Atty. Gen. Clark: I’m suing Monsanto for our state and our schools

July 18, 2023 | By Charity Clark

Like many Vermonters, I have a deep connection to Vermont’s forests, clean water, and green landscape. I grew up hiking and skiing in our beautiful Green Mountains, swimming in our rivers and ponds, and watching sunsets over Lake Champlain. I believe that when bad actors poison our natural resources, they are harming the soul of Vermont and they must be held accountable. 

Monsanto manufactured, marketed, distributed, and sold toxic and dangerous chemical compounds called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from 1929 to 1977. PCB products were sold – including in Vermont – for use in household and business products like paints, caulks, inks, dyes, paper products, sealants, fireproofing, and electrical equipment. 

The result is that Vermont’s surface waters and aquatic wildlife have been contaminated with PCBs. Lake Champlain is severely contaminated with PCBs, and there are fish advisories for lake trout taken from Lake Champlain. Not only that, but our statewide PCB testing program has shown that many Vermont schools are also contaminated and will require  remediation. 

As Monsanto knew, PCBs inevitably volatize and leach, leak, and escape from their  intended applications and products, contaminating runoff during storm and rain events, and PCBs persist in the natural environment rather than break down over time.  

This is why I have sued Monsanto on behalf of Vermont’s environment, schools, our children, and future generations. I am leveraging the full force of my office to hold Monsanto accountable for knowingly creating and distributing PCBs. I’m proud that Vermont is the first state in the country to stand up a statewide school testing program. School testing will provide further insights into additional schools that will need to be remediated. As Vermont’s school testing program continues, we expect the number of  contaminated schools to grow. Vermonters should know that I intend to turn over every rock and search for every penny to get Vermont the most funding possible to help remediate. Vermont taxpayers should not have to bear the full cost of cleaning up someone else’s mess.  

Of course, there are no guarantees in litigation, and this could be a long fight, but, as your Attorney General, I am in this for the long haul. We know from past lawsuits against bad actors that the money we are able to recoup may not be enough. But we must hold Monsanto accountable for the harm that it has caused to this state we all love.  

As Attorney General, I take very seriously my role of protecting Vermont and Vermonters, and I will work  as hard as I can to achieve the best result possible for our state. As a mother of a school-aged child, as a Vermonter, and especially as your Attorney General, I will always fight to protect Vermont’s  environment.

Charity R. Clark is Vermont’s attorney general.