Latest news with #ShawnLaTourette
04-08-2025
- Business
NJ says 3 chemical makers agree to 'forever chemical' settlement worth up to $2B
TRENTON, N.J. -- DuPont and two other companies will pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS, commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals," the companies announced Monday. State Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said the deal with DuPont, Chemours and Corteva is the largest such settlement in the state's history. It calls for the companies to pay $875 million over 25 years and create a remediation fund of up $1.2 billion. The companies will split the costs under the deal, which must still be approved by the courts. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation's air, water and soil. They are commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals.' DuPont said the settlement will resolve 'all pending environmental and other claims' for 'legacy" contamination claims at four sites where the companies operated in the state. It comes just months after the state said chemical manufacturer 3M has agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS. "Polluters who place profit above public well-being by releasing poisonous PFAS and other contamination in our State can expect to be held responsible to clean up their mess and fully compensate the State and its citizens for the precious natural resources they've damaged or destroyed," LaTourette said. PFAS were manufactured by companies such as 3M, Chemours and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped eggs slide across non-stick frying pans, ensured that firefighting foam suffocates flames and helped clothes withstand rain and keep people dry. The chemicals resist breaking down, though, meaning they linger in the environment. Environmental activists say PFAS makers knew about the health harms of PFAS long before they were made public. The same attributes that make the chemicals so valuable – resistance to breakdown – make them hazardous to people. PFAS accumulate in the body, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency set their limits for drinking water at 4 parts per trillion for two common types — PFOA and PFOS — that are phased out of manufacturing but still are present in the environment.
The Hill
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Hill
New Jersey says 3 chemical makers agree to ‘forever chemical' settlement worth up to $2 billion
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — DuPont and two other companies will pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS, commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals,' the companies announced Monday. State Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said the deal with DuPont, Chemours and Corteva is the largest such settlement in the state's history. It calls for the companies to pay $875 million over 25 years and create a remediation fund of up $1.2 billion. The companies will split the costs under the deal, which must still be approved by the courts. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation's air, water and soil. They are commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals.' DuPont said the settlement will resolve 'all pending environmental and other claims' for 'legacy' contamination claims at four sites where the companies operated in the state. It comes just months after the state said chemical manufacturer 3M has agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS. 'Polluters who place profit above public well-being by releasing poisonous PFAS and other contamination in our State can expect to be held responsible to clean up their mess and fully compensate the State and its citizens for the precious natural resources they've damaged or destroyed,' LaTourette said. PFAS were manufactured by companies such as 3M, Chemours and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped eggs slide across non-stick frying pans, ensured that firefighting foam suffocates flames and helped clothes withstand rain and keep people dry. The chemicals resist breaking down, though, meaning they linger in the environment. Environmental activists say PFAS makers knew about the health harms of PFAS long before they were made public. The same attributes that make the chemicals so valuable – resistance to breakdown – make them hazardous to people. PFAS accumulate in the body, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency set their limits for drinking water at 4 parts per trillion for two common types — PFOA and PFOS — that are phased out of manufacturing but still are present in the environment.
San Francisco Chronicle
04-08-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
New Jersey says 3 chemical makers agree to 'forever chemical' settlement worth up to $2 billion
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — DuPont and two other companies will pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS, commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals," the companies announced Monday. State Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said the deal with DuPont, Chemours and Corteva is the largest such settlement in the state's history. It calls for the companies to pay $875 million over 25 years and create a remediation fund of up $1.2 billion. The companies will split the costs under the deal, which must still be approved by the courts. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation's air, water and soil. They are commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals.' DuPont said the settlement will resolve 'all pending environmental and other claims' for 'legacy" contamination claims at four sites where the companies operated in the state. It comes just months after the state said chemical manufacturer 3M has agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS. "Polluters who place profit above public well-being by releasing poisonous PFAS and other contamination in our State can expect to be held responsible to clean up their mess and fully compensate the State and its citizens for the precious natural resources they've damaged or destroyed," LaTourette said. PFAS were manufactured by companies such as 3M, Chemours and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped eggs slide across non-stick frying pans, ensured that firefighting foam suffocates flames and helped clothes withstand rain and keep people dry. The chemicals resist breaking down, though, meaning they linger in the environment. Environmental activists say PFAS makers knew about the health harms of PFAS long before they were made public. The same attributes that make the chemicals so valuable – resistance to breakdown – make them hazardous to people. PFAS accumulate in the body, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency set their limits for drinking water at 4 parts per trillion for two common types — PFOA and PFOS — that are phased out of manufacturing but still are present in the environment.
