$14M settlement reached in lawsuit over contaminated water at Montvale facility
New Jersey officials agreed to a $14 million settlement in a 2019 lawsuit involving groundwater contamination at a Montvale facility, the Attorney General's Office said Thursday.
The settlement marks a resolution of the suit, filed in December 2019 against Handy & Harman Electronic Materials Corp. and Cycle Chem Inc., formerly known as Perk Chemical Co. The companies will pay back the state for using TCE, a hazardous substance linked to cancer, at the Handy & Harman etching and surfacing site on Craig Road over a period of roughly two decades.
"The well-being of our communities depends on access to safe and uncontaminated water," Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement. "Once again, our message is clear: We will pursue repayment and repair when corporate actions injure our natural resources. No one is above the law when environmental damages are at stake."
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Cycle Chem supplied and transported TCE used at the Handy & Harman site from about 1966 to 1985, Platkin said. The solvent and other harmful substances were discharged on the property, contaminating multiple aquifers and eventually leading to the closure of several nearby drinking water wells.
The companies did not admit fault or liability in the settlement but agreed to pay the state for alleged natural resource damages and repay prior cleanup and removal costs. Handy & Harman will pay $10.4 million and Cycle Chem will pay $3.5 million, along with an additional $124,400 combined in reimbursement payments.
Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, called the settlement an important step in showing residents and "corporate polluters" that the state "will not waver in seeking justice for natural resource damages."
He added, "Our work pursuing compensation and restoration to New Jersey’s precious natural environment is a priority, and it will continue."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Montvale NJ contaminated water lawsuit ends in $14M settlement
