The West Morgan - East Lawrence Water and Sewer Authority's Robert M. Hames Water Treatment Plant on the Tennessee River in Hillsboro, Ala. (Dennis Pillion | dpillion@al.com)
Dennis Pillion | dpillion@al.com
Dennis Pillion | dpillion@al.com
on September 01, 2016 at 11:49 AM, updated September 01, 2016 at 6:36 PM
Daikin America agreed to a $5 million settlement to a lawsuit filed by a north Alabama drinking water utility over claims that the company contributed to PFOS and PFOA contamination in the Tennessee River.
The West Morgan East Lawrence Water Authority announced the partial settlement agreement Thursday, saying Daikin had agreed to settle for its alleged role in the water contamination but denied any wrongdoing.
The water authority will continue its case against the other defendants in the lawsuit, 3M and Dyneon. 3M has said it will fight the lawsuit and denies that the chemicals' presence in the water is likely to cause health or environmental problems.
Water Authority general manager Don Sims said the settlement means the Authority's customers won't have to pay for installing a new granular activated carbon filtration system that will remove those compounds from the water it takes in from the Tennessee River. He said that new filtration system is still on schedule to be operational by October.
A news release from the water authority stated that $3.9 million of the settlement will go directly to the new filter. Another $450,000 will be rebated to customers who paid higher bills over the summer for temporary measures to address the pollution, and the rest will be used to cover court costs and other fees.
"As we move into the next phase of this litigation, we look forward to announcing additional good news for the customers of the Authority as we continue the fight against 3M and other corporate polluters," the news release read.
The Water Authority serves approximately 10,000 residential customers and several businesses in Morgan and Lawrence Counties, west of Decatur, where the Daikin facility is located.
The Water Authority filed its law suit last year, but the issue of PFOS and PFOA contamination in drinking water was brought into the national spotlight on May 19, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a health advisory stating that the chemicals could be harmful to humans in lower concentrations than previously thought.
What you need to know about Alabama water contamination
Answers to frequently asked questions about the recent recommendation not to drink water from
In June, the West Morgan East Lawrence Water Authority advised its customers not to drink their tap water until the level of the chemicals was brought below the new health advisory threshold. That all-clear came on June 23, when Gov. Robert Bentley announced that all Alabama water systems were within the new EPA threshold.
The settlement still must be approved by the courts, and would not affect any personal injury claims that individuals have made for health effects they believe were caused by the pollution.