Arkema West Deptford Plant PFAS Settlement
Background
As detailed on a dedicated webpage regarding Solvay’s plant in West Deptford and the Department’s settlement with Solvay, manufacturing operations at the West Deptford site caused the discharge of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other hazardous substances (PFAS) into the environment. DEP took Solvay and the site’s former owner, Arkema, Inc. (Arkema), to court to compel the remediation of the site and to compensate the State and its citizens for the injuries caused by the resulting contamination. DEP later settled with Solvay, and the settlement was entered by the Court on March 6, 2024.
Settlement
On May 6, 2024, DEP reached a proposed settlement with the prior owner of the West Deptford site, Arkema, Inc. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Arkema will pay DEP a total of $33,950,000, including $12,700,000 for natural resource damages and $21,250,000 to fund remedial projects, including supplemental funds to treat drinking water impacted by PFAS discharged from the site. Arkema will also establish and maintain, for at least eighteen years, a reserve fund in the initial amount of $75 million in the form of a letter of credit and/or a self-guarantee to provide additional financial assurance beyond the remediation funding sources that Solvay is required to maintain to ensure that the remediation activities associated with the site will be completed. The amount of the reserve fund will be adjusted over time based on updated estimates of the cost of completing the remediation activities.
Comment Period, DEP Response to Comments, and Modification of Settlement
A copy of the proposed settlement with Arkema is available below. Notice of the proposed settlement (also available below) was published in the New Jersey Register on June 3, 2024, at 56 N.J.R. 1047(a) (June 3, 2024), and comments on the proposed settlement were accepted for a period of 60 days following publication of the notice. The comment period closed on August 2, 2024.
DEP reviewed all comments and responded to those comments in the document available below. Since the notice of the settlement was published last year, the settlement has been modified slightly. Most importantly, the settlement now makes a portion of the recovered funds ($21.25 million) available to the State immediately while the remaining funds will be held for 45 days, after which the JCO becomes final and non-appealable.
Motion for Court Approval of Settlement
On June 30, 2025, DEP submitted the modified settlement (available below) to the court for approval. If approved, the settlement will be entered by the court as an enforceable Judicial Consent Order.
Make a Comment
Submit Via Postal Mail
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Legal and Regulatory Affairs
401 East State Street, Mail Code 401-07, P.O. Box 402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402
Attn: Arkema Settlement