In 2017, multiple agreements were reached requiring companies to restore natural resources damaged by industrial pollution:

Leaders of the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program gathered on May 23, 2017, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of both programs and to recognize key partners that have been instrumental in their success at the "State of the Estuary Conference." Included among the honorees were staff from NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration and National Marine Fisheries Service Restoration Center who were recognized with a conservation achievement award for their work in reconnecting tributaries in

For more than a century, industrial activities have released hazardous chemicals and heavy metals into the environment. Both accidental spills and intentional discharges from chemical manufacturing, oil storage and transfer, shipbuilding, and port operations have contaminated many of America’s rivers and coastal resources.

Listen to Reyhan Mehran, NOAA Regional Resource Coordinator in New York City, talk about NOAA’s role in moving towards restoration at industrial waste sites in a recent National Ocean Service podcast.

Updated November 4, 2016 - The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lodged a consent decree on October 13, 2016, for settlement of “in-river” natural resource injury liability associated with releases from the American Cyanamid Superfund Site.

Hazardous Waste Site | Bridgewater, NJ | 1915 - Present

For decades, the American Cyanamid facility released a range of contaminants directly into the Raritan River. The factory manufactured chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and distilled coal tar.