Over the past five years, NOAA and co-trustees have secured $163 million from eight pollution settlements from seven hazardous waste sites and one oil spill in the Northeast region. These funds contribute to the $390 million recovered in the region since 1988.
These recovered funds are used for restoration projects that benefit the impacted communities, the ocean economy, and coastal recovery by enhancing robust fisheries, protecting endangered species, revitalizing coastal habitats, and improving recreation access. Explore these assessment and restoration projects by state.
NOAA is a Trustee for Public Natural Resources
NOAA leverages its scientific and technical expertise to assess and restore natural resources injured by releases related to many hazardous waste sites and oil spills in the Northeast region. The restoration achieved through NOAA’s efforts benefits locally-impacted communities that rely on the resources and services provided by healthy waterways. Restoration comes in many forms and is designed to help the environment recover and can also restore recreational opportunities like fishing, swimming, and boating.
Using Science to Restore Polluted Coastal Environments
The Northeast region extends from Maine to Virginia, encompassing the marine coastlines of 11 states. A number of economically important fisheries and a wide variety of other important marine and coastal species, from river herring to marine mammals and sea turtles, rely on the region’s diverse habitats while feeding, migrating, taking refuge from predators, and breeding.
This region is rich in rocky shorelines, wetlands, beaches, dunes, barrier islands, estuaries, and sandy coastal plains. Important marine ecosystems in the region include the Gulf of Maine, the Chesapeake Bay, Mid Atlantic Bight, and Georges Bank, which support thousands of marine plant and animal species, including Atlantic cod, haddock, pollock, yellowtail flounder, winter flounder, American plaice, Atlantic herring, bluefish, black sea bass, scup, sea scallops, and various species of skates. This biological richness is supported by seasonal phytoplankton blooms and high annual primary productivity.
Approximately 70 million people live in the Northeast, making it the most populous region in the U.S, with about 82% living in counties on the coast. This region supports over a third of the national coastal ocean economy in commercial fishing, with important contributions from tourism, recreation, and shipping. Restoring polluted natural resources and their human use not only repairs environmental damage, but often enhances the ability of people, property, and coastal activities to withstand impacts from other threats such as flooding, storm surge, and saltwater intrusion.
Pollution Settlement Highlights: 2019-2023
Scroll to learn more about each of the eight pollution settlements we secured in the Northeast region through 2019-2023, worth almost $163 million.
Eight Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlements for restoration across five states:
- 1 oil spill, 7 hazardous waste sites
- 1 Delaware, 3 New Jersey, 1 Massachusetts, 1 Pennsylvania, 2 Virginia
$154.5 Million to Restore Passaic River and Greater Newark Bay, New Jersey
Location: New Jersey
Incident type: Hazardous Waste Site
A $73.5 million settlement reached July 29, 2022, is funding the creation of a five-acre riverfront park in East Newark, New Jersey as part of an early restoration effort. Led by federal natural resource trustee agencies NOAA and the U.S. Department of the Interior, the project will provide green space and recreational opportunities when it opens to the public in 2025.
On June 1, 2023, the District Court for the District of Delaware approved an $81 million settlement, making funds available for the assessment and restoration of injured natural resources in the Lower Passaic River-Greater Newark Bay, New Jersey. This settlement is in connection with the Diamond Alkali Site in the Lower Passaic River.
Learn more about the five-acre East Newark Riverfront Park, and view an update of the construction.
Case background: The Lower Passaic River and Greater Newark Bay area has a history of industrial contamination, with multiple Superfund sites located nearby, including Diamond Alkali Co., Diamond Head Oil Refinery Div., Riverside Industrial Park, Standard Chlorine Chemical Company, White Chemical Corp. Pierson’s Creek, and the Lower Hackensack River.
Since the 1940s, industrial practices at the Diamond Alkali properties have released toxic substances—including dioxin from Agent Orange production, pesticides, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)—into the environment. More than 80 other facilities have also released contaminants into the area.
