Pepperell is taking some industrial heavyweights to federal court, accusing them of fouling up the town’s drinking water and sticking residents with the bill. On Tuesday, the town filed a lawsuit alleging that six industrial operators released PFAS into the Nashua River watershed, ultimately contaminating Pepperell’s public water supply.
The town’s system serves more than 9,000 people, and officials say the price tag to investigate, treat and restore that system will not be cheap. Town Administrator Andrew MacLean estimates cleanup and upgrades will cost roughly $30 million. Pepperell expects to go out to bid this spring on a planned carbon-filtration plant, projected at about $20 million, to help strip PFAS from the water.
Six companies named in federal complaint
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, names Georgia-Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, Neenah, Ahlstrom-Munksjo, Honeywell and Hollingsworth & Vose as defendants. Pepperell is pursuing remediation and related damages under federal environmental law, and the town has asked for a jury trial, according to the federal docket at Justia Dockets & Filings. The case has been assigned to Judge Indira Talwani.
Allegations and local testing
According to reporting by the Lowell Sun, the suit traces decades of industrial activity along the Nashua River, alleging that PFAS from those operations migrated into groundwater and municipal wells. Pepperell sampled its drinking water in 2020 and says Nashua Road Well No. 1 has been offline since June 2021 because of contamination of concern.
Legal team and wider litigation context
The town has enlisted national plaintiffs’ firms that have been active in PFAS and AFFF litigation, alongside local counsel that filed the complaint on Pepperell’s behalf. Industry and environmental reporters note that Pepperell’s case fits into a widening wave of municipal lawsuits seeking cleanup costs from companies tied to past paper and chemical manufacturing. Law360 has covered the filing and identifies Napoli Shkolnik among the lawyers representing the town.
Cost estimates, grants and town reaction
The financial math for Pepperell is not pretty. Officials say the town has secured roughly $7 million in grants to deal with PFAS contamination and received about $1 million from an earlier class-action settlement. Even with that help, they estimate about $30 million will be needed to fully investigate, treat and monitor the system.
The planned carbon-filtration plant, expected to cost around $20 million, is slated to go out to bid in the spring, according to the Lowell Sun. In a statement reported by the paper, Napoli Shkolnik attorney Paul Napoli said the firm is “working to hold parties accountable and push for remediation,” while partner Hank Naughton noted the firm is already in talks with other municipalities considering similar claims.
Why PFAS matter to public health
PFAS, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” are persistent and bioaccumulative, meaning they build up in people and the environment instead of breaking down. Scientific studies have linked PFAS exposure to immune system effects, elevated cholesterol, thyroid problems and certain cancers. Drinking water is a key route of exposure in communities where these chemicals have seeped into wells and reservoirs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency summarizes current research on PFAS risks and notes that scientists are still working to understand the health impacts of different PFAS compounds. The EPA provides guidance on known health concerns and how people are most likely to be exposed.
Legal claims and what comes next
The complaint stacks up claims under federal statutes that can require polluters to pay cleanup costs. That includes a claim under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. § 9607, which allows municipalities to seek remediation expenses from responsible parties.
The federal docket reflects the case number and initial filings and shows the lawsuit is still at an early stage, with the parties just beginning the discovery and pleading process. Justia Dockets & Filings provides background on the claims asserted and the firms involved.
Pepperell’s case also shines a brighter spotlight on the Nashua River corridor, lining it up with a national trend of towns turning to the courts to help finance treatment systems and long-term monitoring. Local officials say their immediate focus is on securing treatment capacity and federal or state assistance while the lawsuit winds through the courts. The defendants had not yet filed public responses in the initial docket entries but are expected to do so in the coming weeks. Mealey's and other legal outlets have been tracking similar municipal PFAS cases in Massachusetts and across the country.
