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| City
of Piqua Press Releases |
| Release
Date: January 22, 2013 |
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| Atrazine
Class Action Settlement Funds Received |
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As a result of the settlement of a
class action lawsuit over atrazine, the City of Piqua Water
System has received $591,958.67 to help reimburse the costs of
removing the chemical from its community water system. Atrazine
is sprayed on corn and other crops and frequently runs off of
fields and into waterways used as drinking water sources.
Since 2004 the St. Louis law firm of Korein Tillery and the
Dallas firm of Barron & Budd have represented water
providers across the country against Syngenta, the world's
largest atrazine manufacturer, based in Switzerland. The City of
Piqua Water System was one of 1,085 water systems, providing
water to nearly 37 million people, to benefit from this
settlement. Individual amounts were calculated based on the
history of the claimants showing the presence of atrazine.
The settlement was meant to help reimburse communities for past
expenses associated with the removal of atrazine. According to
Lead Attorney Stephen M. Tillery the percentage of participation
by class members was unprecedented. "Every cent of the
settlement fund will be distributed to class members."
The City of Piqua was not an original party to the lawsuit but
was certified as a member of the class, which consisted of
public water providers. The settlement dollars were divided
based on the test data submitted showing the presence of
atrazine. The settlement does not contain any admissions as to
any effect of atrazine but is a way to assist in compensating
the City for its expense in treatment of its water. The City of
Piqua continues to make every effort to treat its water to the
highest quality and standards for its citizens and is very
pleased for the assistance with the overwhelming treatment
costs. After treatment, there were no significant levels of
atrazine present in the water consumed. The City will use the
settlement funds to continue to treat the atrazine and other
chemicals in the raw water to stay in compliance with EPA
regulations, especially with the new regulations to be
implemented October 2013.
If you have any questions, please contact Stacy Wall, Law
Director, at 937-778-2042. |
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