$11.9 Million Settlement Reached in Parchment, Michigan Drinking Water Lawsuit

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In November 2018, a complaint was filed against 3M and Georgia-Pacific. The complaint claimed PFAS chemicals had migrated into the Parchment, Michigan drinking water supply from a former paper mill and its associated facilities. The complaint sought monetary damages for diminished property value, property damage, interference with use and enjoyment of property, stigma damages, and medical monitoring from exposure to PFAS.

A settlement of $11.9 million was reached in April 2021. The settlement class included anyone who owned, leased, rented, or resided in homes or residential properties serviced by the Parchment water system as of July 26, 2018, but has not brought individual actions for illness or personal injury based on PFAS exposure.

PFAS Action Introduced in Congress

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On April 13, 2021 Reps. Debbie Dingell (D) and Fred Upton (R), introduced the PFAS Action Act of 2021. The Act creates a national drinking water standard for PFAS chemicals and designates PFAS as hazardous substances. This enables the Environmental Protection Agency to establish regulatory limits and require cleanup of sites that exceed such limits in drinking water.

PFAS chemicals are man-made chemicals that are linked to health effects such as cancer and reproductive and developmental harms. PFAS is found in the drinking water of more than 2,000 communities. The Act also requires the EPA to place discharge limits on industrial releases of PFAS and provide $200 million annually for wastewater treatment.