(C) Wisconsin Watch
This story was originally published by Wisconsin Watch and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
WATCH NOW: Lawyer serves city with hundreds of additional French Island resident claims for PFAS crisis [1]
['Olivia Herken La Crosse Tribune', 'Olivia Herken', 'Peter Thomson', 'La Crosse Tribune', 'File Photo', 'Contributed Pauline Spiegel', 'Contributed Jena Juarez', 'Contributed Roy Burkhalter', 'Contributed Cindy Cauther', 'Contributed Jeff']
Date: 2022-09
A law firm representing hundreds of French Island residents in the PFAS crisis served the city with 629 additional claims for its role in the pollution event that has contaminated dozens of private drinking wells.
Attorneys with Fitzpatrick, Skemp & Butler LLC served the notices of claims — which are precursors to a lawsuit — late Friday morning at La Crosse City Hall. This large filing is in addition to 125 already served in February and small batches filed since, bringing the total residents and claims filed on the matter to 787.
“It is an absolutely huge number of people who have been negatively impacted by this PFAS groundwater contamination,” said lawyer Tim Jacobson.
“It is devastating for so many of these people. I get calls every week from people who live on French Island who are worried about their health, who have family members who are being treated for horrible medical conditions, people whose lives are disrupted by the loss of being able to use their well water. It is scary for these people,” he said.
So far, an official total of nearly 200 private wells have been contaminated with PFAS, a group of “forever” chemicals believed to have originated from firefighting foam used at the La Crosse Regional Airport in the northeast corner of the island.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is currently testing an additional 200 wells on the island as the community tries to better understand the spread of the pollution, which is now reaching beyond the limits of the initial investigation.
Jacobson told reporters Friday that he is aware of 500 private wells that have now been tested on the island and that about 400 results have returned, with all but eight wells showing levels of contamination, though it’s important to note these results have not been officially reported by the DNR or local officials. Of those eight uncontaminated wells, seven were south of I-90, he said.
These filings are the first step of two before a potential lawsuit the residents could file against the city, and essentially allows the city to settle the matter out of court first.
Step two in the process would be to file a line item claim that indicates a dollar amount they request the city pay for the pollution and its aftermath. That step won’t come until later in the investigation when there is a fuller understanding of the damage done, Jacobson said.
Who is at fault for the pollution goes up a ladder of sorts, as the city directly applied the foam and is listed as the responsible party for the spill by the state, but the use of the foam has been and currently is federally required at airports around the country, meaning finding reparations has criss-crossed among different parties and levels.
The city has also filed its own claim against 23 chemical manufacturing companies who have produced the foam likely to have caused the contamination, some of which knew about the toxicity of the chemicals for decades.
City officials have suggested that residents in the town of Campbell join in its legal efforts against the manufacturers, but Jacobson indicated Friday that won’t happen.
“The city seemed to suggest somehow the residents on French Island should join the city and the city’s lawsuit, and quite frankly I think that’s a nonsensical suggestion,” Jacobson said. “The city is seeking compensation to put money in the city’s own bank account. The city is not pursuing a claim to put money in the pockets that compensate the people on French Island.
“We certainly support the city’s efforts to recover money from the chemical companies. We certainly feel that the chemical companies are highly culpable for this problem, that they have deceived the public for decades about the dangers of PFAS chemicals, and so we want to see a recovery made,” he said.
“But to the extent the city incurs cost to do testing and remediation and supply clean water to people — sure if they want to seek reimbursement from the chem companies, go for it. But the city is not providing, at this point, any direct solution to the residents of La Crosse, which is why we are asserting these legal claims against the city,” Jacobson said.
“We want to make sure the people on French Island are taken care of, and that’s priority number one,” Jacobson said, and the city recovering its own losses is “number two.”
At this point the city is not required to respond to these initial notices of claims made by residents, and has not done so as of yet, Jacobson said. A response will be required after they file a dollar amount for reparations.
“I don’t think this is anything new here. We are not facing a lawsuit at this point, I don’t think that this changes anything for our process moving forward,” said La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds, who recently took office.
“We continue working with the DNR and other partners. We’re continuing to press the FAA to allow us to stop using the foam that has caused so many issues,” Reynolds said, as well as supplying water to some residents and meeting with stakeholders twice a month. “At this point we’re status quo.”
Results from the DNR’s widespread testing are expected to be released in the coming weeks, which will provide a better look at how far this pollution has spread and other possible causes.
Currently, residents on the island are taking advantage of bottled water provided by the state and city as they wait for solutions.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/watch-now-lawyer-serves-city-with-hundreds-of-additional-french-island-resident-claims-for-pfas/article_6688d6c7-5c12-50ff-93a1-b1c1cae5f2eb.html
Published and (C) by Wisconsin Watch
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-ND 4.0 Intl.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/wisconsinwatch/
