Last week, Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez joined a national movement to oppose a $10 billion settlement against chemical company 3M over contaminated drinking water.
The bipartisan coalition includes 22 other states and territories urging a federal court to reject withdrawing hundreds of lawsuits against 3M relating to the presence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in water.
PFAS, commonly known as "forever chemicals," are a broad range of compounds found in everyday products such as cleaning products and water-resistant fabrics.
The settlement proposes shifting liability from 3M onto water suppliers. As it stands, water providers would be held to the settlement's terms unless they "actively opt-out".
Opposers to the settlement argue that water providers would be tied to this agreement before knowing the actual cost it might take to clean up potential PFAS damage.
“The Department of the Attorney General is committed to ensuring that those who cause damage to our natural resources are held fully accountable, and this proposed settlement falls far short of that," said First Deputy Attorney General Matt Dvonch in a press release.
The settlement would apply to nearly every public water provider in the U.S., including those that have not sued.
The company would pay out $10.5 to $12.5 billion to them, which opposers are claiming is "an amount that is worth far less because of certain provisions that could ultimately force water providers to reimburse 3M for many costs."
Mike Roman, 3M chairman, told NPR in June that the settlement was "an important step forward" that builds on the company's decision in 2020 to phase out forever chemicals.
He said the company plans to halt all PFAS production by the end of 2025.
According to 3M's website, the company helped the U.S. Navy develop foams containing PFAS chemicals in the 1960s.
As of April, PFAS have been found in 11 different water systems across the state.
A copy of the motion to intervene can be found here and below.
