Clean Water Act Case Results in Consent Decree

ByPFAS Primer Team

A Georgia district judge recently entered a consent decree resolving Clean Water Act claims brought by an environmental non-profit organization against a textile plant (Mount Vernon Mills) and a local town (Trion, Georgia).  According to the non-profit, the plant and town were liable under the Clean Water Act because the town—in treating the plant’s wastewater, which contained PFAS—discharged PFAS into a local river.  To resolve the suit, the parties entered into the consent decree, which requires the plant to take steps to permanently eliminate its use of PFAS and to incinerate all PFAS-containing wastewater in the interim.  The consent decree further provides that the plant and town shall each pay $5,000 in civil penalties to the federal government.

Coosa River Basin Initiative v. Mount Vernon Mills Inc. et al., No. 4:23-cv-00088 (N.D. Ga. May 11, 2023).

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