New Jersey secures record $2 billion PFAS settlement with DuPont, Chemours and Corteva

08/06/2025 / By Laura Harris

New Jersey reached a $2 billion agreement with DuPont, Chemours and Corteva to address PFAS (“forever chemicals”) contamination – the largest environmental settlement in state history.
The deal includes $875 million over 25 years for natural resource restoration, $1.2 billion for site remediation and a $475 million reserve fund to protect taxpayers in case of company insolvency.
The companies will clean up contamination at four key sites (Pompton Lakes, Parlin, Repauno and Chambers Works) and resolve all legacy PFAS claims, including those tied to firefighting foam use.
Chemours will pay 50 percent of the settlement, DuPont 35.5 percent and Corteva 14.5 percent, with payments beginning no earlier than January 1, 2026. DuPont and Corteva will also purchase Chemours’ rights to certain PFAS-related insurance proceeds for $150 million.
The DuPont deal follows a separate $450 million agreement with 3M, announced in May, to resolve similar PFAS contamination claims at several New Jersey sites. 3M has pledged to stop PFAS production by the end of 2025.

New Jersey has secured a $2 billion agreement with three major chemical companies, DuPont, Chemours and Corteva, to address the widespread contamination caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) also known as “forever chemicals.”

Under the terms of the settlement, the companies will pay $875 million over 25 years to support the restoration of damaged natural resources and the abatement of PFAS contamination. In addition, $1.2 billion will be set aside in a dedicated remediation fund to finance the cleanup of PFAS pollution at affected sites across the state. To safeguard taxpayers, a separate $475 million reserve fund will also be established to ensure financial coverage if any of the companies declare bankruptcy or fail to meet their payment obligations.

The agreement also compels the companies to clean up PFAS contamination at four key sites where they previously operated: Pompton Lakes Works, Parlin, Repauno and Chambers Works. The companies acknowledged the settlement in a joint statement, confirming that it resolves all legacy PFAS contamination claims tied to their operations, including the use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a fire suppressant known to contain PFAS compounds. (Related: Forever no more? Scientists discover new, low-cost way to break down certain types of “forever chemicals.”)

Per the financial arrangement, Chemours, which was spun off from DuPont in 2015, will cover 50 percent of the payments, DuPont will contribute 35.5 percent and Corteva, a 2019 spinoff from DowDuPont’s agriculture division, will pay 14.5 percent. Payments under the settlement are scheduled to begin no earlier than Jan. 1, 2026.

In a related transaction, DuPont and Corteva will jointly purchase Chemours’ rights to certain insurance proceeds related to PFAS claims for $150 million, pending judicial approval.

The landmark deal, announced on Aug. 4 by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, resolves decades of environmental damage linked to PFAS contamination across the state.

“Polluters who place profit above public well-being by releasing poisonous PFAS and other contamination in our State can expect to be held responsible to clean up their mess and fully compensate the State and its citizens for the precious natural resources they’ve damaged or destroyed,” LaTourette stated.

3M to pay up to $450 million in a similar New Jersey PFAS settlement

The agreement follows New Jersey’s $450 million settlement with chemical manufacturer 3M, reached just months earlier, to resolve allegations that the company contaminated the state’s water and natural resources with PFAS chemicals.

On May 13, the settlement resolves a trio of lawsuits filed by the state in 2019, which accused 3M of polluting water and other natural resources at several sites, including the Chambers Works facility in Salem County and the Parlin facility in Middlesex County. The third complaint, also filed in 2019, alleged 3M violated the state’s Consumer Fraud Act by manufacturing and selling products that either contained or degraded into PFAS.

The settlement will be paid out over 25 years, with approximately $275 million to $325 million scheduled between 2026 and 2034 and the remainder distributed through 2050. It also resolves 3M’s liability under a 2019 directive issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which held the company responsible for statewide PFAS contamination.

In its statement released May 12, 3M confirmed the agreement and emphasized its commitment to ending PFAS production by the end of 2025, saying it was “on track to do so.” The company described the settlement as a way to “reduce risk and uncertainty on these legacy issues” and said it enables 3M to focus on its “strategic priorities.” Notably, the state acknowledged that 3M “has taken actions, which other companies have not taken, to cease manufacturing” PFAS.

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