$190M Passaic Cleanup Settlement Would End Decade-Long Legal Fight

"One of the nation’s biggest chemical companies will pay $190 million to New Jersey to settle a lawsuit over the cancer-causing pollution in the Passaic River, state officials announced Monday.

If approved by a judge, the settlement with Occidental Chemical Corp. will end almost a decade of litigation between the state and several companies that inherited the legal responsibility of a major polluter of the Passaic River.

Much of the money will likely go to balance the state’s budget rather than to restore the river, a move Governor Christie made last year with two previous settlements in the case.

In fact, only $50 million is being slated for restoration efforts, which environmental groups said is a paltry amount for such an ailing waterway."

Scott Fallon reports for the Bergen Record September 15, 2014.

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"Occidental in $190 Million Settlement To Clean Up New Jersey River" (Reuters)