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 to address natural resource damages and cleanup costs linked to hazardous chemical discharges in the Pohatcong Valley.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the State in 2018 concerning contamination at a nearly 10,000-acre Superfund site that includes 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.”
Commissioner LaTourette stated, “The DEP commitment to pursuing justice for communities and the environment through cost recovery and NRD actions such as this is unwavering. 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.”
Of the total settlement amount, $45 million will go toward restoring natural resources affected by the contamination, while $4.5 million will cover past remediation expenses incurred by the state. The DEP plans to use these funds for restoration projects or grant programs targeting impacted resources.
Contamination at the site involved trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE), both industrial solvents associated with significant health risks including cancer and organ damage. The pollutants originated from decades of industrial activity starting around 1950 at a facility near Washington Township, where TCE was dumped into open fields before spreading through wastewater drainage systems.
While years of groundwater treatment have reduced contamination levels significantly, polluted groundwater previously reached two public water supply wells as well as several private residential wells. Treatment was required for public wells, while homes using private wells were connected to clean public water supplies via new pipelines. Soil contamination remains on-site but is being managed through a soil vapor extraction system.
Six corporate defendants are named in the consent judgment: Pechiney Plastic Packaging Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Citigroup, MRC Holdings, Rexam Beverage Can Co., and Albea Americas Inc. Pechiney Plastic Packaging Inc. will pay most of the settlement; BMS will pay the remainder.
The proposed agreement was published in the New Jersey Register on November 17, 2025; public comments are open until January 16, 2026.
Legal handling of this case involved special counsel from the Division of Law’s Environmental Enforcement and Environmental Justice Section under Section Chief Gary Wolf and Assistant Section Chief Thomas P. Lihan.
