3M is expected to pay New Jersey up to $450 million over the next quarter century. It claims that it is contaminating the nation with harmful “eternal chemicals” or PFA, affecting drinking water.
The Minnesota-based chemical giant produced PFA, which has been in use for decades at the Chambers Works facility in Deepwater, New Jersey, on the banks of the Delaware River. The site was owned by rival company DuPont.
The state said it is the largest single cleanwater settlement in New Jersey's history. New Jersey sued 3M, DuPont and other PFAS manufacturers in 2019, saying the facility was contaminated with drinking water.
PFA, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, are used in a variety of everyday products, including nonstick cooking utensils, water leaf-like clothing, and infectiously resistant carpets. Exposure to chemicals is associated with metabolic disorders, reduced birth rates in women, delayed development in children, and increased risk of some prostate, kidney and testicular cancers.
Under the settlement announced Tuesday, 3M will pay New Jersey between $400 million and $450 million over 25 years, with damages and drinking water treatment.
According to New Jersey, DuPont and the chemical spinoff Kemoul, which owns its facility, were not part of the settlement. The remaining parties are expected to proceed to trial in the case. DuPont declined to comment.
“Business contaminants must be accountable when contaminating the state's water supply,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement. “For decades, 3M knew their PFAS chemicals were forever polluting the New Jersey environment, but they polluted the environment and kept evading accountability,” he said. “That's over now.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Chambers once produced shooter drugs and radiation materials, helping to develop the atomic bomb. Recently, they have produced a variety of chemicals, including PFA.
New Jersey Environmental Protection Commissioner Sean M. Latourette said the state's pollution is far beyond drinking water. “PFAs have been found everywhere in New Jersey, and even the soils of New Jersey forests, far away from landfills, even the soils of the untouched, far away New Jersey forests,” he said.
New Jersey is the second known state that will settle down at 3M beyond the PFAS drinking water pollution claim. In 2018, 3M agreed to pay $850 million to pollute drinking water and natural resources in Minnesota's metropolitan metropolitan area.
In 2023, 3M also reached a national settlement with public water suppliers for up to $12.5 billion to address PFA contamination in drinking water.
3M said the agreement was a “critical step to reducing risks and uncertainties” regarding historic PFA contamination. The company said in 2000 it was voluntarily abolishing production of two major PFAs, and that it was on track to halt all PFA production by 2025.
The company said the settlement does not amount to recognition of guilt. The second quarter will involve a pre-tax fee of $285 million.
The EPA was expected this week to show whether it intends to stick to the strict PFA drinking water standards set by the Biden administration last year.
Chemical companies and utilities sued the agency on the move. The Trump administration was scheduled to say in court on Monday whether it would continue to defend the standard. Instead, they called for a 21-day extension to determine a planned course of action.