Winnipeg Free Press
04-08-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
New Jersey says 3 chemical makers agree to ‘forever chemical' settlement worth up to $2 billion
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — DuPont and two other companies will pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS, commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals,' the companies announced Monday. State Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said the deal with DuPont, Chemours and Corteva is the largest such settlement in the state's history. It calls for the companies to pay $875 million over 25 years and create a remediation fund of up $1.2 billion. The companies will split the costs under the deal, which must still be approved by the courts. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation's air, water and soil. They are commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals.' DuPont said the settlement will resolve 'all pending environmental and other claims' for 'legacy' contamination claims at four sites where the companies operated in the state. It comes just months after the state said chemical manufacturer 3M has agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS. 'Polluters who place profit above public well-being by releasing poisonous PFAS and other contamination in our State can expect to be held responsible to clean up their mess and fully compensate the State and its citizens for the precious natural resources they've damaged or destroyed,' LaTourette said. PFAS were manufactured by companies such as 3M, Chemours and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped eggs slide across non-stick frying pans, ensured that firefighting foam suffocates flames and helped clothes withstand rain and keep people dry. The chemicals resist breaking down, though, meaning they linger in the environment. Environmental activists say PFAS makers knew about the health harms of PFAS long before they were made public. The same attributes that make the chemicals so valuable – resistance to breakdown – make them hazardous to people. PFAS accumulate in the body, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency set their limits for drinking water at 4 parts per trillion for two common types — PFOA and PFOS — that are phased out of manufacturing but still are present in the environment.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NJ proposes new height requirement for new construction in flood prone areas
TRENTON -- New Jersey environmental regulators have proposed rules that would raise the minimum height of new construction in flood prone areas of the state. The height rules are a foot lower than what the state originally proposed, but they would still add a significant cost to new construction. The changes, announced Monday, July 14, would also include the Jersey Shore. Chief among those changes is a reduced height requirement that is a foot less than what state environmental regulators proposed last year, when they said at least 5 feet on top of FEMA's Base Flood Elevation was necessary to protect homes in the future. "We've got to be guided by the best available science and acknowledge that science is not static," New Jersey Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. LaTourette said the reduction in New Jersey's proposed flood zone rules reflect international policy changes that experts predict will reduce carbon emissions and slow global temperature increases from previously higher projections. Under the proposal, new construction in flood areas would be at least 4 feet higher than the elevation requirement set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. If FEMA's Base Flood Elevation on a property is 3 feet over ground level, the new 4-foot requirement would mean a home would have to be built 7 feet over ground level, according to the draft rules. The reason for the difference is that New Jersey's proposed building standards look forward at projected changes in global temperatures, precipitation and sea level rise when factoring building elevations. In contrast, FEMA's building rules for flood zones look backward at historical flood data. Experts say sea level will rise 4.4 feet through the end of the current century, which marks a reduction from earlier estimates that predicted 5.1 feet of increase, said Jennifer Moriarty, the state's assistant commissioner for watershed and land management at the Department of Environmental Protection. "That's because global temperature increase is now projected to be 2.7 degrees, whereas at the time of the original proposal it was projected to be 3.3 degrees of warming," she said. Sea level has already climbed 18 inches since the early 1900s along the coast, according to the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers University. The new amendments to New Jersey's proposed flood zone building regulations, or Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL) coastal flood rules, would also reduce the regions and neighborhoods that are considered to be within the "inundation risk zone" from the earlier draft, to meet the new predictions. However, even these amended rules would place neighborhoods that are not currently considered at risk into new flood zones, according to critics of the proposal. The amendments would give