The City of Wausau, Wisconsin, is facing counterclaims from several industrial companies it sued over PFAS contamination of its drinking water. The companies contend that the city itself bears responsibility for the contamination, relying on allegations Wausau made in an earlier lawsuit against the manufacturers of firefighting foam.

The dispute began in June 2023 when Wausau filed suit against 3M and numerous other manufacturers and suppliers of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). A second suit against the manufacturers was filed 2024. In those suits, the city alleged that PFAS-containing foam used by the Wausau Fire Department during firefighting, training and other activities contaminated groundwater supplying the city’s six municipal wells.

The complaints allege that manufacturers had known for decades that PFAS chemicals could contaminate soil and groundwater, but continued selling the products to fire departments without adequate warnings about their environmental hazards. Wausau sought to recover the costs of testing, treating and remediating its contaminated water supply.

In explaining how the contamination occurred, the city alleged:

• On information and belief, the PFAS contamination described above is a direct and proximate result of fire protection, training, and response activities at the WFD resulting in the migration of PFAS into Plaintiff’s water supply.

The city maintained that the manufacturers were responsible because the fire department used their products as intended, resulting in the release of PFAS into the environment.

In January 2025, Wausau filed a separate lawsuit against more than a dozen industrial companies that operated facilities in the area, including Georgia-Pacific, Wausau Paper, Marathon Electric, Graphic Packaging and Wausau Chemical. The city alleged that the defendants industrial operations also contributed to the contamination of its municipal wells and sought recovery of past and future cleanup costs.

The industrial defendants denied responsibility and several filed counterclaims against the city under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund law.

Their argument relies heavily on the allegations Wausau made against the firefighting foam manufacturers in 2023. They contend that the city cannot attribute the contamination to its own fire department in one lawsuit while seeking to hold industrial companies responsible for the same contamination in another.

Georgia-Pacific cited what it characterized as the city’s admission that its fire department was a primary source of the contamination. The company asked the court to allocate most, if not all, of the cleanup costs to Wausau if Georgia-Pacific is found liable.

Other defendants similarly cited the city’s allegations that AFFF had been stored, handled, used and discharged by the fire department, and that PFAS from the foam could migrate through soil into groundwater.

The companies contend that the city’s allegations establish a basis for treating Wausau as a potentially responsible party under CERCLA, making it responsible for some portion of the remediation costs.

Wausau denies the counterclaims. Among its defenses, the city asserts governmental immunity and maintains that its waste-disposal practices complied with applicable regulations and prevailing standards.

The connection between the two lawsuits also became an issue when the industrial defendants sought to transfer the second case from federal court in Wisconsin to the federal court in South Carolina overseeing nationwide AFFF litigation.

Wausau opposed the transfer, arguing that its lawsuit against the industrial companies did not involve firefighting foam.

In June 2025, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered the transfer, concluding that both lawsuits involved determining the sources of PFAS contamination in the same six municipal wells.

Wausau subsequently asked U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel to return the industrial lawsuit to Wisconsin. Judge Gergel denied the request on April 3, 2026, stating:

• As the JPML noted, Wausau II does concern AFFF despite Plaintiff’s artful pleading to the contrary.

The litigation has also produced settlements. Wausau has received approximately $5 million under a nationwide settlement with 3M, with additional payments expected. Earlier this month, the city approved a $300,000 settlement with Wausau Paper in the industrial contamination lawsuit.

The remaining industrial defendants continue to dispute responsibility for the contamination, while maintaining that the city’s own allegations about its fire department’s use of AFFF support their claims that Wausau should share in the cleanup costs. More on the story.