This region provides critical fish habitat for marine, estuarine, and freshwater species, but contamination in the water, sediment, wetlands, and shorelines threatens invertebrates, fish, wildlife, and the people who rely on them. Pollution levels are so severe that New Jersey has banned consuming fish and shellfish from the Lower Passaic River since 1984.
$5.3 Million for Restoration in Gloucester, Massachusetts
Location: Massachusetts
Incident type: Hazardous Waste Site
In 2023, a $5.38 million settlement was finalized to restore natural resources impacted by contaminants discharged from a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) along the Gloucester, Massachusetts waterfront. The settlement allocates $5.3 million for restoration projects and the rest for past assessment costs, planning, and overseeing and funding habitat restoration.
In the fall of 2024, the trustees began working with the public and partners to develop a restoration plan identifying projects to restore ecological resources. An example of a potential project is the restoration and enhancement of degraded coastal wetlands near Gloucester Harbor. The Final Restoration Plan is expected to be completed in 2026, with project implementation to follow.
Case background: Between 1854 and 1952, the former Gloucester Gas Light Company operated an MGP along the Gloucester waterfront in the vicinity of the present-day Harbor Loop and Rogers Street along the Inner Harbor. The MGP manufactured gas from coal and oil. Customers used the gas primarily for the same purposes we use natural gas today, including for lighting, cooking, and heating. MGPs, which were prevalent in populated areas before the development of the region’s natural gas pipelines, yielded waste by-products such as tars, sludges, and oils which contained hazardous chemicals and were commonly disposed of onsite.
These hazardous chemicals associated with this former MGP contaminated soils and groundwater near the facility and sediment in the adjacent Gloucester Harbor. These pollutants pose risks to fish, wildlife, and sediment-dwelling species that depend upon this area for habitat.
$1.5 Million for Oyster Restoration in Portsmouth, Virginia
Location: Virginia
Incident type: Hazardous Waste Site
On April 30, 2019, a $1.5 million settlement was finalized to compensate the public for injuries to natural resources and help restore the Elizabeth River in Virginia. The funds were used to rebuild oyster reef habitat, a critical component of the river’s ecosystem.
Oysters play a key role in maintaining ecological balance by forming reef structures that provide habitat, stabilize shorelines, and naturally filter water. Restoring oyster reefs is a cost-effective way to enhance water quality and improve overall ecosystem health.
NOAA worked with multiple responsible parties to develop innovative restoration projects. The Elizabeth River Project, a key local partner restoring oysters in the area for over four years, played a crucial role in identifying ongoing oyster restoration efforts. Installing oyster reefs is a cost-effective investment in the future of the Elizabeth River. Reefs will continue to grow, benefiting wildlife and local economies for years to come.
Case background: The Atlantic Wood Superfund Site in Portsmouth, Virginia, spans 50 acres of industrial waterfront land and over 30 acres of contaminated sediments in the Elizabeth River. From 1926 to 1992, a wood-treating facility released harmful chemicals, including creosote and pentachlorophenol into the environment through wood treatment and storage processes. During World War II, the U.S. Navy leased part of the site and disposed of waste on site which introduced heavy metals from acetylene sludge. Injury assessment identified contaminants like heavy metals contained in acetylene sludge and PAHs and metals from sand blast grit impacting wetland habitats that support aquatic species such as herring, shad, perch, bass, and mummichog.
Additional Settlements in Northeast Region Over Past Five Years
DuPont Hay Road, Delaware
- Amount Recovered: $808,500 in 2023
- Purpose: Restoration (specific habitat not specified)
Metal Bank, Pennsylvania
- Amount Recovered: $535,193 in 2021
- Purpose: Shoreline habitat restoration
Berry’s Creek Watershed, New Jersey
- Amount Recovered: $247,333 in 2021
- Purpose: natural resource restoration planning and implementation
PEPCO mineral oil spill, Washington, D.C.
