New Jersey reaches historic $2B settlement with DuPont over decades of pollution

Note: This article and video interview were reported by NJ Spotlight News.

In what’s being hailed as a landmark victory for the state, New Jersey officials on Monday announced a historic environmental settlement that secured an estimated $2 billion from DuPont and other related chemical companies over decades of contamination at four industrial sites.

The agreement, announced by the attorney general’s office and the state Department of Environmental Protection, marked the largest environmental settlement in New Jersey history, officials said. They said it is aimed at cleaning up toxic PFAS — or “forever chemicals” — that have been left behind, while also restoring damaged natural resources, like water and soil.

NJ Spotlight News interviewed Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, following the announcement.

“This is significant for New Jersey in no small part because our state is ground zero for some of the worst impacts of PFAS forever chemicals,” he said. “Our state was home to an epicenter of PFAS manufacturing. And there are other sites in the DuPont family of companies that are also covered by this settlement. It is going to over time help tremendously to improve and protect public health and the environment that we all share.”

PFAS are synthetic chemicals that have been used in manufacturing in the United States since the 1940s, including for a variety of household, consumer and industrial products. The chemicals get their nickname from the fact don’t degrade or break down over time and continue to accumulate in the environment and human bodies.

They are classified as likely carcinogens, with studies having shown that exposure to the chemicals may cause kidney, liver, and testicular cancer, as well as autoimmune and endocrine disorders in adults. PFAS have also been linked to developmental issues affecting fetuses during pregnancy and infants who breastfeed.

The settlement covers the following:

• Chambers Works site in Pennsville and Carney’s Point, Salem County
• Pompton Lakes Works in Pompton Lakes and Wanaque, Passaic County
• Parlin site in Sayerville, Middlesex County
• Repauno site in Greenwich Township, Gloucester County.

According to the state DEP, the payments by the DuPont settling entities will occur annually over 25 years and include $875 million for restoration of injured natural resources and abatement funds, to be held by DEP in a dedicated trust account to address PFAS and other contamination. Approximately $125 million of the $875 million will go towards costs, fees, penalties, and punitive damages.

To ensure that all the cleanup work is paid without public funds, officials said, the companies also agreed to create a remediation funding source of up to $1.2 billion and to establish an additional reserve fund of $475 million to ensure that if any one of the companies goes bankrupt or otherwise fails to fulfill their responsibilities to the state, taxpayers won’t be left with the bill.

“This settlement sends the message…that we expect and that the people of New Jersey deserve that you leave the place better than you found it,” said LaTourette. “You don’t get to walk away and let your pollution be the problem of a water rate payer or on the backs of every taxpayer in the state. It is your obligation. And we will enforce it.”