On December 1, 2023, it was announced that the state of Ohio had settled an environmental pollution lawsuit (State of Ohio v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., et al.) against DuPont (and spinoff companies Chemours and Corteva) for $110 million.  The case pertained to PFAS releases from DuPont’s Washington Works, West Virginia facility, which borders Ohio.  The settlement will fund Ohio PFAS remediation actions, including contamination remediation, firefighting foam cleanup, and mitigation work related to natural resources.  Also of note is the fact that the settlement still allows Ohio to undertake drinking water enforcement action related to the contamination stemming from the Washington Works facility, whether through Ohio’s own drinking water PFAS standards or any final regulations by the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The settlement also triggers a payout by DuPont to the state of Delaware in the amount of $25 million. Several years ago, the state settled environmental pollution claims with DuPont that were similar in nature to those raised in the Ohio lawsuit. The Delaware case settled in 2021 for $50 million. A provision in the Delaware settlement states that if any other state settles with DuPont within eight years from the 2021 settlement date in an amount that exceeds the amount of the Delaware settlement (which was $50 million), DuPont is obligated to pay Delaware an additional $25 million.