TRENTON, N.J. — A federal court has approved two settlements valued at approximately $2.5 billion to address PFAS contamination and other pollution in New Jersey, state officials announced.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak said the settlements resolve years of litigation against E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., now known as EIDP Inc., other DuPont-related entities and 3M.
The settlement with the DuPont entities is valued at more than $2 billion and is the largest environmental settlement achieved by a single state, according to state officials. Combined with the 3M settlement, the agreements are valued at approximately $2.5 billion.
“This is truly a historic moment for New Jersey, which has experienced disproportionate and extensive pollution impacts from decades of PFAS manufacturing and use by DuPont and 3M,” Acting Commissioner Potosnak said. “But this is only the beginning of what will be a long road to restore our environment from the unfortunate legacy of these chemicals. The DEP and the Sherrill Administration are committed to engaging the public and our stakeholders to maximize the public health and environmental protection benefits of these funds to heal New Jersey.”
“For years, corporate polluters have profited from ‘forever chemicals’ while causing untold damage to our communities—endangering the health of our kids, contaminating the water we drink, and exposing our first responders to dangerous carcinogens. Today’s landmark settlement cements New Jersey’s national leadership in the fight against forever chemicals and is a critical first step in undoing the damage DuPont and 3M have caused to our state,” said Attorney General Davenport. “Our office will continue to hold corporations accountable whenever they harm our communities, and I am eager to see the work begin to repair the decades of damage DuPont and 3M have caused in the Garden State.”
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals that have been manufactured in the United States since the 1940s and used in a range of household, consumer and industrial products. They are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not readily break down and can accumulate in the environment and humans.
According to the state, the settlements resolve litigation involving four DuPont industrial sites in New Jersey, statewide claims involving aqueous film-forming foam and other claims involving PFAS contamination.
The four industrial sites are Pompton Lakes Works in Pompton Lakes and Wanaque; the Parlin site in Sayreville; the Repauno site in Greenwich Township; and Chambers Works in Pennsville and Carneys Point Township.
The settlements were initially announced in 2025 and underwent a public comment process before the state sought judicial approval. State officials said objections raised by 18 counties and a coalition of publicly owned wastewater treatment plants were subsequently resolved.
Settlement payments from the DuPont entities and 3M will be made annually over 25 years.
Up to $795 million will go toward PFAS abatement, including funding for water quality projects addressing PFAS in drinking water systems and publicly owned treatment works.
The state said at least $150 million from the PFAS Abatement Fund will be provided to the New Jersey Water Bank to assist publicly owned treatment works with PFAS abatement costs. At least $90 million will be designated for counties to investigate and remediate PFAS contamination at county-owned fire training academies and airports.
Another $365 million will be available to compensate the state for damage to natural resources caused by PFAS and other contaminants. The money will be used to restore natural resources, including areas near the four industrial sites.
The DuPont entities also agreed to establish remediation funding sources of up to $1.2 billion and an additional $475 million reserve fund intended to ensure cleanup work at the four industrial sites does not fall to taxpayers, according to the state. Under the settlement, the DuPont entities are required to fully remediate the sites regardless of the ultimate cost.
Approximately $195 million in recovered funds will cover legal fees and costs.
Including these agreements and other settlements reached in recent years, New Jersey is expected to recover more than $3 billion from lawsuits filed since 2019 involving PFAS and other pollutants, according to state officials.
