A judge has given tentative approval to a $54 million settlement involving 3M Co., a shoe manufacturer and property owners in West Michigan. They say their land and wells were contaminated by toxic “forever chemicals.”
The deal involves approximately 1,700 properties north of Grand Rapids. The compounds are in a category known as PFAS. They were long used in scores of industrial applications, don’t break down easily and can migrate from soil to groundwater.
The class-action lawsuit was filed against 3M and Wolverine Worldwide, a footwear company based in Rockford, Michigan.
PFAS were used to make Scotchgard, a 3M waterproofing product used by Wolverine. There is no dispute that decades ago Wolverine regularly dumped chemical-laced sludge in northern Kent County.