Brendan J. Lyons is reporting for the Times Union a federal judge on February 4, gave final approval to a $65 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, Honeywell International and 3M and DuPont Co. for polluting public and private water supplies in and around the village of Hoosick Falls. The approval begins a 30-day period for someone to file an appeal challenging the settlement, but the ruling by U.S. District Senior Judge Lawrence E. Kahn noted that no none of the settlement class members have objected to the terms and no opt-out requests have been received. Kahn had previously called the settlement "fair, reasonable and adequate." The settlement is expected to secure cash payments and long-term medical monitoring for thousands of property owners and residents of Hoosick Falls. The case was filed in 2016, in U.S. District Court In Albany. The complaint accused the three companies of playing roles in the decades-long pollution of the community water supplies, which are contaminated with the perfluorinated chemicals used at various factories in the village. The settlement is intended to compensate residents for the potential health consequences of their exposure to the chemicals, the potential loss of property value, and to provide a system of early detection for any related health issues in the years ahead. Read the full story in the Times Union.