents to incur the costs of the new facilities to solve a contamination problem they did not cause.

Without significant federal or state funding, Kinnaird said, the costs would be passed on to Thurmont's water ratepayers.

"We're going to pursue as many avenues as we can," Kinnaird said. "This is a burden that is being placed on our residents through none of their actions."

Kinnaird acknowledged that there was no guarantee of damages or settlement funds should litigation be filed, but said that given Thurmont's documented history of PFAS contamination, there was evidence to support the town's claim.

Should the town win a settlement or damages, according to Powell, the dollar amount would be adjusted to the levels of PFAS contamination and costs the municipality would face in filtering them.

More than 4,500 entities, including individuals and municipalities like Thurmont, have joined the multidistrict litigation against PFAS manufacturers. Multidistrict litigation allows a large number of plaintiffs to streamline complaints in federal court.

Though she could not provide an exact timeline on when litigation would be filed, Powell said she and attorneys representing Thurmont are moving expeditiously.

Middletown Burgess John Miller said he and town officials were also considering joining the multidistrict litigation following a conversation with Kinnaird.

Though Middletown's PFAS levels are quite low, Miller said, the town was preparing for state and federal requirements to keep them undetectable.

"We're just trying to be prepared for [those requirements] and the costs that are going to be associated with it," Miller said, referring to PFAS filtration technologies and the cost of upkeep.

Miller said the decision may come to a vote in a town meeting this month.

Myersville Town Manager Kristin Aleshire said the town, which has also experienced elevated concentrations of PFAS in its municipal water system, was aware of the move by Thurmont.

Aleshire said there has not been a decision on whether to follow Thurmont's course.

Mount Airy has also experienced elevated PFAS levels. Mayor Larry Hushour could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Powell, like Kinnaird, said she was hopeful that something would come of the litigation.

"We're at the beginning stages," Powell said, "and hopefully, we'll be able to get some financial relief for the town of Thurmont and its citizens in rectifying this problem."