3M agrees to pay $10.3 billion to settle PFAS contamination lawsuits with public water systems

3M agreed in June 2023 to pay more than $10.3 billion over 13 years to settle lawsuits filed by public water systems across the United States over PFAS contamination. The settlement was the largest environmental contamination settlement in U.S. history and resolved current and future drinking water claims related to PFOA, PFOS, and all other PFAS. DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva separately agreed to pay $1.185 billion. Combined, the settlements totaled roughly $11.5 billion — a significant amount but still far below the EPA estimate of $1.548 billion in annual compliance costs multiplied over the 5-year compliance window through 2029.