COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director John Logue today announced details on the distribution of $65 million in funding from the 2023 environmental restoration settlement with DuPont.
In Belmont County, Barnesville is set to receive $5 million in funding to help mitigate PFAS contamination in its source water, a project expected to benefit approximately 6,500 residents.
The settlement agreement stems from a lawsuit Governor DeWine filed against DuPont while serving as Ohio’s attorney general in 2018. The lawsuit accused DuPont of releasing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into the air and the Ohio River from its Washington Works facility in Parkersburg, W.Va., despite knowing the risks the chemical posed to public health and the environment.
The payment of the settlement funds was delayed until this year due to legal appeals. Final approval for the release of the funding was given by the Ohio Controlling Board today.
“Access to safe drinking water is essential for every Ohio community,” said Governor DeWine. “These funding awards will be used to make critical improvements to local water systems that will protect public health and strengthen drinking water infrastructure for years to come.”
Funding will be distributed to Belmont, Gallia, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, and Washington counties. The funding will support local drinking water infrastructure projects in more than a dozen Ohio communities.
For full details on communities slated to receive settlement funding, click below:
Ohio was the first state to legally challenge DuPont for its use of PFOA, a type of synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemical that has been linked to serious health issues. DuPont manufactured Teflon products using PFOA from the 1950s to 2013.
The $65 million will fund projects that develop new drinking water sources, connect smaller water systems to larger regional systems, install treatment infrastructure to remove PFAS from public water systems, and connect private wells with PFAS detections to nearby public water systems.
Many of the projects are expected to be fully funded through the settlement, helping communities address contamination without additional costs to local utilities.
“This settlement ensures resources are going directly to the communities that need them,” said Ohio EPA Director John Logue. “Ohio EPA is focused on getting these projects moving so residents have safe, reliable drinking water and long-term protections for Ohio families.”
Ohio EPA has worked closely with local leaders, water systems, and community stakeholders to identify projects that are shovel-ready and provide the most effective solutions.
