Gov. Tony Evers and AG Josh Kaul hailed a settlement in a lawsuit over PFAS contamination that will require Tyco to pay out $10 million as well as foot the bill for existing cleanup.

According to the state Department of Justice, the $10 million is on top of the approximately $100 million Tyco has already spent to address contamination in the Marinette area. The settlement is one of the largest resulting from a DNR referral in state history, according to Evers’ office. 

“We’ve worked to lead the fight against PFAS from Day One of my administration, and today’s a key step toward making sure polluters are held accountable, take responsibility for their actions, and ensure Wisconsinites don’t have to foot the bill for cleaning up the messes that others made,” Evers said in a statement yesterday. 

The Dem guv said “our work cannot stop,” noting communities across the state are grappling with the contamination. 

The settlement is related to a lawsuit Kaul filed in 2022. The complaint alleged Johnson Controls and Tyco had violated the state’s Spills Law by failing to notify the Department of Natural Resources about and remediate PFAS contamination at the Fire Technology Center in Marinette. The contamination stemmed from PFAS-containing firefighting foam used in training and testing at the center. 

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or “forever chemicals,” are found in industrial and everyday products such as firefighting foam and non-stick cookware. They don’t break down easily and are linked to several diseases and cancers in humans.

The $10 million will go into the state’s existing PFAS Trust Fund to help clean up contamination. 

Other provisions of the settlement require Tyco to: 

  • Provide clean water in the Marinette area, including deep drinking water wells in agreed-upon areas for the next 20 years; 
  • Monitor and report ground and surface water quality in the agreed-upon area;
  • Establish specific goals to remediate soil, groundwater and surface water contamination and report on the efforts to DNR; and  
  • Remediate PFAS and restore the environment “to the extent practicable.” 

Tyco did not immediately return a request for comment on the settlement. 

Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, co-authored the law that allocated $132 million to the PFAS Trust Fund while providing new protections for “innocent landowners” who have the pollution on their property.

He said municipalities like Marinette and Peshtigo “have waited far too long for this day to come.” 

“I’m proud to have authored the creation of the PFAS Trust Fund in the 2023-25 State Budget, which requires the state to reinvest any funds from PFAS legal settlements into this Fund to help victims remove these pollutants from our land and water,” Wimberger said. “Now, every single dollar from the Tyco settlement will go into the PFAS Trust Fund and be used to support affected victims and communities.”

Clean water advocacy group S.O.H2O expressed disappointment with the settlement, saying it would apply to a smaller contamination area and force more than 80 homeowners with contaminated wells outside that boundary to compete for funding through the PFAS Trust Fund.

“We were optimistic when Attorney General Kaul proceeded with an enforcement case,” the group said in a statement. “However, we believe meaningful engagement with directly impacted residents was gravely overlooked and would have provided critical insight into the community’s actual needs and priorities. The people living this crisis every day have always been clear about what justice looks like: safe drinking water for all and meaningful health protections. None of which was achieved.”

The settlement was filed yesterday with a Brown County judge and will go into effect upon approval by the Marinette County Circuit Court. 

A separate lawsuit Kaul filed in 2022 over PFAS contamination against several manufacturers, including Tyco, remains ongoing. That suit alleged “wrongful, deceptive, and tortious conduct” led to PFAS contamination in the state. “Reliable access to safe and clean water is critical for strong communities and people’s health and peace of mind,” Kaul said of the announcement. “This resolution is a major step on the path toward a more secure future for folks in the Marinette area.”