CAMANCHE, Iowa — On Thursday, chemical manufacturer 3M Co. said it'll pay $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of many U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and a number of consumer products.
This comes more than 7 months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed to sample and treat for Polyfluoroalkul (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals," in drinking water near the Cordova, Illinois facility.
The city is getting money from 3M, but it's not part of the settlement, according to Camanche City Administrator Andrew Kida.
In a public statement from the City of Camanche from June 16, the city says part of the agreement included sampling their municipal water supply.
Following the sampling, the city, 3M and the EPA created a plan to drill two new deep wells that access the Jordan Aquifer, upgrade and utilize Camanche's backup deep well #5 as the main water supply for the municipal system, and eventually cap the two shallow wells the city uses for water supply once the two new ones are ready to operate. Kida said well #5 was not contaminated by forever chemicals.
Kida told News 8 that it is hard to say exactly how much money 3M will be giving to the city in total. The statement from the city outlines the anticipated costs of updating its drinking water infrastructure.
3M will give the city an advance of $500,000 for "all necessary infrastructure and facilities for the new wells," according to Camanche. That funding includes 10% of the cost to cover engineering expenses. If the city doesn't spend all of the funds, they will give the remaining money back to 3M.
Kida said 3M will still cover the costs of the two wells if the $500,000 is spent. For example, if the crews hit bedrock while drilling, they'll have to completely start the job over and will pay for it.
The chemical manufacturer will also fund $300,000 towards the rehabilitation upgrades to well #5. Another $50,000 will go towards "incurred and future legal and professional services necessary" to implement the Camanche Alternate Drinking Water Plan.
Also included is a grant of $17,840.85 towards a previous study called "Camanche Water Supply Upgrades" from August 2021. Kida told News 8 that the funds from 3M are paying for half of that project, the rest was paid with American Rescue Plan Act money.
Work on the new wells can begin soon, but first, a design needs to be approved by the city engineers overseeing the project.
Watch: EPA orders Cordova 3M to sample, treat contaminated local drinking water