8.6. SR 07-20-2015
Request for Action
To Item Number
Mayor and City Council 8.6
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
Work Session July 20, 2015Suzanne Fischer, Director, COD
Item Description Reviewed by
Flushable Wipes Litigation Peter Beck, City Attorney
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Action Requested
Direction regarding Class Action Litigation against flushable wipe manufacturers.
Background/Discussion
Across Minnesota and the country, cities have been cautioning residents not to flush wipes, which have forced
them to boost their monitoring and buy expensive grinders. Flushable wipes remain intact long enough to pass
through private wastewater drain pipes into municipal sewer lines causing clogs and other issues for municipal
and county sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants resulting in thousands, if not millions, of dollars of
damages.
The City of Wyoming filed suit in federal court on behalf of cities grappling with the disposable cloths that
wastewater officials say are plugging pipes and pumps.
Gustafson and Gluek is the law firm representing the cities of Wyoming, Fergus Falls, Mankato, Perham,
Princeton, and the City of Holmen, Wisconsin. They plan to file an amended complaint before July 27,
which allow us to be added to the complaint. The firm also has had discussions with and expects to add
cities from North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Hawaii and Utah.
Financial Impact
N/A
Attachments
Star Tribune articles of April 25, 2015
7/132015 Minnesota city sues makers ot'flushable' wipes over clogged sewers - SlarTribune.com
LOCAL
Minnesota city sues makers of 'flushable'
wipes over clogged sewers
Wyoming, Minn., is taking legal action against six firms over cloths
that cause costly clogs.
By Jenne Ross (http://w .startribunexom/Jenna-rocs/l0645826/) Star Tribune
APRIL 25.2015 — 2:16PM
The city of Wyoming, Minn., is suing six makers of wet wipes, arguing that so-called
"flushable" wipes are dogging plumbing networks and costing the city big money.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court, might be the fust seeking class-action status
on behalf of cities grappling with the disposable cloths that wastewater officials say are
Plugging pipes and pumps.
"These flushable wipes do not degrade after flushing," the city of Wyoming's suit says.
"Rather, the flushable wipes remain intact long enough to pass through private
wastewater drain pipes into the municipal sewer line, causing dogs and other issues for
municipal and county sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants, resulting in
thousands, if not millions, of dollars of damages."
But representatives of the industry behind wet wipes argue that people are flushing
cloths that never claimed to be flushable, such as cheap baby wipes, meant to be
bundled in disposable diapers and thrown in the trash.
That industry has "empathy for the challenges the wastewater operators are having with
nonflushable materials impacting their systems," said Dave Rousse, president of the
Association of Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, a trade group representing manufacturers of
wipes and other products. "However, we take great exception to any effort to blame
flushable wipes for the problems being caused by nonflushable wipes."
Makers of wipes — including baby, facial and cleaning wipes —have faced increased
criticism as their industry has grown. In 2014, a New York man sued Kimberly-Clark
Corp. and Costco Wholesale Corp. in federal court with a class -action -styled complaint
that featured "homeowner horror stories" of "flushable" wipes clogging homes'
plumbing.
But until now, cities have not brought forward such a suit, said Garrett Blanchfield, a
partner at Reinhardt Wendorf & Blanchfield in Minneapolis, representing Wyoming,
population 7,800.
In its lawsuit, Wyoming is seeking "a declaration that the defendants' flushable wipes do
not degrade and are not sewer safe," an order that the companies stop advertising them
as such, and the establishment of a fund to compensate cities for the costs of cleaning
and removing wipes from their sewer systems.
'They want to make sure that people know that these things really aren't flushable,"
Blanchfield said.
A spokesman for Kimberly-Clark, one of the companies named in Wyoming's suit,
declined to comment on the litigation. But the company does "extensive testing" on the
wipes it calls "flushable," said Bob Brand, director of external communications for the
Texas-based company. They include Kleenex Cottonelle FreshCare, which it labels with
the words "SafeFlush Technology," beside an image of a wipe going down a toilet.
"Our wipes do break down," Brand said.
Across Minnesota and the country, cities have been cautioning residents not to flush
wipes, which have forced them to boost their monitoring and buy expensive grinders.
Wadena, Minn., posted its warning on Facebook: A wipe labeled flushable "only means
they will fit down the piping within your home."
(http://stmedia.startribune.conV mages/l flush42515.jpg
The lawsuit by the city of Wyoming, Minn.,
includes this photo of flushable wipes that
remain intact at a wastewater treatment...
MIPy www.startrilxne.com/minresota-city-sues-makers-of-flushable-wipes-over-cloggec -sewersl3oi228331/ 1/2
7/132016 Minnesota city sues makers of"flushable' wipes over clogged sewers - StarTridne.com
But down the line, wipes can catch on joints and tree roots, cities say. They wind around
pumps at lift stations, which bring wastewater to higher elevations, get caught in screens
and form massive dumps so common that they earned a nickname: polar bears.
Linda White, who has a house in Wadena County, was struck by Wadena's warning.
"Y think people really do need to be educated on why they should not be flushing them
into the septic systems," she said. I was shocked at how expensive it was to the city of
Wadena to take care of this problem."
jrom@startribune.com 612-673-7168 Bylenna
http./&w .stwtribue.com/minnesota-city-sues-makers-of-fimhable-wipes-over-clogged-sewers/301228331/ 212