TRENTON — New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Ed Potosnak announced the finalization of two separate natural resource damages (NRD) settlement agreements with Hess Corp. and Hercules LLC. Together, the two settlements are valued at more than $20 million.
The Hercules and Hess settlements will compensate the State for environmental harm that the State alleged resulted from discharges of hazardous substances and contaminants at multiple sites. The funds from both settlements will be used to restore the State’s injured natural resources, and Hercules will also preserve more than 600 acres of land through conservation easements in three different parts of the State.
“Environmental settlements like the two finalized today go beyond cleaning up past damages,” said Attorney General Davenport. “By requiring polluters to pay for damage to our natural resources and preserve lands for conservation, these actions give us hope that future generations will enjoy the clean and healthy environment that they deserve.”
“Today’s action reflects the Sherrill Administration’s commitment to holding polluters accountable for damage to our state’s precious natural resources,” said DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak. “The settlements will result in the permanent protection of valuable resources and funds to restore natural resources so the public can once again benefit from their important ecological functions.”
Both consent judgments were entered in Superior Court in August 2026 and became final after a public comment period.
Hess Settlement
Hess will pay New Jersey $19.5 million to resolve its NRD liability arising from decades of alleged pollution at its former refinery in Port Reading, Woodbridge Township. Hess operated a petroleum refinery/storage facility on the 220-acre property from 1958 until it sold the site to Buckeye Partners in 2013.
Over the decades, alleged spills and leaks released hazardous substances (including benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and various petroleum chemicals) into groundwater, soil, wetlands, and nearby waterways. The largest incident was a 1969 tank failure that released 8 million gallons of crude oil that impacted the Arthur Kill and Smith Creek, as well as wetlands, soils, and groundwater.
The DEP, the DEP Commissioner, and the New Jersey Spill Compensation Fund sued Hess and Buckeye in 2018. The settlement includes compensation for Hess’ damages to natural resources resulting from discharges on the Hess property. The State reserves the right to file a later complaint against a larger set of defendants over off-site pollution in the Arthur Kill and Smith Creek.
Hercules Settlement
Hercules was a former chemical and munitions company. Under the agreement, it will pay $4.5 million to settle claims from a 2007 lawsuit for NRD resulting from alleged contamination at four sites: Parlin in Middlesex County; Gibbstown in Gloucester County; and Kenvil and Chester, two sites in Morris County.
In addition, Hercules must pay up to $50,000 for DEP costs associated with three conservation easements that are part of the consent judgement. Lands must be permanently preserved for watershed protection, habitats, or aquifer recharge in three areas:
· 300 acres at the Duhernal easement property located on the borders of Old Bridge and Monroe
· 110 acres at the Gibbstown property
· 235 acres at the Kenvil property
The State retains the right to pursue other claims, including natural resource damages to the Delaware River, past cleanup costs already incurred, and future cleanup costs. This settlement does not address the defendants’ remediation obligations at the contaminated sites.
The settlements were handled by the Environmental Enforcement and Environmental Justice (EEEJ) Section within the Division of Law’s (DOL) Environmental and Clean Energy Practice Group: Section Chief Gary Wolf, Assistant Section Chief Thomas P. Lihan, and Deputy Attorney General Bethanne Prugh under the supervision of Deputy Director Paul Stofa, as well as staff of DEP's Office of Natural Resource Restoration, the Contaminated Site Remediation and Redevelopment program, and Office of Legal, Regulatory, and Enforcement Policy.
