A yearslong lawsuit over PFAS contamination has been resolved after thousands of residents reached a settlement with a Fayetteville, North Carolina-based chemical company.
What happened?
According to The Fayetteville Observer, a scheduled trial was called off after 2,600 residents reached an agreement to settle the matter outside of court.
The deal covered residents in the Gray's Creek area. In that case, property owners said the companies DuPont and Chemours had released PFAS chemicals in the area beginning in the 1980s.
According to the Observer, residents said contamination in groundwater and surface water had lowered property values and changed everyday life in their homes.
Court records stated that the plaintiffs "lost the ability to grow and eat produce grown at their property" and "have endured significant annoyance associated with cooking, cleaning, drinking, and performing other household activities with bottled water."
Mike Watters, who helped start Gray's Creek Residents Against PFAS and was among the plaintiffs, said he learned about the agreement at the courthouse.
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"I don't know what the settlement is and wouldn't be able to discuss it under the terms," Watters told the Observer.
Why does it matter?
The Observer noted that PFAS can remain in the environment for as long as 1,000 years, which is why they are often called "forever chemicals."
They have been used in products such as nonstick cookware and firefighting foam, and that persistence can make contamination especially hard and costly to clean up.
Communities can end up spending years dealing with industrial pollution while court cases move slowly. Watters also said the resolution carried personal meaning after several health problems.
What's being done?
This settlement does not end the broader PFAS fight in the region.
Cumberland County still has a separate case moving through the courts, and environmental groups are continuing with their own litigation as well, the Observer noted. Watters and county officials have also said the upkeep of the filtration systems has fallen short, an allegation the company denied.
Separately, as the outlet reported, a 2019 consent order with North Carolina required Chemours to test private wells and provide replacement drinking water where needed. The company now provides carbon filtration systems to more than 1,400 well owners, while reverse osmosis systems have been installed for 3,500 well owners. Maintenance obligations for those systems extend for 20 years.
Attorneys Cary McDougal and Brett Land said, as reported by the Observer, "we believe this is an extremely positive and successful outcome on behalf of our clients."
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