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Lowndes County authorizes agreements to pursue PFAS (AFFF) groundwater claims
Summary
The board approved agreements to pursue AFFF/PFAS claims with two contingency-fee law firms, with no upfront costs; staff said testing must begin in September and claims must be submitted by Jan. 1, and that recovered funds would be subject to contingency fees.
County staff presented an item on historical use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) by fire departments and the presence of PFAS "forever chemicals" in those products. "For many years AFFF has been used by fire departments to fight petroleum-based fires," a staff presenter said, adding that the Environmental Protection Agency has determined PFAS chemicals used in AFFF to be carcinogenic.
Staff identified two law firms offering representation on a contingency basis with no upfront costs: one in New Orleans (Stagloos, per the transcript) and one in Beaufort, Georgia (Carruthers and Mitchell). Testing and claim-submission deadlines discussed at the meeting included beginning testing in September and a submission deadline of Jan. 1 for local governments that wish to participate. Staff recommended and the board approved authorizing the chairman to sign agreements and a resolution to pursue the claims.
Why it matters: If contamination from AFFF is present, recovered settlement funds could provide remediation resources; contingency-fee representation reduces immediate cost to the county but would take a percentage of any recovery.
Next steps: Staff expects testing to begin in September and will bring materials and agreements to the chairman for signature as authorized by the board.
