Eau Claire County Files New Lawsuit Against PFAS Manufacturers

Eau Claire County has officially filed a new lawsuit regarding PFAS contamination against a number of chemical manufacturers.

The County filed the lawsuit in Chippewa County Circuit Court earlier this month as the County seeks to recover damages for the forever chemicals in the water supply near the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport. It also seeks restitution for the diminished value of the airport property itself due to the PFAS contamination.

According to the complaint, the named defendants in the lawsuit include companies like 3M, DuPont, and more. It lists seven causes of action, including defective design, negligence, and violations of the Wisconsin Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. The named defendants have not yet filed their responses to the complaint.

PFAS contamination has become a significant issue for municipalities across the state over recent years. City of Eau Claire officials first discovered low levels of the forever chemicals in the drinking water supply in 2020. About a year later, the City’s water supply went over the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ PFAS hazard index for the first time. The increasing contamination levels also forced the City to shut down a number of wells near the airport.

To address the contamination, the City of Eau Claire began construction on a $20 million PFAS removal facility at the water treatment plant. Much of the funding for that facility is expected to be recovered through previous legal settlements with PFAS manufacturers, but those settlements are not projected to cover the full $20 million cost.

The City received the first portion of a $9.4 million settlement with 3M over the forever chemicals earlier this year. The City Council also approved a water rate hike of about 20 percent to help cover the remaining cost of the PFAS removal facility’s construction and to support its ongoing operations.