Attorney General Kaul Joins Coalition Calling for DuPont to Pay More for Contaminating Americans’ Drinking Water Supply with Toxic PFAS
August 8, 2023
MADISON, Wis. – Joining a coalition of five attorneys general, Attorney General Josh Kaul filed an amicus letter expressing strong concerns over the amount of money that DuPont and two spin-off companies would pay under a proposed class action settlement with public water providers. While the proposed settlement has been revised in several important ways at the request of states, DuPont declined to pay more than the $1.18 billion set forth in the original proposed settlement filed on July 10, 2023. In their amicus letter, the five attorneys general underscore that $1.18 billion falls far short of the amount needed to remediate the PFAS contamination caused by DuPont to Americans’ drinking water supply. Revisions to the proposed settlement remain subject to court approval.
In their amicus letter to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the coalition writes that:
- $1.18 billion does not fully account for DuPont’s liability. Instead, the amount only reflects DuPont’s share of the aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) market from 2002 to 2014. Although AFFF is made using PFAS, DuPont has mostly manufactured and sold non-AFFF PFAS products since the 1950s.
- A recent study by the American Water Works Association, a major membership organization that includes public water systems, predicts nationwide costs for PFAS regulatory compliance that dwarf the $1.18 billion figure. With water utilities being unable to cover the full costs of drinking water monitoring and treatment, they will need to pass costs on to ratepayers — American residents and businesses.
In their letter, the attorneys general acknowledge that while the original proposed settlement suffered from several fatal problems, DuPont has agreed in the revised proposed agreement to:
- Provide public water providers with a method for estimating the payout amounts they would receive. Under the original proposed settlement, they would have had to make their opt-out decisions without that information.
- Give public water providers 90 days to opt-out, instead of the 60 days included in the original proposed settlement.
- Withdraw a requested nationwide injunction, or temporary halt, of other PFAS lawsuits by the states against DuPont.
- Clarify that the proposed agreement will not prevent states like Wisconsin from recovering more money from DuPont.
Joining Attorney General Kaul in filing the amicus letter are the attorneys general of California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania.
A copy of the amicus letter is available here, and a copy of the consent motion with the revisions to the proposed settlement is available here.
View the press release on the Wisconsin DOJ website here.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
More about the PFAS Problem
- PFAS in Foam Far Worse Than Water in Wisconsin’s Rivers, Lakes - Danielle Kaeding - Jul 10th, 2024
- Lawmakers At Odds Over Releasing Health, PFAS Funds - Erik Gunn - Jun 6th, 2024
- Wisconsin Senate Votes to Override Governor’s Vetoes - Baylor Spears - May 15th, 2024
- Gov. Evers Sues Republican Legislators for Continued Obstruction of Investments Intended to Address Pressing Challenges Facing Wisconsin - Gov. Tony Evers - May 13th, 2024
- Legislators Agree on Opioid Plan, Still Withhold PFAS, Hospital Funds - Erik Gunn - May 8th, 2024
- Gov. Evers Again Calls Republican Lawmakers into Special Meeting to Urge Immediate Release of $140 Million to Fight PFAS Statewide, Respond to Hospital Closures in Western Wisconsin - Gov. Tony Evers - May 6th, 2024
- The State of Politics: Voters Worried About PFAS in Water - Steven Walters - Apr 22nd, 2024
- EPA Slaps Two PFAS Chemicals With Superfund Law Designation - Danielle Kaeding - Apr 19th, 2024
- DNR Responds To EPA’s Designation Of PFOA And PFOS As Hazardous Substances - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - Apr 19th, 2024
- Evers Won’t Rule Out Court Challenge to Force Release of PFAS Funds - Danielle Kaeding - Apr 16th, 2024
Read more about PFAS Problem here
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