LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) – Hundreds of residents in the Town of Campbell are asking for more than $42 million in damages from the City of La Crosse as a result of PFAS contamination.
Attorney Tim Jacobson, who represents those residents, filed the notices of claim with the city on Friday.
He said in a news release that the claims seeks “compensation for diminished property value and other harms.”
According to Jacobson, as of June 2021, 538 private wells on French Island tested positive for PFAS contamination.
He said that the city owns and operates the La Crosse Regional Airport. Emergency crews used foam containing PFAS chemicals to control and extinguish fires. He alleges the city also used test areas on airport grounds used for fire training.
The chemicals made their way into the soil at the airport and over time, migrated into the groundwater and into the wells on the island.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services declared an emergency water advisory for the island in March 2021.
Jacobson said that approximately 2,000 residents of French Island receive bottled water from the Wisconsin DNR for drinking and cooking.
Jacobson said the city has 120 to respond to the notices.
WXOW reached out to the City of La Crosse’s Legal Department for comments on the notices. They have not returned that call so far.
