A federal court has signed off on two settlements that will bring New Jersey close to $2.5 billion to address decades of contamination from PFAS, the persistent chemicals known as forever chemicals. The rulings close out years of litigation the state brought against DuPont related entities and 3M over pollution tied to statewide PFAS releases, firefighting foam, and four industrial sites.
3M’s settlement, first agreed in May 2025, now has judicial approval alongside the DuPont side, which is larger than the $875 million settlement payment announced last August and split among Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva under their 2021 cost sharing agreement. New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection values the DuPont entities’ settlement at over $2 billion, and the combined package with 3M at approximately $2.5 billion, to be paid annually over 25 years.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said corporate polluters had profited from forever chemicals while damaging communities, calling the ruling a critical first step toward repairing the harm done statewide. Acting DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak described it as a historic moment for New Jersey, while cautioning that restoring the environment from PFAS contamination would be a long process.
The settlement funds are structured across several categories. Up to 795 million dollars is earmarked for a PFAS Abatement Fund, channelled through the New Jersey Water Bank as low interest and no interest loans to help drinking water systems and publicly owned treatment works fund upgrades. Up to 365 million dollars is set aside for natural resource damages, targeting restoration near four sites: Pompton Lakes Works, Parlin, Repauno, and Chambers Works. The DuPont entities have also committed to remediation funding sources of up to 1.2 billion dollars, backed by a 475 million dollar reserve fund intended to protect taxpayers if any party fails to meet its cleanup obligations. A further approximately 195 million dollars will cover legal fees and costs.
New Jersey has now recovered more than 3 billion dollars in total from PFAS litigation filed since 2019, a figure that includes today’s settlements alongside other PFAS related agreements reached in recent years.
