San Jose and Fremont are two of several cities across the Bay Area — and around the country — that are receiving millions as part of Bayer AG's $537.5 million settlement in a class action lawsuit involving water pollution.
Bayer, which is based in Germany, acquired Monsanto in 2018 and will pay out $36.5 million between Alameda County and 13 Bay Area cities including San Jose, Fremont, San Francisco and Oakland. The class action lawsuit revolves around Monsanto being the sole U.S. distributor of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs — chemical compounds that are now recognized as being common environmental contaminants and are linked to adverse health effects in humans and animals.
Plaintiffs in the suit said that Monsanto did nothing to prevent the compound from getting into stormwater systems, despite knowledge of PCB's toxic nature. Communities listed in the lawsuit have"lost valuable fishing grounds and recreational swimming areas due to elevated PCBs," according to a statement from law firm Baron & Budd,