Residents of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, have reached a $17.5 million settlement with the makers of firefighting foam that allegedly contaminated the town’s private drinking wells.

If approved, the proposed settlement would benefit anyone residing in or who formerly resided in, or currently own or formerly owned, a property with a private drinking well within the Class Area for at least one year between Jan. 1, 1965, and Dec. 31, 2020.

The Class Area is an area within Peshtigo that is southeast of the Ansul Fire Technology Center where per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the center may have migrated into private wells. 

Testing of the firefighting foam at the Ansul Fire Technology Center allegedly began around 1965, which is why the Class Period begins Jan. 1 of that year.

Many properties in Peshtigo have private wells as their water supply, according to the proposed settlement. The town lacks a municipal water system. 

The class action lawsuit, part of a multidistrict litigation, accused defendants Tyco Fire Products L.P., Chemguard Inc., and ChemDesign Inc. of contaminating private wells with PFAS through their aqueous film-forming foam, according to a news release.

Aqueous film-forming foam is a firefighting foam that is used in extinguishing flammable liquid fires, according to information from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

The substance creates a foamy film that cools the fire and coats the fuel, preventing it from continuing to burn. It also is able to rapidly reseal itself in the event it becomes disturbed.

The firefighting foam is typically used in settings such as chemical plants, flammable liquid storage and processing facilities, military facilities, oil refineries, and other industrial environments.

While the firefighting foam is no longer manufactured using PFAS, stockpiles of older foam remain in use.

Steps have already been taken to provide the affected residents with clean water, according to the release, so the latest settlement focuses on providing compensation for property damage, exposure to PFAS, and individual claims of disease.

Of the $17.5 million settlement, $15 million will go to Classwide claims for property damage and harm due to PFAS exposure.

The remaining $2.5 million will go toward compensating Class Members diagnosed with testicular cancer, kidney cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, and pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, according to the proposed settlement.

The plaintiffs are represented by Paul J. Napoli and Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, and Robert A. Bilott of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

The Peshtigo Firefighting Foam Class Action Lawsuit is Campbell v. Tyco Fire Products et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-00422, part of In Re: Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2:18-mn-2873, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division.