Residents Receive $295 Million Settlement for Groundwater Contamination
By Jaimee Wolbert
Published on February 16, 2006
The settlement, which included an apology from the company, comes before the trial was set to begin.
The lawsuit alleged that the utility company allowed leaks from gas compressor plants to pollute the groundwater basin with chromium from the 1950s through the 1970s.
The groundwater contamination, which had more than 100 times the amount of chromium allowed under government safety standards, has been linked to numerous cancer deaths, birth defects, and other health problems among residents.
PG&E settled an additional 650 claims for $333 million in July 1996 in a case made famous by the popular movie "Erin Brockovich."
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