A landmark agreement aimed at addressing PFAS contamination in the Marinette area has been announced by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The State of Wisconsin and Tyco Fire Products have reached what officials are calling one of the largest environmental settlements in state history.
Under the agreement announced Thursday, Tyco will pay ten-million-dollars into Wisconsin’s PFAS Trust Fund while continuing long-term cleanup efforts tied to contamination near the company’s Fire Technology Center in Marinette.
Attorney General Josh Kaul says reliable access to clean and safe drinking water is critical for both public health and community stability, calling the settlement a major step toward a more secure future for area residents.
The agreement settles a lawsuit filed by the state in 2022, which alleged Tyco violated Wisconsin’s Spills Law by failing to properly notify regulators of PFAS discharges and failing to adequately investigate and remediate contamination.
As part of the settlement, Tyco will continue providing replacement drinking water wells within an agreed-upon area for the next twenty years, while also maintaining those wells and conducting ongoing groundwater and surface water monitoring.
The company has also agreed to establish remediation goals, submit cleanup plans to state regulators, and continue operating treatment systems designed to remove PFAS contamination from soil and groundwater.
State officials say the ten-million-dollar payment comes on top of roughly one hundred million dollars Tyco has already spent addressing PFAS contamination in the Marinette area.
Tyco also stated that a substantial portion of one-hundred-eighty- million dollars remains available for future cleanup work in Marinette, Peshtigo, and at the company’s Stanton Street facility.
The settlement now awaits approval from a judge before it can officially take effect.
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