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PFAS Polluters to Pay $14.75B Direct to Public Water Systems in First Round
Sam Wade, former NRWA CEO, explains the PFAS Cost Recovery Program, the 3M and DuPont settlements, and why water utilities should register.
In this episode of Engineers for Communities, Sam Wade explains the PFAS Cost Recovery Program. The National Rural Water Association (NRWA) partnered with Napoli Shkolnik Law to create it, to help water and wastewater systems recoup money spent on PFAS treatment and remediation.
At the time of recording, over $14 billion in settlements had been won, with more to come. Wade explains why taking part is like "an insurance policy without a premium" for public water utilities that have detected PFAS or will detect it.
Guest
Sam Wade, former CEO of the National Rural Water Association and Water Consultant to Napoli Shkolnik Law.
In this episode
- What PFAS are, why they are called "forever chemicals," and the cost of the EPA's new PFAS drinking water rule, finalized in April 2024, for water utilities.
- Why NRWA took legal action against PFAS manufacturers: to ease the financial impact on ratepayers.
- Why a utility should register even with no PFAS detections so far, and what documents it needs to apply for settlement funds.
- How the 3M and DuPont settlements pay out in phases, with each utility's share in proportion to its PFAS loading over time.
- What comes next for wastewater systems and PFAS in biosolids.
If your system needs PFAS treatment, see our PFAS treatment design page.
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