The Big Spring City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday night to hire the law firm of Baron & Budd and its legal partners to help the city pursue compensation through nationwide settlements involving PFAS contamination in public drinking water systems.

Council members approved an emergency resolution authorizing Baron & Budd, P.C. and Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor LLC to represent the city in filing claims tied to the ongoing Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation, a nationwide legal action involving manufacturers of PFAS-containing firefighting foam products.

PFAS, commonly known as "forever chemicals," are a group of man-made compounds that do not readily break down in the environment.