This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

While the federal government is scaling back regulations on “forever chemicals,” New Jersey is holding polluters accountable, announcing a record-breaking $2 billion settlement with DuPont and several related companies with an $875 million payout and up to $1.2 billion in cleanup costs.

The deal, which follows a two-month-long trial, is touted by New Jersey officials as “the largest environmental settlement ever reached by a single American state.”

The settlement was reached with the parties after five hearings over the summer. Prior to the settlement, U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb, chief judge of the District of New Jersey, had set the case for a j

See Full Page