Federal environmental settlements in Q1 2026 were headlined by a $668 million cleanup agreement for Seattle’s Lower Duwamish Waterway and a $1.1 million Clean Air Act penalty against Chevron, with several Superfund consent decrees lodged for public comment and major PFAS claim deadlines falling in the same window. The quarter’s deals closed against a shifting enforcement backdrop, including a new federal prohibition on supplemental environmental projects in DOJ settlements.
The $668 Million Lower Duwamish Waterway Settlement
On March 4, 2026, the EPA announced a $668 million settlement with more than 100 potentially responsible parties to fund an in-water cleanup of contaminated sediments along a five-mile Superfund stretch of river in Seattle.1U.S. EPA. EPA Reaches $668M Settlement Agreement for Continued Cleanup of Lower Duwamish Waterway
The three primary responsible parties, known collectively as the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group, are The Boeing Company, the City of Seattle, and King County. Under the consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, that group will design and carry out the EPA’s selected remedy. It will receive about $130 million from other responsible parties and roughly $140 million from federal agencies to support the work.1U.S. EPA. EPA Reaches $668M Settlement Agreement for Continued Cleanup of Lower Duwamish Waterway2Federal Register. Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under CERCLA
The cleanup targets contaminated sediments across roughly 412 acres, with active remediation on about 177 acres. The work includes dredging approximately 105 acres, engineered sediment capping on about 24 acres, enhanced natural recovery on around 48 acres, and monitored natural recovery across the remaining 235 acres. Engineers estimate about 960,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be removed. Active construction began in late 2024 and is expected to continue through early 2027 in phases, with the full cleanup projected to take at least a decade.3Engineering News-Record. $668M Settlement Advances Dredging Cleanup of Seattle’s Lower Duwamish Waterway
A separate consent decree listing The Boeing Company entered its public comment period on March 12, 2026, reflecting the layered structure typical of multi-party Superfund cases.4U.S. Department of Justice. Consent Decrees
Chevron’s $1.1 Million Renewable Fuel Standard Penalty
On March 11, 2026, the Department of Justice announced that Chevron USA agreed to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard program. The settlement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, resolved allegations that Chevron improperly generated more than 2.2 million biofuel production credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs.5U.S. Department of Justice. Chevron Agrees to Pay $1M Civil Penalty for Violations of Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard
The problem was double-counting. Between January 2022 and April 2023, Chevron purchased renewable diesel that already had RINs generated for it, then co-processed roughly 5.4 million gallons of that fuel with renewable feedstocks at its El Segundo, California, terminal and generated 9.2 million new RINs from the combined output. Credits can only be generated once per volume of fuel under the RFS program. Chevron admitted to invalidly generating over 2.2 million of those RINs and selling them to a third party.6DTN. Chevron Agrees to $1.1M Civil Penalty
Beyond the penalty, Chevron was required to retire 2 million valid RINs valued at approximately $3.6 million to offset the invalid credits, and the company implemented accounting and operational changes to prevent future improper generation. Chevron neither admitted nor denied the alleged Clean Air Act violations as part of the settlement terms.6DTN. Chevron Agrees to $1.1M Civil Penalty
Superfund and Clean Water Consent Decrees Lodged in Q1
Several additional consent decrees entered their public comment periods during the quarter.
Ford and Ringwood, New Jersey
On March 19, 2026, Ford Motor Company and the Borough of Ringwood, New Jersey, agreed to a CERCLA consent decree to perform a final cleanup targeting groundwater contamination at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund site. The public comment period ran from March 26 through May 26, 2026.4U.S. Department of Justice. Consent Decrees
ABB and Henry’s Knob, South Carolina
A proposed consent decree for ABB, Inc. covered the Henry’s Knob Superfund site in York County, South Carolina. ABB must perform the EPA-selected interim remedial action and pay $471,405 for unreimbursed past response costs, plus future response costs. The comment period opened March 24, 2026.7Environmental Law Reporter. United States v. ABB, Inc.
