Ending an eight-year authorized battle, chemical big Monsanto has agreed to a $160-million settlement with Seattle for its half in polluting a river that runs via the center of town with toxins that posed a menace to people, fish and wildlife, town legal professional’s workplace mentioned Thursday.
“We all play a role in protecting our environment and I am glad that Monsanto will contribute to this important environmental cleanup,” Metropolis Lawyer Ann Davison mentioned in a information launch. It’s the most important single-city settlement Monsanto has paid, she mentioned.
The Duwamish River cuts via Seattle, emptying into Puget Sound simply south of downtown. Water samples collected from the Decrease Duwamish detected polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, that are man-made chemical compounds that had been manufactured by Monsanto, in keeping with town’s lawsuit.
Though Monsanto stopped manufacturing PCBs in 1977, the chemical substances continued to exist in paints, caulking and sealants on buildings, Davison mentioned. In consequence, stormwater flowing into the Decrease Duwamish River has been regularly contaminated with PCBs.
Seattle sued Monsanto in 2016, saying the corporate “was well aware” that PCBs had been poisonous to animals, fish and the setting, however it continued to fabricate its merchandise.
“While the scientific community and Monsanto knew that PCBs were toxic and becoming a global contaminant, Monsanto repeatedly misrepresented these facts, telling governmental entities the exact opposite — that the compounds were not toxic and that the company would not expect to find PCBs in the environment in a widespread manner,” Seattle’s lawsuit mentioned.
Beneath the settlement, Monsanto didn’t admit to any wrongdoing, fault or violation of the regulation. The settlement requires the corporate to pay Seattle $160 million by Aug. 4.
Monsanto didn’t instantly reply to an e-mail message searching for remark.
Beneath a consent decree issued by the Environmental Safety Company and the Washington Division of Ecology, town was required to assemble a stormwater remedy plant alongside the river to take away PCBs. The fee was estimated to be about $27 million.
The river is listed as a Superfund Web site and in 2014, the EPA estimated the whole price of cleansing it up could be $342 million, the lawsuit mentioned. The town is answerable for a lot of the prices.
The case was scheduled to go to trial in September, however the metropolis participated in a mediation that permit to an unprecedented settlement quantity, Davison mentioned.
The funds will permit Seattle Public Utilities to take additional steps to guard the Duwamish, which may embody increasing the company’s program that identifies sources of air pollution, Davison mentioned.
“The settlement money will help care for the Lower Duwamish and mitigate the cost of pollution control to find and remove PCBs,” Davison mentioned.
