PARKERSBURG — The Parkersburg Utility Board voted Tuesday to engage legal representation to participate in a multibillion-dollar settlement over the presence of so-called “forever” chemicals in public water supplies.

The 4-0 vote, with one seat on the board vacant, to hire Virginia-based AquaLaw came after a closed executive session to discuss pending litigation.

Chemical manufacturer 3M agreed in June to pay at least $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of water systems with per- and polyfluorinated substances, known as PFAS, according to the Associated Press. The best known locally is C8, also called perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA, which was used for years in the Teflon-manufacturing process at the Washington Works plant south of Parkersburg.

The plant was owned by DuPont, but transferred to Chemours after it was spun off from DuPont in 2015. Both companies are included in the litigation in which AquaLaw will represent the utility, PUB Manager Eric Bennett said, noting DuPont, Chemours and Corteva settled for nearly $1.2 billion.

C8 and other substances under the PFAS banner are called forever chemicals because of how long it takes them to break down. They have been linked to health problems including liver and immune system damage and some cancer and were designated as hazardous substances last year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The AP previously reported 3M will pay the settlement over 13 years and the cost could climb to as much as $12.5 billion, depending on how many public water systems detect PFAS in the next three years.

The use of C8 was discontinued at Washington Works in 2012, but it remains present in local water supplies. A prior lawsuit resulted in the installation of granular activated carbon filtration systems at multiple utilities in the area, but Parkersburg’s levels were not high enough to qualify.

That is on the verge of changing after the EPA announced in March a proposed maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per trillion for C8. Tests have shown levels of C8 in treated Parkersburg water between 12 and 55 parts per billion.

That rule, expected to be finalized by the end of the year, followed a new, nonbinding lifetime drinking water advisory of 0.004 parts per trillion announced in 2022.

The PUB has received a $12.6 million principal-forgiveness loan from the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council to install filtration technology. The project is expected to be put out for bids next year.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.