Oswego joining lawsuit regarding forever chemicals in water supply

The village of Oswego is joining other communities around the country – including Yorkville – in litigation regarding chemicals contaminating community water supplies.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals used in various consumer and industrial products for their water, stain and fire resistance properties.

“Following PFAS regulatory changes around seven years ago, significant litigation has occurred nationwide, culminating in a $14 billion settlement involving 3M and DuPont,” Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said to village trustees. “The litigation in question relates to harm incurred as a result of synthetic chemicals that were used in creating firefighting foam and how over time these chemicals contaminated water supplies of some municipalities.”

At the June 10 Oswego Village Board meeting, village trustees unanimously voted to join the litigation. Law firm Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona is working with the law firm of Stag Liuzza, LLC. on the case.

Yorkville joined the litigation earlier this year.

Di Santo noted the village does test for PFAS and has not found any in the village’s treated water.

“However, we are eligible to participate in the lawsuit,” he said. “And if there is harm discovered in our water system, we are entitled to compensation.”

The law firms will have Oswego’s water tested to determine if there are PFAS in the water.

“If there is, they would help us compile our damages claim,” Di Santo said.

There is no cost to the village upfront. The agreement authorizes the attorneys to negotiate, file suits and employ experts as needed, and the village agrees to pay the attorneys one-third of the gross amount recovered plus litigation expenses.

“The payment is only made in the event of a successful recovery,” Di Santo said. “In other words, if the village is successful in getting compensated for this, then the attorneys would also get paid. If they do not find any PFAS, they would not get compensated.”

Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman pointed out that the testing is for the source of the water, not the supply.

“We know that we clean our water so residents are at no risk currently of consuming the PFAS, because we test for that,” he said.

Di Santo said the raw water coming out of the village’s wells would be tested for PFAS.