New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette have announced a proposed $49.5 million settlement with several companies to address natural resource damages and cleanup costs related to hazardous chemical discharges in the Pohatcong Valley.
The settlement aims to resolve a lawsuit filed by the state in 2018, targeting contamination at a Superfund site covering nearly 10,000 acres across Washington Township, Washington Borough, Franklin Township, and Greenwich Township in Warren County.
“Throughout the Murphy Administration, our office has been relentless in pursuing accountability for corporations and entities that pollute our groundwater and harm our residents. Today’s settlement is no exception,” said Attorney General Platkin. “No one should be able to get away with dumping toxic chemicals in our ground water. Once again, I would like to commend our deputy attorneys general and Commissioner LaTourette and his staff for their tremendous work to protect the environment in the Garden State.”
“The DEP commitment to pursuing justice for communities and the environment through cost recovery and NRD actions such as this is unwavering,” said Commissioner LaTourette. “In partnership with the Office of Attorney General, we will continue to aggressively pursue polluters and hold accountable those whose actions drain taxpayer dollars, impact public health, and damage New Jersey’s natural resources.”
Under the terms of the agreement, $45 million will go toward restoring damaged natural resources while $4.5 million will cover remediation costs already incurred by the state. The DEP plans to use these funds for restoration projects or grant programs focused on affected areas.
Contamination at this site involved trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE), both hazardous chemicals associated with cancer risks and other health issues such as kidney disease, liver damage, immune system effects, reproductive harm, and neurotoxicity.
The pollution originated from decades of industrial activity at a facility near Washington dating back to around 1950 when TCE was disposed into open fields before spreading through local wastewater systems. Although years of treatment have reduced contamination levels significantly, affected groundwater once stretched nine miles long—impacting two public water supply wells as well as private residential wells. Public wells were treated while homes using private wells were connected to municipal water supplies; remaining soil contamination is being managed by ongoing remediation efforts.
Most of the financial responsibility under this settlement falls on Pechiney Plastic Packaging Inc., which will pay all but about $1.1 million of NRD costs plus most past expenses; Bristol Myers Squibb will cover the rest. Other defendants include Citigroup, MRC Holdings, Rexam Beverage Can Co., and Albea Americas Inc.
The proposed consent judgment was published on November 17 in the New Jersey Register; public comments are being accepted until January 16 next year.
Legal work on this case was led by special counsel alongside members of the Division of Law’s Environmental Enforcement section under Section Chief Gary Wolf with support from DEP staff specializing in natural resource restoration and contaminated site remediation.
