Kelley Drye is pleased to congratulate the New Jersey Attorney General and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for reaching a proposed settlement agreement with Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC to resolve claims for PFAS discharges from the company’s South Jersey manufacturing plant, which contaminated drinking water supplies and other natural resources within the vicinity of the plant.

Kelley Drye has a long-standing relationship with the State of New Jersey assisting it with some of its most high profile environmental matters. This most recent proposed settlement with Solvay would be the largest settlement in state history for the cleanup of a single site, with a total value of approximately $393 million. It would also be the first of its kind, marking the State’s first settlement to resolve PFAS contamination. The settlement would include payments of $75 million for natural resource damages, $100 million for remediation projects, including treatment of drinking water supplies, and $3.7 million for DEP’s past costs. It would also include a $214 remediation funding source that Solvay must post to ensure cleanup is done at the site and in the surrounding area.

Kelley Drye continues to represent the State of New Jersey in multiple other PFAS-related litigations, including related to DuPont manufacturing sites located in New Jersey and also related to the use and discharge of aqueous film-forming foam (known as AFFF) that has impacted water supplies and resources across the State.

“This is an extremely important and significant step in New Jersey’s efforts to address PFAS contamination across the State,” said partner John Gilmour.

“We are proud to continue our long tradition of working alongside the incredible public servants of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Division of Law. Their continued efforts to protect the environment and people of New Jersey is truly inspiring,” said Kelley Drye Environmental co-chair Bill Jackson.

For decades, the lawyers at Kelley Drye have been fortunate to represent public sector clients like the State of New Jersey in historic and incredibly complex natural resource damages and environmental contamination cases of all kinds. In total, 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 a variety of complex environmental matters across America.

Kelley Drye offers the nation’s preeminent environmental practice group for states, attorneys general, local governments, and other public entities. Click here for more on Kelley Drye’s Public Sector representations.

New Jersey Attorney General and Department of Environmental Protection Announce Proposed Settlement With Solvay To Resolve PFAS Litigation