When a vital drinking water source in St. Thomas was found to be dangerously contaminated, Dema Law helped secure funding for cleanup—and set a legal precedent in the process.

In the late 1980s, testing revealed that the Tutu Wellfield aquifer in St. Thomas — the main drinking water source for the island’s east end—was contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), benzene, and other petroleum hydrocarbons. These hazardous substances, many of which are known carcinogens, posed significant health risks to the local community.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) responded by closing numerous commercial and private wells and designating the site as a federal Superfund location. Investigations traced the contamination to former operations by Esso and Texaco.

In 1996, the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands retained Dema Law to pursue natural resource damages (NRD) claims against the responsible parties. Through litigation, the firm secured millions of dollars to fund environmental remediation projects undertaken by the EPA and DPNR.

Notably, this case marked the first known instance of a territorial government engaging outside counsel on a contingency fee basis to prosecute NRD claims, setting a precedent for future environmental litigation efforts.