Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Annika Ashton
Department: County Attorney
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO AUTHORIZE County Administrator, in consultation with the County Attorney, to execute any necessary forms or other documents to enable the County to participate in any additional drinking water system settlements in the pending multidistrict litigation concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), also referred to as “forever chemicals,” in the matter titled In Re: Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation, MDL Case No. 2:18-mn-2873-RMG (S.D. Car.), provided such additional settlements contain substantially similar terms and conditions as the previously approved drinking water settlements in the action.
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Why Action is Necessary
Required to provide the referenced authority.
What Action Accomplishes
Required to provide the referenced authority.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☐County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/Background
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed across the country against 12 companies that manufactured or distributed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (collectively, “PFAS”), including but not limited to perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) and perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”). The lawsuits allege that these substances infiltrated groundwater, drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, sediment, soil, and more. These cases have been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation pending in the United States District Court in South Carolina (“MDL”).
Prior drinking water settlements approved in this MDL include settlement agreements with defendants 3M Company, E.I. DuPont companies, Tyco Fire Products LP, Chemguard, Inc., and BASF Corporation. To date the County has received in excess of $19 million in drinking water settlement proceeds.
Four additional drinking water settlements-with defendants Carrier Global Corporation and related entities, Archroma U.S., Inc., Amerex Corporation, and Nation Ford Chemical Company-recently received preliminary approval by the MDL court. These settlements collectively are expected to yield approximately $380,000 in additional settlement payouts to the County. Unless the County “opts out” of these proposed settlements, the County’s claims against these defendants for PFAS contamination of the County’s drinking water systems will be resolved by the proposed settlements. Similar to the prior settlements, these four new proposed settlements contain releases that are fairly broad, but generally would resolve claims only regarding PFAS contamination of drinking water systems and would not generally release claims regarding soil, wastewater, real property claims, or personal injury claims.
This item, if approved, would authorize the County Administrator, in consultation with the County Attorney, to file claims on behalf of the County in the four proposed drinking water settlements and in any subsequent drinking water settlements that are on substantially similar terms and conditions as the drinking water settlements approved by the Commission to date.
Source of Additional Information
René D. Harrod, Chief Deputy County Attorney, 954-357-7600
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
No cost to the County; under the County’s agreement with counsel, any legal fees and costs are deducted from the County’s recovery, if any.