The chemical suppliers denied responsibility

 All five chemical suppliers denied these were accountable for the alleged contamination and contended that they are not obligated to cover future cleanup. Lawyers for DuPont and Chemours stated the directive was “untenable” and “unsupported by factual findings.”

Inside a letter acquired by NJ Spotlight with an Open Records Act request this month, Solvay denied it had been liable under New Jersey's Spill Act for PFAS contamination near its plant in West Deptford, Gloucester County, and stated DEP had been “unreasonable” if you attempt to shift the price of statewide cleanup to Solvay and yet another company.

Solvay, which under your own accord ended its utilization of PFNA this year, stated it absolutely was investigating and remediating PFAS chemicals to begin since 2013, coupled with already spent $25 million around the measures.

3M, in another letter acquired in the OPRA request, stated DEP didn't possess the statutory authority for many of their demands and denied it had been responsible for funding the cleanup under Nj law.

Among campaigners raising questions regarding if the DEP is backing from its original demands is Tracy Carluccio, deputy director from the ecological group Delaware Riverkeeper Network, along with a longtime advocate for tighter curbs on PFAS.

“If Nj is wavering under this and will shrink from the high announced goal, confidence within the condition is going to be lost and individuals pay the cost using their health,” she stated.

The sweeping nature from the DEP's directive suggests it will require time for you to resolve the problem, so the public a minimum of deserves an interim report in the condition attorney general's office around the status from the talks, Carluccio stated.

“That's the only method the general public might have confidence the condition is intensely investigating and 'staying the course' towards making these chemical suppliers responsible for the prevalent contamination they've caused,” she stated.

She noted that documenting PFAS contamination by DuPont in Parkersburg, West Virginia required plaintiffs' attorney Robert Billott some twenty years before winning a number of jury awards for individuals whose illnesses were from the chemicals - as described in the recent book “Exposure,” and also the movie “Dark Waters.”

Shaun Tittel, director from the Nj Sierra Club, accused the DEP of neglecting to follow-through on its directive as well as now seeking funds that will permit corporate polluters to prevent full responsibility.

He contended the DEP has got the authority underneath the Spill Act to consider over contaminated sites and bill the proprietors for cleanup, however is not functioning on that.

“Instead of putting pressure in enforcement, the DEP is wishing to obstruct and settle, turning this right into a farce,” Tittel stated. “They just hope the general public doesn't notice. For a lot too lengthy, chemical suppliers like Dow jones and DuPont have become away with polluting our condition. Regrettably, it appears as though this administration will allow them to pull it off again.”