DETROIT – An engineering firm mentioned Friday it has agreed to pay $53 million to settle all remaining lawsuits that alleged some blame for lead-contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, a decade in the past.
The deal by Veolia North America and Flint residents comes on high of $26.3 million in earlier settlements with the corporate, and $626 million from the state of Michigan and different events.
Veolia has denied duty for the contamination and repeatedly famous that it was briefly employed by Flint as a marketing consultant months after the town started pulling water from the Flint River in 2014. The water was not handled to scale back corrosion, inflicting result in leach from outdated pipes.
Critics claimed Veolia may have achieved far more earlier than then-Gov. Rick Snyder and Flint switched the town’s water supply again to a regional provider in fall 2015. By that point, assessments confirmed elevated lead levels in children.
“This closing settlement is under no circumstances an admission of duty, however one of the best decision to keep away from a long time of expensive, unproductive, and time-consuming litigation, and to convey closure for all events concerned,” Veolia mentioned.
The corporate mentioned the Flint water disaster was “brought on by authorities officers.” Veolia mentioned it had no position within the water swap or operating the Flint water plant and was informed that the water was assembly requirements.
The $53 million settlement can be distributed to roughly 26,000 folks represented by regulation companies, the Michigan legal professional basic’s workplace mentioned. As a part of the deal, the state will dismiss its personal separate lawsuit in opposition to Veolia.
“After years of drawn-out authorized battles, this settlement lastly closes a chapter for Flint residents,” Legal professional Common Dana Nessel mentioned.
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