Leonardtown Council Takes Legal Action Over Water Contamination Concerns

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — Leonardtown officials moved to approve joining a national lawsuit aimed at holding chemical manufacturers accountable for contamination linked to firefighting foam, a move town leaders say is about protecting local water resources and recovering potential cleanup costs.

In the memorandum to the Commissioners of Leonardtown at the Feb. 9 Town Council meeting, Assistant Town Administrator Jeanine Harrington outlined the background of PFAS contamination associated with Aqueous Film-Forming Foam, or AFFF, a product historically used to extinguish fuel-based fires at airports, military bases, fire training facilities and industrial sites.

AFFF contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, including PFOA and PFOS, chemicals recognized for their persistence in the environment. Often referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS compounds are highly water-soluble and can spread through soil, groundwater, surface water, wastewater and even concrete, remaining in the environment indefinitely once released.

According to the informational brochure submitted to the town by the PFAS Litigation Group, a partnership between Baron & Budd, P.C., and Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor, LLC, the group represents public and private drinking water providers, wastewater treatment facilities, airports and fire training facilities nationwide in contamination cases.

According to the informational brochure, manufacturers of AFFF acknowledged as early as the 1960s that safer products could be made, but continued producing foams containing PFAS without adequately warning users of environmental or public health risks. Informational materials provided to the town also state that many facilities used AFFF as recommended by manufacturers, unaware that the product could contaminate property and water supplies.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS combined in drinking water, though many states have adopted stricter standards.

Town officials noted that municipalities operating water systems, fire departments, airports, wastewater treatment facilities or fire training sites may face significant costs related to drinking water treatment, groundwater and soil remediation, and ongoing PFAS testing.

“Nationally, there’s a lot of litigation, because it’s a type of firefighting foam that was historically used nationwide,” Leonardtown Town Administrator and presenter Lachelle McKay said. “In some areas across the country, there’s very large lawsuits now because it got into the water systems.”

A national Multi-District Litigation case, MDL 2873, is underway in federal court in South Carolina and focuses on PFAS contamination caused by AFFF. The litigation seeks to hold chemical manufacturers financially responsible for cleanup and damages. Hundreds of cities, towns, water authorities, airports and utilities across the country are participating.

Under the proposed Legal Services Agreement, the Town of Leonardtown would retain the law firms of Baron & Budd, P.C.; Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor, LLC; and MacLeod Law Group, LLC, to evaluate potential contamination affecting town water, wastewater and property interests and, if appropriate, pursue recovery of testing, treatment and remediation costs through the national litigation.

“We’ve already started doing testing from MDE every year,” McKay said. “We haven’t had anything come back that we’ve had a problem with. But there can be areas, and so what this does is protects you.”

The agreement provides that the attorneys would work on a contingency fee basis, receiving 25% of any gross recovery. If there is no recovery, no fee would be owed, and the firms would advance costs associated with the litigation.

Town staff emphasized that participation in the litigation does not require upfront legal costs and is intended to allow Leonardtown to evaluate whether it has been impacted and to seek compensation for any necessary environmental response measures.

“The county has already done it a few months ago,” McKay said. “It protects us down the road if we do run into a litigation situation.”

Leonardtown Town Council approved the motion to sign the agreement with the PFAS Litigation Group Feb. 9.

You can watch the full discussion below at 34:52.

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