KALAMAZOO, MI — The city of Kalamazoo will use $5.4 minion received as part of a settlement involving two companies to help fund water system connections to properties outside of the city.
The Kalamazoo City Commission voted unanimously to accept the funds from the settlement involving Georgia Pacific and 3M its Monday, Oct. 26, meeting.
Following the discovery of unacceptable levels of PFAS contamination in the Parchment water system in July 2018, the same contamination was discovered in private wells in Cooper Township near the James River paper mill properties located in Cooper Township. While Georgia-Pacific never operated the paper mill in question, it acquired the assets and liabilities of James River, according to the city. 3M manufactured products containing PFAS which were allegedly sold to and used by James River in their paper-making processes, according to a document in the city of Kalamazoo’s meeting agenda.
PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment. They also bioaccumulate, absorbing in a body faster than they’re eliminated. Drinking PFAS at unsafe levels can cause health effects.
Cooper Township has requested that the city of Kalamazoo expand its water system to provide safe, potable water to properties served by contaminated wells, the city said.
To avoid costly litigation by all parties , attorneys for the city, Cooper Township and Georgia-Pacific (which communicated with counsel for 3M) entered into negotiations to resolve the matter. The resolution involved determining the degree and location of PFAS contamination near the former James River mill site and attempting to rule out other possible sources of contamination. Discussions also involved the degree of engineering needed to provide potable water to those affected Cooper Township properties, the city agenda item states.
Through “forthright and cooperative negotiations,” Georgia-Pacific and 3M agreed to pay $5.4 million dollars. The money will go toward the project with a total cost of $8.1 million to deliver water to Cooper Township properties, according to the city agenda item.
City Attorney Clyde Robinson said he and Public Services Director James Baker recommended the approval. Had the city not received the money, the cost would otherwise have to be paid through rates or some kind of grant funding, Robinson said at the meeting.
There was some “give and take” in negotiating the settlement, Robinson said, and the parties eventually agreed on the amount.
The total capital cost for the Cooper Township PFAS extensions to $8,097,216. Of this total, $5.4 million will be paid by Georgia-Pacific/3M; the remaining $2.7 million will be financed by the water system using low interest loans underwritten by the State of Michigan. The city will avoid the “extremely costly expenses” of possible litigation of the matter, according to the agenda item.
Read more:
Lawsuit alleges 3M and Georgia-Pacific caused Parchment PFAS emergency
Kalamazoo gets $1.6M to provide water to township homes where PFAS was found
Concerns remain a year after Parchment learned of toxic PFAS in its water
123 students in quarantine after COVID-19 case closes Portage elementary school
Kent County getting legal opinion on using coronavirus funds to pay for ShotSpotter in Grand Rapids
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