April 17 – Through a recently filed class action lawsuit, Santa Fe County residents are about to become involved in nationwide lawsuits seeking liability from the manufacturers of toxic chemicals that have polluted communities across the U.S.
Santa Fe County late last year discovered contamination with PFAS — a group of man-made chemicals linked to an increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer, among other things — in private wells in La Cienega and La Cieneguilla. The discovery prompted people to determine the extent of the contamination and transition to safe water sources.
One possible source of contamination is the New Mexico Army National Guard’s use of aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, to extinguish fires at its facility at the Santa Fe Regional Airport. Both the National Guard and the state Environment Department are investigating whether PFAS at the site contaminated the regional aquifer and then migrated to residents’ private wells.
In March, attorneys from the Singleton Schreiber law firm filed a PFAS-related class action lawsuit on behalf of Jennifer Steketee and other residents of La Cienega and La Cieneguilla.
The lawsuit names about two dozen manufacturers of PFAS, or AFFF, including St. Paul, Minnesota-based conglomerate 3M Company and Wilmington, Del. established chemical company DuPont.
Attorney Brian Colón accused the companies in an interview of putting “profits over people” by continuing to produce components of AFFF despite knowing for decades that it posed “an unreasonable risk” to the environment and human health.
“Ultimately, they knew what they were doing was going to contaminate the wells,” he said. “Our plea is to ensure that the companies that produce AFFF are held accountable and that they are the ones who bear the costs of restoring and compensating the affected families and communities.”
In an email, a 3M spokesperson, Grant Thompson, did not directly respond to the lawsuit’s claim that the company continued to produce PFAS despite knowing about the chemicals’ harmful effects.
“As the science and technology of PFAS, societal and regulatory expectations, and our expectations of ourselves have evolved, so too has the way we handle PFAS,” Thompson wrote. “We must deliver on our commitments and will continue to do so – including remediating PFAS where necessary, investing in water treatment and working with communities. 3M will address PFAS lawsuits by defending itself in court or through negotiated resolutions, all where appropriate.”
A DuPont spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for affected property owners, including for groundwater remediation, costs of alternative water supplies, loss of use or enjoyment of property, diminished property values and the “annoyance, inconvenience and inconvenience caused by the contamination” .
The number of people who could join the class action lawsuit is unknown, but it covers an area with an estimated 590 properties that use wells, according to the complaint filed in First Judicial District Court.
3M, DuPont and other manufacturers are already facing similar lawsuits elsewhere in the country, so the local lawsuit will likely be wrapped up in much larger lawsuits in South Carolina, Colón said.
It could take years before the case is resolved.
“We are at the mercy of the American approach to litigation, which is delay, delay, delay,” he said.
A few residents said they wouldn’t see the benefit of a class action lawsuit nationally because any potential settlement would be spread among so many people.
Andrea La Cruz-Crawford, president of the La Cienega Valley Association, said her organization has no position on the lawsuit and instead of relying on the final outcome, will continue to work on grassroots initiatives “that we know will help residents .”
Phyllis Baca of Baca Ranch said the lawsuit may draw attention to the PFAS problem, but it also focuses on what can help residents “in the present.” She has gone door to door to dozens of neighbors’ homes to spread information about PFAS and researched funding sources for water testing and filtration, she said.
Colón said he cannot predict what compensation residents could receive from the lawsuit if it were successful.
‘Can I guarantee that? [an outcome]? Absolutely not,” he said. “Can I tell you that they will be in a position to participate in a national conversation that they otherwise wouldn’t participate in? Yes, that will definitely happen.”
