Michigan AG sues Domtar over alleged PFAS contamination

The state of Michigan has filed a lawsuit against Domtar Industries, accusing the Fort Mill, South Carolina-based packaging manufacturer of sending contaminated waste to a composting site in the Port Huron area for decades.

The lawsuit alleges that Domtar released paper sludges from its former Port Huron, Michigan, paper mill that contained high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were incorrectly deemed free of hazardous substances. According to a statement from the Michigan Department of Attorney General, the sludges were sent to the Techni-Comp composting facility in Port Huron Township where PFAS have been detected in groundwater and surface water at levels that exceed standards.

“Michigan residents should not be left holding the bag for the impacts of corporate PFAS contamination, nor for the costs of cleaning it up,” Nessel said in a statement. “My efforts to hold companies accountable for contaminating communities will continue where corporations are not taking adequate remediation efforts or responsibility for their actions.”

The suit seeks costs and damages from Domtar to address its releases of PFAS into the environment as well as a ruling from the court on the company’s liability and an order to fully investigate and remediate the contamination from its operations.

Domtar has not commented on the lawsuit.

The company bought the mill from E.B. Eddy Forrest Products Ltd. In 1998 and, in August 2020, announced it was permanently closing the facility that specialized in lightweight carbon paper and machine-glazed wrapping paper.

Nessel alleges Domtar knew the waste produced at the Port Huron site was contaminated despite telling regulators it was inert.

The lawsuit states, “Even if Domtar did not know prior to 1998 that its paper sludge contained PFAS and that PFAS are toxic, Domtar acquired this information thereafter during the 22-year period from 1998 to 2020 in which Domtar continued to release and/or arrange for transport, disposal and/or treatment of its PFAS-laden paper sludge to the Techni-Comp site,” and continues to say Domtar’s conduct of releasing and arranged for the transport, disposal and treatment of its paper sludge caused the release of PFAS into the environment and the state’s natural resources.

The state says it learned about the contamination in 2019 and that PFAS allegedly released by Domtar have migrated into the environment include groundwater, surface waters, soils and sediments at and surrounding the Techni-Comp site.

“Despite the state’s efforts to date, defining the extent of Domtar’s contamination will require more investigation and sampling, and the scope of the necessary actions to prevent unacceptable exposures to PFAS and to restore impacted natural resources is currently not known,” the lawsuit states, continuing to say the extent of the contamination currently is unknown and the state anticipates further testing will reveal additional groundwater, surface water and drinking water contamination.

The Domtar lawsuit follows Nessel’s PFAS-specific suits against several PFAS manufacturers, separate lawsuits against manufacturers of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, a lawsuit against Asahi Kasei Plastics North American currently pending in Livingston County Circuit Court and an action against FKI Hardware Inc. pending in Kent County Circuit Court.