Riverton joining PFAS/PFOS settlement with 3M, DuPont

(Riverton, WY) – The Riverton City Council voted Tuesday to join a class settlement with chemical manufacturers 3M and DuPont – two companies that manufacture the aqueous film-forming foam known to be “the major contributor” of PFAS/PFOS contamination, according to city staff.

In March, PFOS was detected at a level of 2.6 nanograms per liter at a well near Central Wyoming Regional Airport, Riverton Public Works Director Brendan Thoman reported this week.

The “trigger level” for recording PFOS is 2 ng/L, he noted, while the maximum contaminant level is 4 ng/L.

Once the PFOS was detected, the well was taken offline, Thoman said, “so it’s no longer in service” – but since then, “multiple” law firms have contacted the city asking whether they would be interested in joining the settlement with 3M and DuPont.

Specifically, he said city staff has already met with representatives from the Class Action Capital/Environmental Litigation Group – joint firms that requested 33.3 percent of settlement proceeds for their services – as well as Kenneth Bartlett of Bartlett Law Offices, PC, who offered to work with the city for a 25 percent fee.

The council gave staff discretion to choose the law firm to work with as part of the settlement process. 

Settlement

Thoman estimated that the city could be eligible to receive $240,000 from the settlement, depending on the “flow rate of the well affected and the level of PFAS detected.”

The funds would not be restricted in their use, according to the staff memo, but City Administrator Kyle Butterfield said Riverton would likely use the money to “assist us with our water system” – and particularly with relocating the contaminated well. 

That’s “part of the benefit” of joining the settlement class, Mayor Tim Hancock said, pointing out that the “possible payouts down the road” will help “alleviate things like having to move a well (when) we have had a positive test.”

Federal PFAS/PFOS regulations are expected to become more strict in the future, according to the staff memo, and by opting into this year’s settlement, the city “would be able to claim any well hits until 2030.”

‘Forever chemicals’

During discussion on the topic, Councilmember Keyle Larson asked where the PFOS in Riverton’s well may have come from.

In response, Hancock explained that the aqueous film-forming foam that 3M and DuPont manufacture is often used for fire suppression, especially at airports, so “as part of airport fire drills, (these) substances that may have contained PFOS were being sprayed around.”

“That’s why (we) would see this in the airport well but not … other wells,” he said. “(And) we’ve not had any other wells that have been testing positive.”

Butterfield added that the contaminants – often referred to as “forever chemicals” – are also found in things like makeup, Gore-Tex, non-stick pans, Scotchgard, and carpeting materials.

“These chemicals are very prevalent in our society,” he said.