In May, following recommendations from the City’s attorney Leslie Powell, Thurmont retained the law firm of Baron & Budd and Poole Law Group for the purpose of investigating legal options and remedies available to the Town due to the presence of the chemicals.

According to a press release issued by Powell, "such investigation may include the initiation of a Complaint in the Multi-District Litigation (MDL) currently pending in Charleston, South Carolina, related to this chemical."

"This action," the press release said, "is a prudent effort to proactively determine whether third parties have legal responsibility for the cost of treatment for its water system; the taxpayers and ratepayers should not bear this financial burden. The Town will continue to exhaust all efforts to protect its citizens and exercise financial prudence in the process."

Unlike Class Action lawsuits, which are filed by one or a few individuals on behalf of everyone who has suffered the same exact injury, MDL cases are filed by individuals or towns who have suffered similar injuries from the same product (or same type of product), the severity or expense of which may differ from person to person.

While Thurmont could sue the companies as a separate entity, Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird said the costs could be significantly higher than they are as part of the MDL. This is the surest way to get some damages out of 3M and DuPont," Kinnaird said, referring to the MDL.

As in Class Action lawsuits, a settlement is reached when representatives from both parties work together to create a master settlement agreement. The MDL judge will review the agreement and then assign a settlement master, who is a neutral third-party that oversees details of the settlement and resolves points of contention between the parties. Individual plaintiffs can then choose to accept the settlement agreement or pursue their case at trial.

The town has also sought support from the state level through the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), which has not been officially confirmed but Kinnaird has received positive feedback. "The State of Maryland has, preliminarily, told us we will probably get some support from them in the form of a forgivable loan," he said. CAO Jim Humerick added that this support would forgive the principal of the loan.

Kinnaird said that the town is still in the "design" stages of solving the PFAS problem, because they will need to submit any plans to MDE for approval. "MDE has not given, that I’m aware of, any definitive guidance for the type of mechanism needed to remove the PFAS from the water," he said. "The most logical one is an activated charcoal filtration system, which is what we’re working on to get prices for."

Kinnaird expects the town may need to pay any removal expenses upfront before the MDE grant comes through to reimburse. The costs could reach $6 million, according to Kinnaird.