Gordon County retains outside counsel for PFAS and environmental matters; county says it will not pay testing costs

The Gordon County Board of Commissioners voted to retain outside legal counsel to represent the county on PFAS and other environmental matters at its regular session. County Administrator Mr. Ledbetter told the board the county would not be responsible for testing expenses or attorneys' fees unless damages are recovered.

The move, Mr. Ledbetter said, responds to growing attention to PFAS in northwest Georgia. “Gordon County, Northwest Georgia is receiving national attention for the PFAS issue, and, we want to be on top of the issue and make sure that our citizenry is protected if there's any impact upon them,” he said.

A commissioner asked for clarification on whether the county would bear testing or litigation expenses. Mr. Ledbetter answered, “The county will not incur any expenses for, the testing and, filing lawsuit for participating in lawsuits as needed.”

Commissioners approved the contract retention by voice vote; the motion carried. The board did not record a roll-call vote in the transcript excerpt.

The county did not specify the name of the law firm in the meeting discussion recorded in the transcript, nor did officials discuss a timeline for any testing, litigation, or related expenditures beyond the statement that the retained counsel would be compensated from recoveries rather than by the county up front.

The decision directs county leadership to engage the named outside counsel for environmental and PFAS matters and leaves any next steps—such as testing, sampling, or litigation strategy—to counsel and staff, subject to the financial arrangement described during the motion.