Photo provided Bridgeport Mayor Norma Teasdale, on left, and village solicitor Michael Shaheen celebrate the village recently receives $116,995 from 3M.

BRIDGEPORT – The village of Bridgeport has received its latest installment of a six-figure settlement from a nationwide class-action lawsuit filed three years ago.

The village recently received $116,995 from 3M, the latest installment from the company, which has already paid $131,803.

3M, DuPont, BASF and Tyco are all part of a nationwide class-action lawsuit filed after the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency discovered that two of the village’s five drinking water wells were contaminated with high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in 2020.

As a result, the village now purchases water from the city of Martins Ferry to serve its roughly 1,600 residents and water customers, including the village of Brookside.

PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they are virtually impossible to remove from groundwater once introduced.

Bridgeport Village Solicitor Michael Shaheen worked with a Louisiana law firm — Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor LLC — which served as lead counsel in the class-action lawsuit.

He said the village has already netted between $650,000 and $700,000 from the lawsuit.

He added that, in addition to the funds, the village should soon be emerging from fiscal emergency status, which has been under oversight for six years.

“We are working diligently to be removed from the oversight committee by the state auditor. This is a very big step,” Shaheen said. “The mayor, council, village administrator and I have agreed to continue to keep these funds in a new, separate account and not make any decisions until we’re finished with the oversight committee.”

3M was ordered to pay more than $1 billion in the class-action lawsuit, so it was allowed to make structured payments. DuPont, BASF and Tyco were ordered to pay lump sums to the village.

In April, the village received two checks: BASF paid $31,610 and Tyco paid $75,972. DuPont paid the village $306,660 in September.

Shaheen said 3M is permitted to stretch out its payments over several years but appears to be paying it off more quickly than expected.

“It’s significant to the village, however, now we need to be responsible and accountable with how we use it,” Shaheen said. “The fact that we now have all of this money set aside really gives us an opportunity to make a difference for the residents of Bridgeport.”

He previously said that despite the settlement being well over $1 million, there will be legal fees to national firms, so he is not yet sure how much the village will ultimately receive after fees.