The company Tyco tested firefighting foam outside its fire technology center in Marinette from 1962 to 2017. That foam contained the manmade chemical PFAS, which can impact human health. Johnson Controls merged with Tyco in 2016.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice filed a lawsuit alleging the company knew PFAS had seeped into soils and groundwater back in 2013, but didn’t notify the DNR until four years later.
The DOJ is reportedly seeking a monetary penalty from the company along with a full investigation and cleanup of PFAS contamination “at and around” Tyco’s fire technology center.
Last week, Johnson Controls announced it is close to settling with the DOJ. The company says it’s pleased "the agreement we are finalizing recognizes the work Tyco has taken proactively."
But many residents in the area don’t think the company has been proactive. They’ve been living in a state of uncertainty about if and when they’ll be able to turn on their taps and know the water is safe to drink.
Residents began asking for solutions starting in 2017, and most recently in a crowded technical college classroom in Marinette in September. That’s when the DNR held its first public meeting there in more than two years.
Resident Katie Magnin raised her hand. She argued Tyco has assumed responsibility for PFAS in too small of an area beyond the site where it tested firefighting foam.
“The Tyco plume was established and now there’s an expanded area. How is it that that expanded area is not Tyco’s concern?” Magnin asked.
The boundary the company drew doesn’t include Magnin’s property, which she says is just a mile away from the line. Yet, Magnin’s well is contaminated. She’s been drinking bottled water provided by the DNR.
Christine Sieger of the DNR’s Remediation and Restoration Program says Magnin’s property is one of more than 70 households the DNR has stepped in to help, because Johnson Controls has not. The company claims those properties fall outside the contaminated area it’s responsible for.
“So that’s a point the DNR and JCI have been in disagreement on over time," Sieger says. "We’ve said we think they haven’t defined the degree and extent of the plume, and they feel they’re taking care of all the contamination that they’ve caused."
On Dec. 3, Johnson Controls Chief Sustainability and External Affairs Officer Katie McGinty shared a statement.
"Tyco has made great progress in addressing the presence of PFAS that came from our historic firefighting training and work at the Fire Technology Center," the statement says. "We’re finishing fully 85% of the clean new wells needed for neighbors while the state-of-the-art Groundwater Extraction and Treatment System is working perfectly by delivering 300 million gallons of clean water back to the environment to date. We’ve also cleaned up the soil. And the environment is responding well with a 42% reduction in concentrations achieved to date in the highest impacted areas. Marinette has been our home for over a century. We are grateful for our partnership with our neighbors to ensure that Marinette is beautiful and vibrant today and into the future."
But that doesn't solve Roger Kriedeman's dilemma. He attended the DNR's public meeting in September looking for advice.
Kriedeman bought land outside Marinette because he and his wife longed for a rural, peaceful setting. He says the property is about 100 yards beyond the line drawn by Johnson Controls.
“I’m in the process of building my forever home. Last year when I purchased my property, I was told we do not have PFAS,” he says.
Still, Kriedeman decided to test a small pond on his land, “and it came back at almost nine parts per trillion of PFOA,” he says.
Finding the forever chemical in his pond made Kriedeman worry about what he’d find if he dug a well.
“I’m a quarter million dollars into my project already," Kriedeman says. "Now, do I risk the chance of putting in my own well and paying it and then finding out that I have PFAS in my well, or do seek counsel and just go after ‘em?"
DNR Deputy Director of the Drinking Water and Groundwater Program Kyle Burton wasn’t able to offer much help.
“As far as what your recourse is now? It falls into the conversation we had before. We’re working on it. It’s not something we have the ability to answer now,” Burton says.
No one will know if people like Roger Kriedeman or Katie Magnin will get help, until the details of the DOJ’s settlement with Johnson Controls are announced.
When that does happen, a local nonprofit that organized around the PFAS issue called Save Our Water is calling on the Department of Justice to hold a public meeting to explain the terms of the settlement.
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