Rutgers Organics and the Centre County Kepone Site
The DOJ lodged a consent decree on March 6, 2026, for the Centre County Kepone Site in College Township, Pennsylvania. Rutgers Organics LLC agreed to pay $795,263, with $618,060 going to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Natural Resource Damages Assessment and Restoration Fund and $177,203 reimbursing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for assessment costs. The company must also build a parking lot and trail providing public fishing access along Spring Creek near the site, and record a conservation easement on adjoining property to support water quality restoration.8Federal Register. Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree – Rutgers Organics LLC
Columbia, South Carolina Sewer Modification
A proposed modification to a 2014 consent decree with the City of Columbia, South Carolina, entered its comment period on April 2, 2026. The original settlement resolved Clean Water Act violations tied to the city’s sanitary sewer system, including unauthorized overflows, and had committed Columbia to roughly $750 million in sewer improvements over 12 years.9U.S. EPA. Columbia, South Carolina, Clean Water Act Settlement The 2026 modification requires Columbia to complete four additional projects to increase sewer capacity by January 1, 2029, while extending the deadline for implementing a capacity assurance program in the affected subbasins.10Federal Register. Notice of Lodging of Proposed Material Modification of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act
PFAS Claim Deadlines That Hit During Q1
The landmark PFAS drinking water settlements were finalized earlier, but Q1 2026 was a decisive filing window for public water systems. The 3M settlement, worth up to $10.3 billion paid over 13 years, and the DuPont/Chemours/Corteva settlement of $1.185 billion together provide over $14 billion for utilities dealing with PFAS contamination.11NRDC. PFAS Settlement Money for Water Utilities Poised to Evaporate12National League of Cities. How PFAS Settlements and Litigation Are Helping Communities Close Infrastructure Funding Gaps
Deadlines that fell during or just after Q1 2026:
- January 1, 2026: Phase 2 water systems’ deadline to file baseline testing compensation claims under both the 3M and DuPont funds.
- March 31, 2026: Deadline to submit testing costs claims forms, with required testing completed by this date.
- June 30, 2026: Phase 2 deadline for treatment and cost claims against the DuPont fund.
- July 31, 2026: Phase 2 deadline for treatment and cost claims against the 3M fund.
Municipalities began receiving first-round payments in summer 2025; Sacramento, for example, was awarded approximately $10.4 million.12National League of Cities. How PFAS Settlements and Litigation Are Helping Communities Close Infrastructure Funding Gaps As of May 2026, over 15,000 PFAS-related lawsuits remained grouped in federal multi-district litigation, with personal injury bellwether trials still pending.13Drugwatch. PFAS Water Contamination Lawsuits
The Enforcement Backdrop: Supplemental Environmental Projects Rescinded
One policy change is already reshaping what federal environmental settlements can include. Supplemental environmental projects, or SEPs, are voluntary projects polluters agree to fund as part of enforcement settlements, going beyond what the law requires. Examples include installing fenceline air monitors, replacing diesel engines with cleaner alternatives, and abating lead paint in housing. Over roughly three decades, SEPs had been included in more than 2,800 federal settlements, totaling over $860 million in project value.14U.S. EPA. EPA Enforcement Program Seeks Public Ideas for Supplemental Environmental Projects
On February 5, 2025, the Attorney General issued a memorandum rescinding Biden-era guidance that had restored the use of SEPs, effectively prohibiting the DOJ from incorporating them into civil and criminal settlements except where a federal statute expressly authorizes their use. The stated rationale was to “eliminate the illegal or improper use [of] memoranda to direct payments to non-governmental, third-party organizations that were neither victims nor parties to the lawsuits.”15Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program. DOJ Issued Interim Final Rule to Allow Supplemental Environmental Projects
The practical effect is still unfolding. Federal settlements can still require “mitigation projects” framed as equitable relief to restore conditions to their pre-violation state, which the government views as distinct from SEPs. The DOJ’s prohibition does not extend to state-level enforcement, where companies can still propose SEPs where state law allows. But the DOJ may use its 45-day federal notice period to object to SEPs included in private citizen suit settlements, even in cases where the federal government is not a party, which could delay private environmental enforcement going forward.15Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program. DOJ Issued Interim Final Rule to Allow Supplemental Environmental Projects