The neighboring community to the Chambers Works site has filed suit against DuPont Co., citing an estimated $1.1 billion in estimated environmental clean-up costs.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month by Carneys Point, cited a New Jersey state law designed to ensure that companies do not use sales or spin-offs to evade their environmental responsibilities.
Chambers Works was part of the spin-off of DuPont Performance Chemicals assets into Chemours, a publicly traded company, with fewer financial resources.
The lawsuit said the law results in triggers to ensure that clean-up efforts take place regardless of ownership changes at a site with environmental issues. The suit charges that DuPont did not comply with the law.
The suit claims Carneys Point has calculated that clean-up costs will run $1.1 billion, based on a computer program known as RACER.
The Chambers Works, also known as Deepwater, has been monitored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. One project was undertaken at the site, with monitoring efforts continuing.
Environmental clean-up work is done under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in conjunction with state environmental agencies.
The EPA did not appear to be directly mentioned in the lawsuit.
The site has manufactured many DuPont chemicals during much of the 20th century. The Carneys Pont lawsuit claims 100 million pounds of industrial waste was generated from the site’s operations.
DuPont spokesman Dan Turner released the following statement.
“Chemours is currently operating under a U.S. EPA environmental permit, with NJDEP oversight, to remediate the Chambers Works site. This is a long-standing project to which DuPont, and now Chemours, along with the federal and state agencies, have invested considerable time and effort.
We have always taken very seriously our commitments to the health, safety, and well-being of our employees and communities in which we operate. We are reviewing the allegations in the suit, however since the matter is subject to pending litigation, we cannot comment further.”
The lawsuit seems to reflect ongoing suspicion that DuPont spun-off Chemours to shed environmental liabilities.
The issue was mentioned in the Carneys Point lawsuit.
