Kelley Drye Congratulates State of New Jersey on Historic PFAS-Related Environmental Contamination Settlement with 3M
Trial against DuPont and others to begin in NJ District Court on May 19
Kelley Drye is pleased to congratulate New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for reaching a historic settlement of up to $450 million with 3M related to PFAS contamination at the Chambers Works site in Salem County and around the State. 3M manufactured PFAS products, also known as “forever chemicals,” which have been released into and contaminated New Jersey’s drinking water and other natural resources. The settlement is New Jersey’s largest PFAS settlement to date and the largest single clean water settlement in New Jersey history.
Lead counsel for the State of New Jersey is Kelley Drye’s Environmental practice co-chair, William J. Jackson, supported by Jennifer Barks, Geoffrey W. Castello, Levi M. Downing, William A. Escobar, John D.S. Gilmour, Lana Rowenko, David I. Zalman, Melissa E. Byroade, Elizabeth N. Krasnow, David M. Reap, Nancy Archer Yanochik, Matthew Chakmakian, Daniel J. Harrison, and a large team of other firm attorneys and staff.
“We are honored to represent the State of New Jersey in these matters,” said Jackson. “This settlement and the pending PFAS trials are landmark matters. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Attorney General’s office have demonstrated unwavering dedication to protecting New Jersey’s waters and other natural resources from PFAS contamination, and New Jersey was the first in the country to establish drinking water standards for PFAS.”
The trial against E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (now known as EIDP, Inc.), The Chemours Company, Corteva, Inc., and DuPont de Nemours begins in Camden, NJ, on May 19, 2025, before Chief Judge Renée Marie Bumb of the U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey.
Kelley Drye’s Environmental practice is deeply involved in PFAS litigation nationwide, representing fifteen states and sovereign governments and dozens of water providers seeking remediation, drinking water treatment, and natural resource damages from PFAS contamination.
The firm has a long-standing relationship with the State of New Jersey, with partners Bill Jackson and John Gilmour having served as lead counsel in New Jersey’s groundbreaking recoveries in the Passaic River Litigation over a decade ago. The firm continues to represent the state in multiple other PFAS-related litigations, including cases related to the use and discharge of aqueous film-forming foam (known as AFFF) that has impacted water supplies and resources and other industrial sources.
For decades, the lawyers at Kelley Drye have been fortunate to represent public sector clients, including states, attorneys general, local governments, and other public entities in historic and complex natural resource damages and environmental contamination cases. Kelley Drye’s public clients have recovered tens of billions of dollars in remediation costs, property damages, natural resource damages, lost tax revenues, and other remedies in various complex environmental matters across the U.S. More information about Kelley Drye’s complex environmental litigation and natural resource damages services can be found on the firm’s website at www.kelleydrye.com.
Today’s settlement is subject to public notice and comment, a motion for entry, and court approval in the Chambers Works Litigation. 3M filed an 8-K with the Securities Exchange Commission on May 12, hours after a settlement was reached.