Federal Judge Approves Tennessee Riverkeeper Settlement with 3M and Other Defendants

December 22, 2021                                                                              For Immediate Release 

CONTACT:  David Whiteside (Executive Director)

DECATUR, AL –  United States District Court Judge Liles C. Burke approved the Tennessee Riverkeeper organization’s PFAS settlement with the 3M Company and various other corporate defendants. The agreement resolves the federal court lawsuit initiated by the Tennessee Riverkeeper nonprofit organization, and compels 3M and the other companies to remediate PFAS contamination the lawsuit says they created. The order entered by Judge Burke gives him continuing jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the settlement. 

“Tennessee Riverkeeper’s legal victory is an historic step in holding these big corporations and polluters accountable and ensuring the water is safe for hundreds of thousands of citizens,” Tennessee Riverkeeper Executive Director David Whiteside said of the affirmative votes.

However, Whiteside noted that the approval of the lawsuit settlement is not the end of the story. He says Tennessee Riverkeeper will continue work hard to ensure that the remediation work called for in the settlement is effective and protective of human health and the environment. Additionally, the settlement provides that Defendants must cover the costs for Riverkeeper experts and counsel to independently monitor compliance with the settlement.

Tennessee Riverkeeper has received questions from reporters and the public about this settlement – with respect to how our settlement goes beyond a backroom deal that 3M made with ADEM last year, and how it is different from a settlement that requires 3M to pay $98 Million dollars to local governments.

“While we are happy that our lawsuit helped Decatur and Morgan County get nearly $100 Million from 3M, that payment is just a small part of the punishment for polluting,” Whiteside said. “Let me be clear: there is no limit to what 3M will have to pay to thoroughly clean up its PFAS contamination.”

Beyond paying money to the City and County, 3M must both devise, and enact a robust remediation plan to abate its PFAS contamination. The Riverkeeper settlement also forces the other defendants to take similar steps to those 3M must take to abate their PFAS. Tennessee Riverkeeper’s settlement sets out a multi-faceted process by which this will happen.

To start this process, there will be a thorough investigation of PFAS contamination in the area. This investigation will include sampling of soil, groundwater, surface water from the Tennessee River and tributaries, sediments and fish, to diagnose the full extent of the problem. Tennessee Riverkeeper is also entitled to use independent, out-of-state laboratories of the nonprofit’s choosing – to make sure 3M’s results are accurate. The company will provide the Riverkeeper, and its lawyers and experts, investigation results.

“This is like a doctor trying to treat a sick patient,” said Bill Matsikoudis, a prosecuting attorney for Tennessee Riverkeeper. “We can’t come up with a cure until we know exactly what’s wrong. Here the investigations will inform how to undertake what will be one of the most important environmental remediations in America.”

Once the investigation is complete, we will come up with a proposal to remediate the PFAS pollution. Riverkeeper’s team of experts and lawyers will continue to review 3M’s remediation plans and determine if they are good enough – and, if they are not, propose these additions and alternatives. If Riverkeeper does not agree with 3M’s plan, it will come up with its own. If 3M does not accept the Riverkeeper’s counterproposal, both 3M’s plan and the Riverkeeper’s plan are sent to a combination of ADEM and the EPA, who will work together to determine what remediation will go into effect. Riverkeeper will shine a bright light on this disagreement by revealing and discussing it with reporters and the press, because there is no gag order. The settlement thus gives Tennessee Riverkeeper rights and a robust involvement in the remedial investigation and selection process.

“3M will finally be forced to thoroughly and expeditiously clean up their rampant chemical contamination which has plagued hundreds of thousands of American citizens in the region for decades. Tennessee Riverkeeper will stay vigilant and if the polluters start to neglect remediation or try to cut corners, Riverkeeper and our team, including some of the leading PFAS experts in the country, will stop them. The organization will discuss any shortcomings with the press and public,” Whiteside added.

Just as significantly, though the settlement does not cap how much the 3M Company may have to spend to remediate its PFAS contamination; and Tennessee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization, does not financially benefit from its settlement with 3M.

“Tennessee Riverkeeper is not – and has never been – about money, and this settlement give us what we were seeking,” Whiteside said. “We only care about drinking water, the health of the rivers and creeks, and the citizens who use them – we will not stop until 3M and the other defendants have cleaned up this mess.”

Tennessee Riverkeeper, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Founded in 2009, Tennessee Riverkeeper, Inc. protects the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers and their tributaries by enforcing environmental laws and educating the public. The organization is a member of Waterkeeper Alliance, an international network comprised of 350 local Waterkeeper organizations.  For more information, please visit the Riverkeeper’s webpage at: https://www.tennesseeriverkeeper.org