3M and Wolverine World Wide, Inc. reach an agreement to address PFAS in the environment in Michigan’s Plainfield and Algoma Townships. The agreement reportedly resolves legal claims between the two companies and pertains only to the lawsuit between Wolverine and 3M.
“Environmental stewardship is core to 3M, and we are committed to developing and contributing to PFAS solutions guided by sound science, responsibility and transparency,” says John Banovetz, senior vice president, innovation & stewardship and chief technology officer. “This agreement will support Wolverine’s work with the state of Michigan to conduct previously announced and continuing investigation and remediation activities, which will improve water infrastructure and treatment in certain communities in western Michigan.”
Under the terms of the settlement, 3M will make a fixed financial contribution of $55 million to support Wolverine’s past and ongoing efforts to address PFAS remediation under Wolverine’s Consent Decree with the state of Michigan, according to the company. This amount was part of 3M’s fourth-quarter significant litigation-related charge that was discussed during its January 28, 2020 earnings conference call and included in the recently filed Form 10-K. 3M will not be responsible for any additional response costs incurred in connection with the Consent Decree. Wolverine reflected incremental environmental remediation costs of $113 million and has stated that “actual amounts could differ significantly in the future as circumstances evolve.”
To date, 3M says it has invested more than $100 million in testing water sources around the country to better understand the quality of both groundwater and drinking water in communities, and more than $50 million toward installing carbon filtration systems for drinking water sources.
For more information, visit: www.3M.com
