3M will start making payments as part of its PFAS contamination settlement later this year, after a U.S. district court gave its final approval over the agreement Friday.
The chemical giant will pay public water suppliers between $10.5 billion and $12.5 billion to settle claims that it contaminated public drinking water with forever chemicals. 3M will begin making payments in Q3 of this year through 2036 under the agreement's schedule.
The company will support public water suppliers that detect PFAS "at any level or may do so in the future," according to a 3M announcement of the approval.
"This is yet another important step forward for 3M as we continue to deliver on our priorities," 3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman said in a statement. "The final approval of this settlement and continued progress toward exiting all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025 will further our efforts to reduce risk and uncertainty as we move forward."
For water suppliers that discovered a "measurable concentration" of PFAS before June 22, 2023, the deadline to file a settlement claim is 60 days after the agreement's effective date. Utilities that discovered or will discover PFAS as part of more recent and ongoing monitoring have until July 31, 2026 to file a claims form, according to the agreement approval.
3M initially announced its landmark settlement agreement last June, as it faced lawsuits from thousands of cities, states and individuals claiming the company manufactured PFAS that contaminated public water systems.
The settlement's approval, however, does not resolve all of 3M's PFAS litigation. The company still faces thousands of personal injury lawsuits and more than a dozen state lawsuits, claiming natural resource, public health and other damages.
The company is in the midst of ending its PFAS production, as the U.S. increasingly turns against the use of the chemical. Forever chemical production volume was down 20% in January, and the company has reformulated or discontinued nearly 25,000 products manufactured with or containing PFAS as of Jan. 19.
