Local News
City of Salem Receives Settlement in Lawsuit Against Atrazine Manufacturers
The city of Salem has received $380,000 as its share of a class action lawsuit settlement against the manufacturers of the farm chemical Atrazine. The money is to repay communities who had increased expenses at their water treatment plant to get rid of the chemical out of the water they treated. Salem is one of 1,085 cities to share in the $105-million dollar settlement. The City of Centralia earlier announced they would receive $543,000.Salem Public Works Director John Pruden says the chemical shortened the life of some of the filters at the water treatment plant. He'd like to use the money to complete much needed maintenance work at the water plant. Pruden says the clear well needs to be reconstructed and he'd like to replace one of the seven filter media. He says the inside of the North American Lighting water tower needs to be repainted. The settlement does not restrict how the money can be used.
Pruden notes even with the lawsuit settlement, the problem of Atrazine runoff into the Salem Reservoir watershed continues to be an issue. Atrazine is sprayed on corn and other crops.
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