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Waldwick attorney says PFAS settlement payouts will be phased; borough recommends reserving funds for water needs
Summary
The borough attorney outlined an unclear but phased payout schedule for the 3M/DuPont PFAS settlements and the borough administrator recommended earmarking funds for water-related expenses such as filter-media replacement; exact dollar amounts remain unknown.
The borough’s legal counsel updated the council and residents on the status of PFAS litigation settlements and the likely timing and structure of payments to municipalities.
The borough attorney said the claims administrator will apply a formula that yields 13.47% of a municipality’s adjusted base score as the borough’s settlement figure under the 3M and DuPont agreements. "It’s a convoluted formula," the attorney said, and cautioned that the borough is still waiting to see how this converts into actual dollar amounts and what deductions will apply.
He described an expected phased payout schedule: approximately 25% of funds may be paid by the end of the second quarter, roughly 50% by the end of the third quarter, and the balance paid out over subsequent years, with a 10% court holdback and deductions for attorneys’ fees and class counsel. He said additional settlements with other manufacturers (identified generally in the transcript) are still being negotiated.
Borough Administrator (name not specified in the transcript) told the council she had no firm dollar figure to present and recommended reserving any PFAS settlement money for water-related uses, such as filter-media change-outs and other water repairs, while acknowledging that the exact costs depend on the final model chosen for media replacement.
During public comment, resident Catherine Hartman asked whether the settlement funds were restricted to PFAS-specific uses or could be allocated by the borough. The borough attorney replied, "I don't believe this has any restrictions on it," indicating the borough expects flexibility in how it can allocate settlement funds, subject to any external legal conditions that may ultimately apply.
The attorney also briefed the council on the housing-element/fair-share plan timeline: the planning board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on June 4, and the council is expected to consider formal adoption at its June 17 meeting to meet a state deadline of June 30.
No final decisions on PFAS allocations were made at the meeting; council members noted that staff will return with more concrete numbers once the claims administrator provides the borough’s settlement calculation.
