Salisbury Settles MTBE Lawsuit For $900,000.00

While most, (if not all) of you were unaware the City was participating in a class action lawsuit, one well in the City that was shut down in November of 2010 had a reportable level of MTBE. 20 Cities across the country participated in the class action suit against Big Oil Companies in which they added a chemical, (MTBE) to gasoline. Mind you, every one of you should be aware that while there was a reportable contamination level in just one well, the numbers were hardly something to be afraid of.

If a person drank 2 liters of water containing 2 parts per billion (ppb) of MTBE every day, it would take 46 years to consume one drop of MTBE. The City well that was shut down only supplied 33% of the drinking water in the City.

The cause was based on underground storage tanks as service stations and contaminated groundwater throughout the United States. The City has in place new filters that will trap the MTBE's and are adding to their filter system with funds from this lawsuit.

Although the settlement was for $900,000.00, the City's portion after attorney fees will be $700,000.00. To prove his confidence in the new filtration system, Mayor Ireton took a glass and filled it with water directly from the well at the Zoo and Ben's Red Swings and guzzled it down without hesitation.

The long and short of this is, your drinking water is safe and the City got on a free roller coaster ride and walked away with $700,000.00 and in my honest opinion, I'm proud of Wilber and Ireton for taking advantage of a good situation to relieve taxpayers while providing even more safety measures for the City's drinking water.