“BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The first of about 200 homes affected by private well contamination was connected to a new water line extension Monday [Dec. 11, 2017] as part of a settlement with a company.
Under an agreement approved earlier this year, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics will be paying $20 million to extend municipal water lines to the Bennington-area homes.
The state agreed to drop a lawsuit, which was filed after it found private wells were contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. Saint-Gobain’s now-closed factory in North Bennington used the chemical.
PFOA has been linked to certain kinds of cancer and thyroid disease. It was used in coatings such as Teflon and other consumer products.
‘Today marks significant progress,’ Republican Gov. Phil Scott said, adding ‘we will not stop until all impacted residents have safe, clean drinking water.'”
Read the full article at U.S. News & World Report.
See more details on the settlement on the Vermont Government website.