Leech Lake Band Sues 3M, Other Companies Over PFAS Contamination on Reservation

A federal lawsuit filed Monday by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe accuses seven companies, including 3M and DuPont, of contaminating water on the reservation with PFAS, often called “forever chemicals.”

In the lawsuit, the band says that its culture, religious practices, and subsistence depend on the land and water resources on the Leech Lake Reservation, which has become contaminated with PFAS. The lawsuit claims the companies “designed, manufactured, formulated, marketed, promoted, distributed, and sold … and/0r assumed or acquired liabilities for the manufacture and/or sale” of PFAS products “that have contaminated, and continue to contaminate the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s reservation.”

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are widely used, long-lasting chemicals that can resist things like grease, oil, water, and heat. They break down slowly over time, leading to their persistence in the environment and contamination of air, water, and soil. Exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals, according to the EPA.

The Leech Lake Band says it found PFAS in the water supply for one of its schools, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig, in 2022. It has quit using that water and now supplies the school with bottled water.

The lawsuit also says that in 2023, the band tested six species of fish from Cass Lake and Pike Bay and found toxic levels of PFAS in “nearly all species of fish in both lakes.” In 2025, samplings of the livers of 22 deer also showed levels of PFAS.

The band charges the companies with, among other things, one count of public nuisance, one count of negligence, one count of product liability, and one count of unjust enrichment. A copy of the full lawsuit can be found here.