Monsanto agrees to $160 million settlement with Seattle over pollution in the Duwamish River
SEATTLE — Chemical giant Monsanto has ended an eight-year legal battle, reaching a $160 million settlement with Seattle over the pollution of a river that runs through the heart of the city with toxins that threaten people, fish and wildlife, the city attorney’s office said Thursday.
“We all play a role in protecting our environment, and I am pleased that Monsanto will be contributing to this important environmental cleanup,” City Attorney Ann Davison said in a news release. It is the largest settlement Monsanto has ever paid in a single city, she said.
The Duwamish River cuts through Seattle and empties into Puget Sound just south of downtown. Water samples collected in Lower Duwamish detected polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which are man-made chemical compounds produced by Monsanto, the city’s lawsuit says.
Although Monsanto stopped producing PCBs in 1977, the chemicals remained in paint, caulk and sealants on buildings, Davison said. As a result, rainwater flowing into the Lower Duwamish River is continually contaminated with PCBs.
Seattle sued Monsanto in 2016, saying the company was “well aware” that PCBs were toxic to animals, fish and the environment but continued to produce its products anyway.
“While the scientific community and Monsanto knew that PCBs were toxic and were becoming a global pollutant, Monsanto repeatedly misrepresented these facts by telling government agencies the exact opposite: that the compounds were not toxic and that the company would not expect to find PCBs in the environment on a large scale,” the Seattle lawsuit says.
According to the settlement, Monsanto has not admitted any wrongdoing, error or violation of law. The settlement requires the company to pay Seattle $160 million by August 4.
Monsanto did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Under a consent decree issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology, the city was required to build a stormwater treatment plant along the river to remove PCBs. The cost was estimated at about $27 million.
The river is listed as a Superfund site, and in 2014 the EPA estimated the total cost of cleaning it up would be $342 million, the lawsuit says. The city is responsible for the majority of the costs.
The case was scheduled to go to trial in September, but the city participated in a mediation that resulted in an unprecedented settlement amount, Davison said.
The funds will allow Seattle Public Utilities to take further steps to protect the Duwamish, including expanding the agency’s program to identify sources of pollution, Davison said.
“The settlement money will help care for Lower Duwamish and reduce pollution control costs to find and remove PCBs,” Davison said.