North Georgia Water Crisis - Part Three: What Now?

 

PFAS Contamination Infographic provided by PFAS Georgia

In the last year, concerns about PFAS in North Georgia waters have culminated in legal battles with some of the world's largest corporations and brought the area into the national spotlight.

In November 2024 Mohawk Industries of Dalton, Ga, one of the largest carpet manufacturers in the world, filed a lawsuit in the superior court of Whitfield County, GA. The suit alleges that the defendants, among them, 3M and Du Pont, who are the largest chemical companies in the world, sold stain resistant treatments to Mohawk without disclosing that they contained PFAS and assured the carpet manufacturer that these products were safe. The suit also alleges that 3M and Du Pont concealed their own internal studies about the potential environmental and health impacts of these products from Mohawk.

Certainly, if what Mohawk alleges is true, then 3M, Du Pont, and the other vendors of these products should be held liable. But does that mean that they are the only parties responsible? It's not that simple. 

One month after Mohawk Industries sued its chemical suppliers, Dalton Utilities, the local, public electric and water company who treats the industry's wastewater, filed a suit of their own against Mohawk, Shaw, and several other carpet manufacturers. In a statement made by Dalton Utilities to The Dalton Daily Citizen newspaper, the suit was filed due to new EPA regulations, which lowered the amount of PFAS acceptable in drinking water.

In short, the new regulations mean the Dalton Utilities (therefore, the residents of Dalton since the company is a government-granted monopoly) will be on the hook for the estimated hundreds of millions of dollars it will cost for clean up and for upgrading water treatment facilities. 

While these two lawsuits were being filed, a massive, class-action lawsuit was forming against both the chemical corporations and the local carpet manufacturers on behalf of North Georgia residents as a legal team headed by Georgia attorney Ben Finley called PFAS Georgia have set up shop in Dalton. At the request of any local resident, the team will send someone out to check your water. If the levels of PFAS present exceed the legal limit, they will represent you in this class action suit.

The PFAS Georgia team has also held several town hall meetings to educate residents on the adverse health effects of  PFAS and to offer their legal services. Two of these meetings where led by famed consumer activist and environmental consultant Erin Brockovich. Brockovich stated that the contamination in North Georgia is among the worst she has seen in her 30 years of environmental activism. 

Not everyone is on board with these lawsuits, however. Back in January of this year, several Republican lawmakers in the Georgia House of Representatives (including Rep. Kasey Carpenter of Dalton, Ga) introduced Georgia House Bill 211, aka "PFAS Receiver Shield Act. Essentially, if the bill passes, the carpet manufacturers will be granted legal immunity, and the liability will shift solely to their chemical suppliers. 

It is unlikely that fault and liability for the PFAS contamination crisis in North Georgia will be determined in the near future. With so many parties involved, the legal proceedings will more than likely go on for years. In the meantime, what can we residents of North Georgia do?

For now, if you live in the area, I strongly advise you to get your water tested as a first step. Again, the PFAS Georgia team will send someone out, for free, to test your water. If a water test confirms that you have been exposed to unsafe levels of PFAS, you should invest in proper filtration and avoid swimming in or using the natural water sources around your property. You should also consider joining the legal fight against these companies who have caused the problem.

You should also check out the EPA's Meaningful and Achievable Steps you Can Take to Reduce Your Risk of PFA Exposure. Note the "Meaningful and Achievable" in that title. The reality is that it's nearly impossible to eliminate exposure to PFAS completely in our daily modern lives since it is contained in so many products we use. However, we can minimize exposure, and this is especially important for residents living in areas like North Georgia or Northeast Alabama since they are being exposed to PFAS at levels far higher than most other parts of the country.

 

Speaking of "other parts of the country," unfortunately PFAS contamination isn't confined to the areas I've written about in this series of articles. If this is your first time hearing about PFAS, I have a feeling it won't be your last. PFAS lawsuits are on the rise all over the country as contamination from manufacturing is being discovered all of the time. 

As a resident of North Georgia and a nature lover, this issue is near and dear to me. I used to joke that "something must be in the water" here because of how many people I've known who have had thyroid problems. If only I had known the half of it. 

Further information you might be interested in, if you've made it this far and want to dive deeper down the PFAS rabbit hole:

PFAS Georgia's Official Page (includes info and legal resources for Georgia Residents affected by PFAS)

ProPublica Investigation into 3M's Forever Chemicals

Atlanta News First's Report on Erin Brockovich's Visit to North Georgia (includes video)

FMG Lawfirm's Blog Post on the PFAS Receiver Shield Act Bill

The EPA'S Meaningful and Achievable Steps you Can Take to Reduce Your Risk of PFA Exposure