3M water pollution case set for early 2019 trial date

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – A federal lawsuit involving chemical contamination in the Tennessee River near a city in Alabama will go to trial in 2019.

Media reports that Judge Abdul K. Kallon scheduled a pretrial conference for Jan. 23, 2019 in Birmingham, Alabama. A non-jury trial to begin March 4, 2019 at the federal courthouse in Huntsville.

Tennessee Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit alleges synthetic chemicals manufactured by 3M at its plant in Decatur have been entering the Tennessee River for decades. The environmental group also alleges that chemicals pose a threat to human health and the environment.

Monetary damages are not being sought in the suit from 3M or other defendants in the case. The suit does ask the courts to compel 3M to clean up landfills and other disposal facilities.

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