Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg says the city’s lawsuit against more than 70 known PFAS manufacturing companies and the insurance companies that represent them is about getting fair value for Wausau residents, who are already forking out more money for drinking water thanks to upgrades designed to remove the chemicals from the supply.
“We wanted to file it on our home turf,” said Rosenberg. “We wanted to be able to make our case in front of a jury of our peers, and we wanted to bring people in here so the public could hear what they had to say. We feel like this is a good opportunity for us to make this case in front of our community ton ensure that we are covered. This has been a really expensive ordeal.”
She praised the New York-based law firm representing the city, saying they are seen as the “gold standard” when it comes to cooperate lawsuits. “We trust them, we know that they have our best interest in mind. They were part of some big lawsuits like the 9/11 first responders and the opioid settlement. We know that they know what they are doing, and we know that they get the job done.”
The lawsuit was filed in Marathon County Circuit Court. No immediate court action has been scheduled, but Rosenberg says don’t be surprised if the case moves a little more quickly than a typical lawsuit.
And while it’s much too early to think about what the city’s windfall might be, Rosenberg said the City Council will have the final say in whatever that may be. She didn’t rule out the possibility that some of the funds could be used to pay off debt associated with the new drinking water treatment plant and bring costs down for rate payers. She also discussed creating an environmental cleanup fund for any future needs the city may have. “Some places that have recovered these costs are putting it in segregated funds earmarked for pollution remediation. We [would have] opportunity to retire some debt early, so yes I would be advocating for some relief there. But we want to be smart, we want to make sure we are looking ahead.”
“Rate payers have paid so much to make sure that the water is safe,” added Rosenberg.
