I-TEAM: Savannah pollution lawsuit involves local companies
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A Georgia lawsuit against dozens of companies over forever chemicals could have big impacts across the state.
In February, the city of Savannah announced it’s suing nearly 60 companies that allegedly dumped chemicals into the Savannah River.
And some of those companies are based in the CSRA.
We’re digging deeper into that lawsuit.
More than 60 companies and a handful of them are from right here in the CSRA.
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From McCormick, South Carolina, all the way to downtown Augusta, now listed in a 60-page lawsuit from Savannah.
Their complaint is for PFAS, or forever chemicals, that they say were found in drinking water and water treatment facilities in Savannah.
Some of the major companies involved include some of the CSRA’s biggest employers like Kimberly Clark in Aiken, International Paper and Solvay Specialty Polymers in Augusta.
Read the lawsuit:
Their industries include carpet, textiles, paper, metal, electronics and more. All of which include Pfas in their manufacturing process, according to the lawsuit.
It’s something the Savannah Riverkeeper says they’ve been sounding the alarm on for years.
“There was no question that this was going to cause all kinds of contamination and health impacts,” said Tonya Bonitatibus, executive director of the Savannah Riverkeeper.
The lawsuit also alleges that drinking water systems are not capable of removing PFAS from the water.
The result over decades can cause a variety of health issues like low birth weight in children, miscarriage and cancer.
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And because the process to remove PFAS is so costly, she says it’ll end up costing you, the taxpayer.
“Savannah is going to have to pay for incredibly high drinking water rates, that’s just reality,” said Bonitatibus. “Augusta is going to have to, Columbia County is going to have to, this is going to be something that happens all over the country.”
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The lawsuit includes several counts against these companies, including negligence, public nuisance, tres and violation of the Georgia Water Quality Control Act, among others.
Solvay told us in a statement they can’t comment on legal proceedings but firmly believe the allegations in the lawsuit are untrue and without merit, and they will be defending against them.
“Nobody’s asking the question if Savannah is suing 200 miles downstream, half of the companies are here in Augusta,” said Bonitatibus. “What does that mean for the people that live next door?”
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The EPA now requires water systems to provide the public with information about PFAS levels starting in 2027.
Public water systems have until 2029 to reduce PFAS levels if monitoring shows the levels are too high.
Recently, Georgia House Bill 211 was set to give full legal protection for companies that produced PFAS across the state.
That bill died on crossover day.
List of local companies and manufacturing plants named in the lawsuit:
- Allnex USA plants in Beech Island and Langley
- Augusta Liquidation LLC
- Clearwater Paper Corporation in Augusta.
- Covestro LLC and Covestro Coating Resins in Augusta
- Cytec Industries in Beech Island and Langley
- Envailor Engineering Materials in Augusta
- Graniteville Specialty Fabrics LLC in Graniteville
- Graphic Packaging Holding Company and Graphic Packaging International in Augusta
- Halocarbon Life Sciences, LLC and Halocarbon LLC in Beech Island
- Industrial Metal Finishing in Augusta
- International Paper Company in Augusta
- Milliken & Company in McCromick
- Mount Vernon Mills Inc, in McCormick
- Owens Corning in Aiken
- Pactiv LLC in Jackson
- Prayon Inc, in Augusta
- QualaWash Holdings LLC in Augusta
- Sterling and Kemira Water Solutions in Augusta
- Trantech Radiator Products in Edgefield
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