Village of Granton to continue pursuit of PFAS lawsuit
By Cheyenne Thomas If the Village of Granton agrees to join the ongoing lawsuit against 3M and DuPont over the amount of PFAS (per and polyfluorinated substances) detected in one of its wells, the village could receive nearly $200,000 in a payout from both companies. The potential monetary reward for joining in the lawsuit was revealed at the village board’s Jan. 10 meeting, and the board discussed just how much of the cut the village would receive by the end of the lawsuit.
Waterworks operator Jared Thomas provided the potential dollar amounts the village could receive. From 3M, he said the village could expect to receive anywhere from $145,000 to $200,000, while they could expect to receive $13,000 to $14,000 from DuPont. With potential totals that high, Village President John Garbisch said it would be worth considering.
“When we started this and were trying to decide to do this, we were thinking that it was going to be a small amount, and if it was, then it wouldn’t be worth it,” he said. “But seeing these numbers, I think it’s worth it to take a look at.”
One of the final hurdles the board is looking at before making its final decision on whether or not to join the lawsuit is how many “hidden costs” they may end up having to pay. After having an attorney look over the agreement, it was revealed that in addition to the village having to pay 25 percent of its winnings back to the company filing the lawsuit, there are also extra costs that the village would be responsible for.
“Our main concern is those hidden costs,” said village clerk Emily Steinbach. “That could include anything from travel, costs of bringing in an expert to testify. We don’t know what those costs will be for us unless the law firm tells us.”
Thomas was to attend a virtual meeting with the law firm filing the lawsuit to ask questions on the additional costs and present the findings at the board’s next meeting on Feb. 14.
In other action taken by the board at its Jan. 10 meeting, the board listened to a short presentation by Cedar Corporation representatives Brian Chapman and Lynn McIntyre on the upcoming Main Street construction project, which is set to begin sometime this summer. The process to bid out the construction project will begin on Feb. 1, and the board will go over the submitted bids on Feb. 14. When the board asked about the timeline for the project, Chapman said the only requirements they have listed is for the project to be started before July 1 and have substantial completion by the middle of October.
“We don’t know the exact start date yet,” he said. “We expect to have substantial completion by either Oct.1 or Oct.15, but we will hold off on having the final surface added until after winter and we have settlement on the road. We want it to go through a freeze-thaw cycle before we add the binder surface, which will be done in 2025.”
The representatives also talked briefly about the funding the village had been approved to receive. The village had already been approved to receive $1 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, but will not receive grant funding from the Safe Drinking Water Grant. The village will still qualify for a low-interest loan as part of the Safe Drinking Water program and may end up receiving any remaining grant funding from the program if another municipality higher up on the list doesn’t use its grant funding.
The board also held a caucus on Jan. 10 to select candidates to run for the board of trustees seat currently held by Bryan Vine. Vine was nominated to run for a new term and will run unopposed on the April ballot.
