[B]URLINGTON – Attorney General T.J. Donovan expects challenging litigation in two lawsuits against DuPont, 3M and other companies for damages caused to drinking water and natural resources by the contamination of chemicals.
The two lawsuits filed on Wednesday in the Vermont Superior Court target those companies for the manufacturing and distribution of PFAS manmade chemicals, including the toxin PFOA, which contaminated hundreds of wells in Bennington County.
“We take these actions by filing these lawsuits to protect Vermonters and our environment by holding these multinational chemical companies responsible for the harm they have caused our state,” Donovan told reporters by the courthouse steps.
The state discovered widespread contamination of PFOA chemicals around two former ChemFab factories in North Bennington in 2016. Over 300 drinking-water wells in the area reached limits higher than the state’s advisory.
Health risks associated with the chemical include altered growth, impacts to learning in children, reduced chance of pregnancy, increased cholesterol levels, increased risk of liver and testicular cancer, and thyroid disease.
The state’s legal efforts previously focused on Saint–Gobain, the current owner of the factories. In April, the state announced it had reached a multi-million dollar settlement with the company to cover the cost of municipal water line extensions.
“The first priority was to get clean drinking water to the folks in Bennington County, we got that done, now it’s about holding this multinational chemical companies accountable,” Donovan said.
One lawsuit targets the companies which produce the chemicals, while the other focuses specifically on harms caused by AFFF, a firefighting foam which contains PFAS toxins. 3M, DuPont and its related companies are named as defendants in both suits. Chemguard, Inc., Tyco Fire Products, L.P. and several other companies are also named as co-defendants in the firefighting foam specific suit.
DuPont did not respond to an email seeking comment. 3M said it was ready for the legal fight.
“3M acted responsibly in connection with products containing PFAS and will vigorously defend its environmental stewardship,” the company said in an emailed statement.
Fraser Engerman, a spokesperson for Tyco and Chemguard, said the companies are aware of the complaint and plans to “vigorously” defend the lawsuit.
“Tyco and Chemguard acted appropriately and responsibly at all times in producing our firefighting foams,” Engerman wrote in an email. “We make our foams to exacting military standards, and the U.S. military and civilian firefighters have depended for decades on these foams to extinguish life-threatening fires.”
The state’s allegations against 3M, DuPont and the other defendants include responsibility for damage to natural resources; manufacturing and supplying defective products, failing to warn of the chemicals’ hazards and creating a public nuisance. The state is seeking damages to recover for the harm caused to Vermont’s environment.
The lawsuit is expected to last over a year, which means the state likely won’t receive compensation before PFAS remediation begins in August.
“It’s going to be an intense litigation, with a lot of evidence, the long history of the chemicals and products.”
Rob McDougall, chief of the attorney general office’s environmental division, said punitive penalties from the lawsuit would go into the general fund. He said an additional fund could be created with the Agency of Natural Resources to go towards PFOA cleanup.
“The hope would be that we’re putting it back into the environment to clean up the mess and making these natural resources usable again for Vermonters to enjoy,” McDougall said.
Gov. Phil Scott said in a statement on Thursday he appreciates the collaborate between the Agency of Natural Resources and the Attorney General’s Office on the litigation. He recently signed a bill, S. 49, now Act 21, which authorizes the Agency of Natural Resources to continue proactive testing of water and soil.
“I believe the manufacturers of these chemicals – who continued to profit from their sale long after knowing the potential harm – should be held financially responsible for their negative impact on Vermonters,” Scott said.
Scott also recently vetoed a medical monitoring bill that would have covered future victims like those in Bennington.
Vermont is set to begin widespread PFAS sampling next month by all public drinking water supplies, landfills, car washes and other sites.
Julie Moore, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, said the state has conducted a series of investigations and sampling at over 400 sites, including 10 schools where PFAS levels were high.
“Given the widespread nature of contamination, we expect to find concentrations of PFAS requiring additional response work,” Moore said.
Last year, Minnesota reached an $850 million settlement with 3M following a lawsuit in which the state alleged some of the company’s chemicals damaged natural resources and groundwater. New Jersey, Ohio, New York and New Hampshire have also filed similar lawsuits.
