The New Jersey Attorney General’s office and the Department of Environmental Protection today announced that several principal defendants in the Passaic River litigation have agreed to pay the state $130 million to resolve a portion of the state’s claims related to contamination of the Passaic River.

Under terms of the agreement announced today, the settling defendants’ total exposure to all claims for Passaic River cleanup and removal costs and damages could go as high as $530 million, subject to certain conditions and exceptions.

NY/NJ Baykeeper Debbie Mans said her organization "appreciates the State of New Jersey’s vigilance on holding accountable the polluters of the Passaic River." She urged that money received from the settling parties be used to repair the harm done to the river and not be re-directed to the state’s general fund. 

The Sierra Club’s Jeff Tittel, an unwavering critic of the Administration of Gov. Chris Christie, called the settlement a "giveaway to polluters," claiming that the size of the settlement would be insufficient for the cleanup. 

He said the Sierra Club also is concerned that the state "will not go after these companies for natural resource damages since it is not part of the settlement. "

"The Natural Resource Damages alone should be over a billion dollars along with the cost of the clean is at least two billion, " Tittel said.