Scene in front of Summerville City Hall in 2020 During Water Crisis

Former Summerville City Councilman Earl Parris filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Mount Vernon Mill is responsible for last summer’s water crisis for Summerville’s water customers.

Parris’ lawsuite seeks  $5 million in damages, plus $55,800 per day for each violation it lists, plus attorneys fees, and an injunction against continued violations. (Scroll down to read the full lawsuit).  Last year,  the EPA notified the city of Summerville that some of the town’s drinking water had chemicals in it that have been linked to serious health problems, known as PFOA and PFOS. That forced the city and its residents into a water crisis. The city provided bottled water for several months.

The lawsuit also names 3M, Daikin America, Huntsman International and Pulcra Chemicals, whose products are used at Mount Vernon Mills.

Summerville Attorney Albert Palmour told WTVC in Chattanooga last week that he expects to file an official response to the law suit this week.  Palmour said, “I don’t know what the mills and I don’t know what manufactures know, but I can tell you that a municipality wouldn’t discharge something into farmers’ fields if they knew it didn’t meet some criteria – because we test for all those things and we’re told what to test for.”

Palmour told the television station that he doesn’t believe negligence can be applied to a municipality in this case.