Chemours, DuPont and Corteva announce settlement with State of New Jersey

The Chemours (CC), DuPont de Nemours (DD), and Corteva (CTVA) announced a settlement to comprehensively resolve all pending environmental and other claims by the State of New Jersey against the Companies in various litigation matters and other state directives. The Settlement will resolve all legacy contamination claims related to the companies’ current and former operating sites and claims of statewide PFAS contamination unrelated to those sites, including from the use of aqueous film forming foam. Settlement payments will total $875M over a 25-year period beginning within 30 days of the Judicial Consent Order entry date, which will be no earlier than January 1, 2026. Of the total settlement amount, $16.5M is attributed to alleged PFAS contamination unrelated to the Companies’ operating sites, including AFFF of $4.125M. The pre-tax total present value of the settlement payments is about $500 million, based on the discount rate set forth in the JCO for purposes of prepaying settlement amounts. Consistent with the January 2021 Memorandum of Understanding between the parties, Chemours will be responsible for 50% of settlement payments, or approximately $250M on a present value basis, DuPont will be responsible for 35.5% of settlement payments, or approximately $177M on a present value basis, and Corteva will be responsible for the remaining 14.5% of settlement payments, or approximately $72M on a present value basis. The settlement also establishes a process for determining the amount of the Remediation Funding Source, or RFS, at the four current and former operating sites and the initial range for each, as well as other mechanisms to secure future remediation at the sites. The RFS will be secured by a surety bond or similar instrument. In addition, DuPont and Corteva will establish a Reserve Fund based on their respective cost sharing percentages, capped at $475M, also through a surety bond or similar instrument, to serve as further financial security, separate from and secondary to the RFS. The terms of the settlement are set forth in a proposed Judicial Consent Order, which remains subject to notice and comment pursuant to New Jersey law, as well as final court approval. In addition, and contingent upon approval of the JCO, DuPont and Corteva will purchase from Chemours for $150M Chemours’ rights to receive certain insurance proceeds related to PFAS claims. After DuPont and Corteva have recovered the $150M, plus a fee, Chemours will be entitled to its 50% share of further insurance recoveries.