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Council approves joining PFAS settlement legal team after debate over testing, 4-1
Summary
The Highland City Council voted 4–1 to authorize a legal services agreement that would have private attorneys investigate PFAS contamination and provide testing for the city, with council members voicing concern about class-action fees and potential costs.
The Highland City Council voted 4–1 on Tuesday to authorize a legal-services agreement to join a multi-jurisdictional legal effort tied to a national PFAS settlement. The vote will let plaintiffs’ counsel investigate local drinking-water systems and, if warranted, test Highland’s system under the settlement processes now being administered in national litigation.
Council debate was lengthy and at times sharp. Councilmember Scott (first name not specified in transcript) led the ‘no’ position, arguing that class-action settlements often enrich attorneys far more than affected residents and that litigation could raise downstream costs for pipe and material suppliers. “I have a lot of trouble with class action suits because I think there's a lot of ill effects down the pipeline,” he said.
Supporters said the principal immediate benefit was free testing and independent expert evaluation paid for by plaintiffs’ counsel, not by the city. Rob (staff member) told the council that a state-required test last year showed Highland’s drinking water well below EPA provisional levels and that the city expects counsel’s testing could confirm that Highland’s water is already safe. “The ideal is that they test for us for free, and we don't have anything that we need to do,” Rob said during debate.
Councilmember Doug moved and Kim seconded an amendment to the proposed resolution to add a recital clarifying that the city is not aware of any contamination in its drinking water; that amendment and the underlying resolution passed 4–1. The roll-call vote was recorded in the minutes as: Scott — no; Doug — yes; Kim — yes; Ron — yes; Britney — yes. Council members said they expected to seek second opinions on any positive results.
The motion authorizes the city administrator to execute the legal-services agreement with the plaintiffs’ team. Supporters emphasized that participation does not obligate the city to accept any payments or findings without further review and that it allows Highland to secure testing and, only if contamination is found, pursue remediation funding under the settlement.
