Sen. Brian Campion, D-Bennington, said the bill passed on a unanimous voice vote. He and Sen. Dick Sears, a fellow Bennington County Democrat, sponsored the legislation after the discovery of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, in drinking water in Bennington and Pownal.
“I felt our Senate colleagues strongly supported this,” Campion said in an interview Tuesday.
The legislation, S.10, could affect Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, which owns the former Chemfab factory in North Bennington, where well water and soil contamination was discovered last year after similar contamination had been documented in nearby New York communities.
According to state officials, American Premier Underwriters, of Cincinnati, has accepted liability related to the former Warren Wire/General Cable mill on Route 346 in Pownal, which is now owned by Mack Molding and used as a warehouse.
PFOA was found in private wells around the plant and in a well supplying about 450 Pownal Fire District 2 water customers.
Responsible parties in Pownal also could be affected if the bill is passed and signed by the governor. It would take effect immediately.
“This is an opportunity to hold polluters responsible,” Sears said Tuesday.
The senators said the bill gives the natural resources secretary “another option” for holding parties responsible for releasing PFOA into the atmosphere when it causes groundwater, soil or other contamination.
In the Bennington situation, the state has been negotiating with Saint-Gobain since last year over the costs of a long-term solution to the PFOA well contamination in a wide area surrounding the former Chemfab plant. State officials have pushed for extension of the Bennington water system, which is not affected by the pollution, to properties with contaminated wells.
That work is estimated to cost more than $30 million.
Saint-Gobain has agreed to cover the cost of supplying bottled water and individual carbon filtering systems for the households with contaminated water, but there has been no announced settlement with the state over the proposed water line extensions.
Sears said he understands that the talks are continuing.
In an emailed statement Tuesday, a company spokeswoman, Dina Pokedoff, said: “Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics is aware that bill S.10 in Vermont passed the third reading in the Senate today and will be placed on the House calendar. We are assessing the bill in its current form.”
In Pownal, American Premier Underwriters has agreed to cover the cost of carbon filtering systems, including at the Pownal Fire District wellhead, which is about 1,000 feet from the former factory. A search is underway to find a new, uncontaminated well site for that water system, and state environmental officials say they are monitoring the overall PFOA contamination response.
In addition, a lawsuit was filed in May in federal court in Rutland on behalf of Bennington residents in the contamination zone over property-related and other damages because of the contamination. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say lawsuits are also expected to follow in state courts over any alleged health effects from drinking contaminated water or otherwise being exposed to the chemical.
PFOA is a suspected cause of thyroid diseases, kidney and testicular cancer, and other diseases or conditions. It was widely used for decades in a range of consumer products, such as nonstick coatings like Teflon.
“I think the main thing now is the hope that our House delegation can help pass this as soon as possible,” Sears said.
Sears added that normally bills passed in one chamber won’t be acted upon until after the town meeting break in March, but he and Campion believe there is a need in this case for swifter consideration.
Rep. Timothy Corcoran II, D-Bennington, said he believes “everybody including the speaker is on board with this” and he expects the House “will do its due diligence in a timely manner” and pass the bill.
“I think everybody wants to see this get across the finish line,” he said.
Both former Gov. Peter Shumlin and current Gov. Phil Scott have supported the concept of the proposed legislation.
While commenting on the legislation Tuesday, Sears also ripped Saint-Gobain for sending out summonses recently to 17 people who had commented on PFOA levels in drinking water during a state hearing prior to the setting of a 20 parts per trillion advisory level standard.
Sears said the company “should be embarrassed.” He disputed company assertions that notifying nondefendants in the company’s lawsuit required, according to state policy formats, that a deputy sheriff deliver summonses that stated in part, “You are being sued.”
Sears said he checked with state officials and learned that type of notification is typically done by certified mail. The summonses were an additional shock for those who have been victimized by PFOA pollution, he said.
The suit challenging the 20 parts per million standard is filed only against the state, but hearing commenters are required to be notified.
