REGULATION & COMPLIANCE monitoring requirements ; and those in the lower Cape Fear river basin of North Carolina , which can opt in if they wish .
More to come ?
It is also an open question as to how many other lawsuits will continue even if these agreement are approved . The Attorney General of the State of Michigan , for one , has already said that the decision does not affect its outstanding PFAS-related lawsuits against 3M and other companies .
The case of DuPont and the others highlighted previous contention between them ever since the spinoff of Chemours in 2015 . There were several years of litigation over their respective responsible for liabilities over PFAS , finally ending in January when the three signed a binding memorandum of understanding to create a cost-sharing arrangement , including an escrow account worth over $ 1 billion to cover potential legacy liabilities .
In May , Chemours had become the first company in the US to be subject to an enforcement action for discharging PFAS from its Washington Works facility in Parkersburg , West Virginia , under the Clean Water Act . The EPA is now requiring it to implement a sampling plan analyse the release of PFAS and implement a plan to treat or minimise them .
The Washington Works discharges industrial process water and storm water to the Ohio River and its tributaries , under the terms of a state National Pollution Discharge Elimination System . This was issued in 2018 to replace one previously held by DuPont before the two companies were separated out .
Discharges exceeded those allowed in the Chemours permit on both PFOA and PFOS many times between 2018 and March 2023 , even though PFOA is no longer used at the site and this is related to legacy emissions affecting groundwater . The firm said that it has worked with the EPA on a consent decree “ and will continue to take action to address the legacy deposition that contributed to many of the exceedances ”.
There has been considerable turmoil at the top in Chemours and shortly after the settlement was announced , it announced the resignation of CFO Sameer Ralhan . This followed on from the departures of the presidents of the Titanium Technologies & Chemical Solutions and Thermal & Specialized Solutions in March and May respectively . To what extent all this is linked to the company ’ s PFAS problems is unclear .
New Jersey deal
On a smaller scale , Solvay subsidiary Solvay Specialty Polymers USA subsequently reached an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ( NJDEP ) to resolve certain PFAS-related claims in New Jersey . It will pay $ 75 million in natural resource damages and $ 100 million to fund NJDEP ’ s PFAS remediation projects near its West Deptford site .
The settlement includes commitments from Solvay to the complete remediation activities it began in 2013 . These includes installing a drinking water treatment system on a municipal well , constructing and operating an offsite pump-and-treat system for impacted groundwater and enhancing existing onsite treatment systems for impacted groundwater Solvay has agreed to establish a $ 214 million remedial funding source to fund those activities , which will be presented to the US Court for review and approval later this year , following a public comment period . This agreement is not an admission of liability , the company stressed . It has set aside about $ 250 million at the end of Q2 2023 to cover the anticipated expenses . ●
DuPont and Chemours have been at loggerheads over their liabilities for PFAS
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