Wisconsin Cities, Including Wausau, Could Receive Portion of 3M Legal Settlement

Thursday, June 29th, 2023 -- 9:16 AM

(Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Wisconsin communities could receive a cut of the massive nearly $10.3 billion 3M legal settlement over "forever chemical" contamination, with the City of Wausau confirming it is in line to receive money to help install a costly treatment system to protect drinking water.

According to Laura Schulte with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the company will pay the sum over the next 13 years to public water systems in order to fund treatment technologies and testing costs. The agreement resolves current and future lawsuits over PFAS in drinking water, according to a June 22 release from the company to its investors.

Wausau filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of PFAS earlier this year after the city was approached by a number of law firms looking to litigate over the city's contamination, which was found in all of its drinking wells.

Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg said Monday the city has already spent millions on an interim filtration system and is planning to spend up to $17.5 million more on a permanent granulated activated carbon filtration system.

The settlement still has to be approved by the federal court in South Carolina where all similar cases were consolidated, Rosenberg said, but if it is, the city will likely have to complete more testing, which will be used to determine how much compensation is owed to the city.

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