Justice Department Lodges Proposed $125M Lower Passaic Cleanup Settlement

The Justice Department, acting on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, lodged a proposed settlement agreement with Environmental Resource Holdings LLC on Sept. 10, 2026, covering work to support cleanup of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site, including the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River. The work is estimated to cost $125 million and would establish facilities and baseline information needed before in-river dredging and capping begin.

Under the proposed consent decree, ERH would construct an upland processing facility and several upland support facilities. The processing facility would handle sediment dredged from the river before it is transported for off-site disposal, while the support facilities would provide the land and infrastructure needed for future in-river construction work.

ERH would also sample the lower 8.3 miles of the river to establish a baseline and reimburse EPA for future oversight costs associated with the work. EPA officials characterized the proposed settlement as a step toward beginning construction and preparing for dredging at one of New Jersey’s most complex and longstanding Superfund sites.

ERH is identified as a potentially responsible party for the site. It is a corporate successor to Occidental Chemical Corporation and to Diamond Alkali Company/Diamond Shamrock Corporation, which owned and operated the former Diamond Alkali facility in Newark. The Justice Department said industrial activity contaminated the Lower Passaic River over many decades.

The proposed consent decree was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and is subject to a 30-day comment period. Attorneys in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division are handling the matter.