- Amount Recovered: $376,532 in 2018
- Purpose: water quality improvement
Helping Habitats and Communities in the Northeast Recover From Pollution
Restoration Project Highlights: 2019-2023
Below are highlighted examples of restoration after pollution in the Northeast region from the past five years.
The Great Meadows Marsh Project
Location: Connecticut
Incident type: Hazardous Waste Site
The Great Meadows Marsh Restoration Project in Stratford, Connecticut, has transformed nearly 40 acres of salt marsh and coastal habitats. Funded by three pollution cases—Lordship Point Gun Club, Raymark Industries, and Housatonic River—this injury restoration enhances recovery and strengthens vital coastal ecosystems. The project—led by NOAA, Audubon, and partners—has revitalized the marsh by excavating excess soils, constructing tidal channels, removing invasive plant species, and planting native marsh and coastal plants. These efforts restore critical habitats for fish and wildlife, improve storm fortification measures, and protect against community flooding. By integrating funds from multiple pollution cases, the project exemplifies effective collaboration and public engagement, enhancing the ecological health and function of Connecticut's largest unditched salt marsh.
Case Background: Restoration at Great Meadows Marsh was supported through funding recovered from three pollution cases:
- Lordship Point Gun Club, a former skeet shooting range in Stratford, Connecticut
- Raymark Industries, a former car parts manufacturer in Stratford, Connecticut
- Housatonic River, a former General Electric industrial facility in Massachusetts that released contaminants to the Housatonic River, including the Connecticut section of the river
Reviving Buzzards Bay: Two Decades of Restoration Success
Location: Massachusetts and Rhode
Island Incident type: Oil spill
Twenty years after the B-120 oil spill, Buzzards Bay has seen a remarkable recovery, thanks to over $19 million in restoration efforts by collaborative partnership. The spill polluted nearly 100 miles of coastline, devastating wetlands, coastal beaches, birds, and local shellfisheries. Through the collaboration of NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and state agencies, extensive projects have restored vital habitats. Key efforts include removing a dam and restoring river channels to open migratory fish habitats, restoring eelgrass and oyster populations, and protecting bird species like piping plover, terns, and loons. Additionally, public recreational areas have been revived with improved access and shellfishing opportunities. Today, Buzzards Bay stands as a testament to successful ecological restoration, benefiting both wildlife and local communities.
Case Background: In April 2003, the Bouchard Barge 120 oil barge struck a bedrock ledge in Buzzards Bay, releasing 98,000 gallons of oil into the waters of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The spill affected nearly 100 miles of coastline, harming tidal marshes, wildlife, and local communities by disrupting fishing, shellfishing, and water recreational activities. Additionally, the spill caused the death and injury of many bird species—including federally protected piping plovers and roseate terns—while significantly impacting shellfish and other aquatic life, amounting to substantial ecological and economic damages in the region.
Restoring Ram Island
Location: Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Incident type: Oil spill
The Trustees for the 2003 Bouchard Barge 120 oil spill, have finalized a restoration plan to address the ongoing damage to Ram Island, which suffered significant harm to its shoreline and bird populations. Following the oil spill, the island’s nesting populations of roseate terns and common terns were heavily impacted by both oiling and cleanup efforts. More than $19 million in damages from multiple settlements were awarded to restore impacted resources, with over $5.5 million designated specifically for Ram Island restoration.
The Trustees are investing $5.53 million (plus interest) to enhance the island’s recovery and long-term sustainability. Efforts are focusing on increasing land elevations, restoring salt marsh and other intertidal habitats, and implementing shoreline protection measures to minimize erosion. Ram Island, located one mile off Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, is a critical nesting site for endangered roseate terns and common terns. The island supports one of the three largest colonies of roseate terns in North America. The project, planned for implementation in 2026-2027, aims to protect this vital habitat from the impacts of sea level rise and increasing coastal storms. This final phase of restoration will ensure the recovery of a critical resource for both birds and fish in Buzzards Bay.