Ohio Communities Receive Initial $65 Million from DuPont Settlement Secured by Kelley Drye
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, counsel to the State of Ohio in its landmark $110 million PFAS litigation against DuPont, today highlighted the State’s announcement of the first distribution of settlement funds to impacted communities in Ohio.
This initial $65 million distribution marks a significant milestone in the implementation of the settlement, with funds going to support critical remediation and infrastructure projects addressing PFAS contamination in drinking water systems in the impacted communities.
Governor Mike DeWine – who as Attorney General hired Kelley Drye to bring the lawsuit against DuPont in 2018 – said of the announcement, “Access to safe drinking water is essential for every Ohio community.” DeWine continued, “These funding awards will be used to make critical improvements to local water systems that will protect public health and strengthen drinking water infrastructure for years to come.”
Kelley Drye brought the Ohio lawsuit against DuPont for releasing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into the air and the Ohio River from its Washington Works facility in West Virginia. The facility sits near the West Virginia and Ohio border, close to the southeastern point of Ohio. The lawsuit alleged that DuPont knew the risks the chemical posed to the public and the environment and yet it intentionally released PFOA and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) into Southeastern Ohio from West Virginia.
The first round of funding will be used to develop new drinking water sources, install treatment infrastructure to remove PFAS chemicals from water systems, and connect private wells with PFAS-detection to public water systems. In all, these funds will go to help protect the public health of over 75,000 residents of Ohio.
“This is why we do this work,” said John Gilmour, co-chair of Kelley Drye’s Environmental practice. “Delivering real results for impacted communities after six years of hard-fought litigation against DuPont and the tireless efforts of the Kelley Drye team is incredibly rewarding.”
For decades, the lawyers at Kelley Drye have been fortunate to represent public sector clients, including states, attorneys general, local governments, and other public entities, in historic and complex natural resource damages and environmental contamination cases. The team has recovered tens of billions of dollars in remediation costs, property damages, natural resource damages, lost tax revenues, and other remedies for the public. More information about Kelley Drye’s complex Environmental Litigation and Natural Resource Damages services can be found at www.kelleydrye.com.