LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit by the Michigan government against Wolverine World Wide for its role in Western Michigan PFAS contamination.
On Wednesday, February 19, U.S. District Court Judge Janet T. Neff issued a Consent Decree ordering a payout of $69.5 million for around 1,000 affected homes.
The money will be used to extend municipal water to these homes. According to Attorney General Dana Nessel, Wolverine must continue to operate and maintain drinking water filters in the North Kent County Study Area where PFOA + PFOS concentrations are high.
Wolverine must also continue residential drinking water well sampling to ensure the protection of public health.
“I am pleased that the Court acted so quickly to enter the Consent Decree – this enables a push for construction to begin this spring to bring relief to residents of North Kent County most heavily impacted by PFAS contamination from Wolverine,” Nessel said in a statement. “At the public comment session I hosted in Rockford last week, residents made clear that getting work started to address the threats posed by PFAS contamination – real, tangible action – was the top priority. This settlement does that.”
The settlement also requires Wolverine to, among other actions:
- conduct groundwater investigations to monitor contamination in the area;
- investigate and address PFAS contamination entering surface waters; and
- undertake response activities at the House Street Disposal Site and Wolverine’s Tannery to control these source areas.
Wolverine will conduct these activities under the oversight of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).
“This settlement is an important step forward in addressing PFAS contamination. EGLE will continue to be present and involved in North Kent County to ensure that Wolverine continues to address the human and environmental impacts from its PFAS contamination in the North Kent Study Area as required by the Decree,” EGLE Director Liesl Clark said. “EGLE will also continue to investigate PFAS contamination outside the North Kent Study Area and will continue to push liable parties, when they are identified, to comply with State and Federal environmental laws.”
Officials say that the entry of the Consent Decree was completed in “record time.”
