U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford gave preliminary approval to the proposed settlement in the suit against Saint-Gobain over the PFOA contamination in the Bennington area. James Sullivan, of North Bennington, one of the named plaintiffs in the class-action suit and designated as a spokesman for the group, said in a release, “This settlement provides significant compensation and medical monitoring to the Bennington community affected by the PFOA contamination, and we strongly support it.” A final approval hearing for the $34M settlement is scheduled for April 18.