The Portland City Council unanimously voted to join a lawsuit against developers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, on Monday night.

“I have a lot of concerns about liability and potential cost to the city, which seems minimal. I feel pretty good about this decision and will be voting yes,” Councilor Wes Pelletier said during a brief discussion.

Pelletier was the only councilor to speak publicly about his vote.

The vote followed a lengthy executive session where the lawsuit was discussed behind closed doors.

PFAS are a class of synthetic chemicals that have been used for decades in a multitude of products, including firefighting foams, nonstick cookware and water-resistant fabrics. They are sometimes called “forever chemicals,” because they do not break down easily in the environment and can accumulate in soil, water and the human body.

The decision to join the lawsuit makes Portland part of a multidistrict litigation over PFAS contamination, which consolidates hundreds of lawsuits against chemical manufacturers in federal court.

According to legal documents, the lawsuit stems from the historic use of firefighting foam at the Portland International Jetport and other city-owned properties. A legal agreement provided by the city states that the federally mandated use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) at the jetport may have released forever chemicals into the surrounding soil, groundwater and surface water. It also notes that treating the contamination could be expensive for the city.

Last year, Maine saw a large foam spill at the former Naval Air Station in Brunswick, where 1,450 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) spilled out of a malfunctioning fire suppression system in an empty airport hangar and mixed with 50,000 gallons of water that drained into sewer and stormwater systems and surrounding ponds, streams and rivers.

It was the biggest foam spill in Maine history and the sixth biggest in the nation, at that time.

JOINING OTHER CITIES

Under the newly adopted legal agreement, Portland will be working with environmental and legal firms to investigate whether PFAS is present in the city, identify potential sources of contamination, and evaluate options for funding cleanup.

By signing on to the multidistrict litigation — one of the largest environmental cases in U.S. history — Portland joins hundreds of other cities seeking to recover the costs of addressing PFAS contamination.

The consolidated case targets manufacturers such as 3M, DuPont and Chemours, alleging the companies knew of the chemicals’ risks but failed to warn the public or prevent their release. Some settlements, including an agreement reached with 3M in 2023, have already been approved, while other claims remain pending as courts determine how responsibility will be shared among defendants.

In one of the largest settlements to date, 3M agreed in 2023 to pay $10.3 billion to U.S. public water systems to address PFAS contamination claims.

The city is in the early stages of the agreement, and it will likely be years before a settlement is reached.