A New Jersey town filed a lawsuit against chemical giant DuPont earlier this month, alleging the company avoided paying the more than $1 billion cost to clean up its hazardous waste.
A lawsuit filed in Superior Court on behalf of Carneys Point, New Jersey alleged DuPont's Chambers Works chemical manufacturing plant dumped more than 100 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the town's soil and groundwater.
The town, which claimed the procedure has happened for more than a century, said the waste then migrated the town's nearby river and canal.
Chambers Works was among a group of properties transferred to another company, Chemours, a spin-off from DuPont, in 2014 and 2015 ahead of a proposed merger.
A spokesman for DuPont declined to comment on the filed suit, saying the company does not speak on pending litigation. A spokesperson for Chemours did not immediately respond for comment.
The lawsuit, first reported by NJ.com, said The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection predicts it will take nearly 1,000 years to complete the cleanup.
"It is an understatement to say that these contaminated sites ruin the health, safety and economic life of local communities," the suit said in a preliminary statement.
Shares of Chemours, hit session lows, ending the day more than 6 percent lower. Shares of DuPont were slightly higher on the day.