CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Customers of the largest regulated water company in Tennessee are seeing another small break on their bills, paid for by legal settlements with makers of the so-called forever chemicals known as PFAS.
Tennessee American Water put a $13.07 credit on customer accounts on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The company said that latest payment lifts the total each customer has gotten back from PFAS settlements to more than $84.
The money has come in waves as settlement proceeds reach the utility. Customers saw $59.36 in March and another $11.92 at the end of August, the company has said in earlier announcements.
The Tennessee Public Utility Commission signed off on the arrangement that lets the company pass settlement dollars straight to ratepayers as bill credits instead of holding them. The utility has stressed that receiving a credit does not by itself mean a customer’s tap water contains PFAS, and it posts its PFAS sampling results and water quality reports online.
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of long-lasting industrial chemicals that have drawn tighter federal drinking water limits. The company said it intends to meet the new rules as they take effect and plans to spend more than $50 million on capital work across the areas it serves.
Customers did not have to apply for earlier rounds. In August, the utility said that credit went automatically to every active water account on file as of Aug. 28. Anyone with questions about PFAS or the company’s testing can find details on its PFAS information page.
The utility, a subsidiary of American Water, has roughly 100 employees and serves about 425,000 people across Tennessee and north Georgia.
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