Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Litigation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hears PFAS class-action update; staff reports low well levels, attorney outlines one-third contingency fee
Summary
Council discussed recent PFAS class-action notices; staff reported local well PFAS levels as "extremely low" and said retesting would be required, while the city's attorney described a contingency-fee agreement that would pay attorneys one-third of any recovery; council asked staff to return a participation agreement for a formal vote.
Council members discussed notices around a PFAS class-action lawsuit and whether the city should join. Staff (Speaker 6) reported that the city's well-testing results were very low — near or below detection thresholds — but said retesting would be necessary to determine actual eligibility for participation in the suit. "Our levels are extremely low to the almost undetectable side of things," Speaker 6 said when summarizing test results.
The city attorney (Speaker 2) reviewed the proposed attorney fee agreement and described it as a contingent-fee arrangement with no upfront cost to the city; if successful, "a third of the recovery would go to the attorneys," Speaker 2 said. The attorney cautioned that terminating participation midstream could create an obligation to cover attorney costs and noted staff time would be a likely local expense.
Council members asked about timing, prior testing dates and staff capacity to support any participation. Staff said notices began going out to communities in May–June and that the city had completed testing soon after receiving notices. Council discussion concluded with direction for staff to place a proposed participation agreement on a future council agenda (anticipated in January) so the council can make a formal decision after reviewing the agreement and any additional testing results.
No final decision to join the suit was recorded in the meeting; the item was informational with instructions to return with a formal agenda item.
