Gabe Cavallaro

Staunton News Leader

It's official, the South River DuPont natural resource settlement is the largest ever in Virginia's history, with DuPont set to pay out a little over $42 million for use on restoration projects after the consent decree was approved in U.S. District Court on Friday.

The funds that will be poured into the river as a result of years of mercury pollution from the DuPont facility in Waynesboro are exponentially more than other natural resource cases have historically seen in Virginia. For example, $64,000 went toward the James River restoration after lead and other heavy metals were released into that watershed and the Certus Spill, which turned Tazewell County's Clinch River "snowy white," resulted in a $3.8 million settlement.

Nationwide, though the number one-ranked B.P. Deepwater settlement may look distant on the horizon at up to $8.8 billion, the DuPont case still ranks eighth all-time among those involving the U.S. Department of the Interior.

More:Go fish? What goes into setting South River's fish consumption advisory

Now that the settlement figure is settled, the question that remains is where that money will go — will Waynesboro, "ground zero" of the mercury pollution, see any of those dollars spent on local projects? There has been no guarantee of that in the proposed plans thus far, stoking tensions among some in Waynesboro.

However, it looks as though U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski believes Waynesboro will indeed see local projects — "the trustees have pledged to fully assess restoration activities directed at Waynesboro. For this reason, the city of Waynesboro urges approval of the proposed consent decree," he wrote in approving the settlement.

More:South River settlement tension all about money

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the decision Monday, saying they "look forward to working with interested stakeholders to implement the best projects to benefit the injured natural resources for the future enjoyment of the community."

What comes next will be implementation of projects as part of the restoration plan for the river. That will be a "multi-year effort," said Anne Condon, a fish and wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Trustees are finalizing procedures for project evaluation and implementation," she said.

These designated “natural resource trustees” from agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will host "stakeholder meetings" throughout the region, providing more info on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website when meeting dates and locations are set, she said.

More:How South River mercury removal science works

Condon said they are working on figuring out that timeline and process now and hope be able to provide "some updates to share within the next week."

Overall, the progress makes for exciting news, Waynesboro vice mayor Terry Short said, adding that he appreciates the work the governor's office has put in to get to this point. The city has continued to have conversations with the trustees ahead of the consent decree's final approval and he said he looks forward to working with them to bring restoration projects to Waynesboro.

“More to come," Short said.

Urbanski's complete memorandum opinion, written in approving the consent decree, is embedded below.

DuPont settlement approved consent decree