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The state of Ohio is getting $110 million in damages from DuPont to settle a lawsuit over the release of PFAs into the air and the Ohio River during the production of Teflon at DuPont's Washington Works plant, just across the river from Washington County.
Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Dave Yost said at the settlement announcement in late November that most of the money will be directed to southeast Ohio to monitor and improve the situation with groundwater and PFAs, a type of pollutants labeled "forever chemicals" because of their staying power.
In connection with that news, representatives from 13 Washington County water districts filled the courtroom of Judge Mark Kerenyi in the county courthouse Thursday to talk with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency staff about money that could be available for dealing with PFAs, but also citing aging infrastructure, needed expansion and other drinking water concerns.
The EPA group included Andrew Smith, Deputy Director of Strategic Partnerships and Government Affairs; Harry Kallipolitis, Chief Community Officer for the Southeast District Office; Todd Anderson, chief legal counsel; and other members of the legal department and the Division of Drinking and Groundwaters.
The meeting was organized by Washington County Commissioners as a follow-up to their Washington County Safe Water Project, a document published by the commission earlier in the year after their grant writers gathered information on the situation of each water district in the county.
In their remarks Thursday, commissioners stressed to those attending that the meeting and discussion do not mean there is a problem with anyone's drinking water.
The most recent Ohio EPA data does not show any public water system in Ohio exceeding the most recent action levels for PFAs or GenX, another emerging contaminant beginning to gain public attention.
Kallipolitis told the group the Ohio EPA's goals in the Thursday meeting were to help identify new, unaffected water sources; to be able to see the big picture and work together with southeastern Ohio public water suppliers; and to be flexible in thinking about how to serve future generations.
Washington County Commissioner Charlie Schilling reiterated the goal of providing sustainable water infrastructure throughout the county in the future. He asked the water district representatives attending to share their progress on improvements since the Safe Water Project was first published and to share information on potentially underserved areas. The associations could be a big help in identifying new wellfields, he told them. Having enough good drinking water is going to be an essential part of expanding economic development across Washington County, he said.
Washington County Engineer Roger Wright said his department has a Geographic Information System that creates, manages, analyzes, and maps all types of data. GIS connects data to a map, integrating location data with all types of descriptive information. He said he is willing to create a county GIS map that shows the relation of existing water sources and potential wellfields, if associations will supply data.
The water associations represented at Thursday's meeting were Village of Lowell, Little Hocking Water Association, City of Belpre, City of Marietta, Village of New Matamoras, Highland Ridge Water Association, Newport Water and Sewer District, Reno Area Water and Sewer District, Tri-County Rural Water and Sewer District, Village of Beverly Public Water System, Putnam Community Water Corporation, Warren Community Water and Sewer Association and Waterford Water and Sewer Association.
Nancy Taylor can be reached at ntaylor@newsandsentinel.com