builders flexibility in flood zones for projects that have "dry access" during floods, so that residents could evacuate or emergency responders could enter. Some low- and moderate-income housing projects could also receive a "hardship exception" from the some of the building rules, as long as public safety is not jeopardized, according to Department of Environmental Protection officials. But waiving the flood-mitigation requirements for affordable housing projects puts vulnerable people in vulnerable areas at risk and "is just going to be very dangerous," said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy organization. "Why would we build in a place we know is going to flood in a way we know will kill people… particularly for our most vulnerable (residents)," Potosnak said. "Families with limited financial ability are going to have the most difficult time escaping and finding another place of refuge. They can't just go and necessarily rent a hotel when the storm is coming." "Under no circumstances are we here at the DEP or the (Gov. Phil) Murphy Administration suggesting that folks who are in need of affordable housing should be placed in the most vulnerable areas," LaTourette said. The commissioner said the hardship exemption would only apply if builders can prove they have plans to protect health and safety in affordable housing projects in flood zones. Members of New Jersey's building industry have also been critical of the new flood rules since they were first introduced. The new building height requirement would make construction prohibitively expensive across much of the state. Despite reducing the proposed building height standard from 5 feet over Base Flood Elevation to 4 feet, potential homebuyers will still be priced out of New Jersey's housing market, said Ray Cantor, deputy chief of government affairs for NJBIA, or the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. "That 1-foot decline may not make a difference to some, but it will be cost-prohibitive to many and impossible to overcome for others," Cantor said in a statement. "Put simply, it will be devastating to many of our coastal and river communities. "The DEP is simply doing a great economic disservice to the state that will greatly add to our lack of affordability in New Jersey," he added. Jeff Kolakowski, CEO of the New Jersey Builders Association, said his organization was still reviewing the changes in the proposed regulations. "We will need to thoroughly evaluate the changes to gauge the impact on our state's planning, redevelopment, transportation, infrastructure, housing affordability and economy," he said in an email to the Asbury Park Press. "This proposal's monumental impact on the long-term future of NJ deserves more robust public engagement, better coordination amongst state agencies and priorities and at this point, should be left to the next Administration." When asked by a reporter if the amendments to the flood zone regulations were related to pressure from business and builder groups, the state environmental commissioner pushed back in a July 14 video conference with media. The reduced heights are due to the lowering of the global warming calculation and lesser sea level rise predictions, LaTourette said. Those changes coincide with nations around the world instituting policies that reduce carbon emissions, which drive climate change, he said. The commissioner added that state officials will look at those temperature and sea level rise projections every five years and re-evaluate the building rules in flood areas in response to changes. "It's important to consistently update the science," LaTourette said. "Nothing about the way the number is formulated has changed. The inputs have changed." While the proposed rules would apply to new construction, they would not affect existing buildings in areas that are already experiencing regular and occasional flooding: coastal Monmouth County, Long Beach Island and some communities around Barnegat Bay, for example. Many of the homes in these areas were elevated after superstorm Sandy, but some neighborhoods where the worst flooding happens are routinely cut off from dry land during coastal storms and king tides. Others face the risk of flooding during heavy rains or summer deluges. LaTourette said these communities will require more than one solution to address flooding in the coming years. These areas cannot just elevate buildings; rather, they must reimagine stormwater drainage systems, collaborate on flood prevention projects with state and federal partners and take advantage of state programs that buy out the most flood-prone properties, he said. In some places, levees and tidal gates may also be necessary, he said. "The resilience menu is large, but you have to invest in each course for it to be effective," LaTourette said. The proposed Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL) coastal flood rules will be published in the New Jersey Register on July 21. A 60-day public comment period will follow. A public hearing will be held at a date to be announced in September. Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 17 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@ or 732-557-5701. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: New Jersey proposal would lift construction 4 feet over FEMA standard
