Administrative Watch: Chemours Agrees to New Terms

Last week, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) reached a new consent order with Chemours and Cape Fear River Watch which will strengthen their previous agreement to better regulate GenX emissions. Environmental advocates called the revised order “an important first step” in dealing with the company’s toxic legacy.

The new order was revised after extensive public comment on the initial draft called for stronger controls on Chemours’ ongoing pollution. DEQ Secretary Michael Regan pointed to the importance of that public input. “People affected by GenX and PFAS pollution in the Cape Fear River basin deserve real relief, and this order provides that relief,” said Regan. “We listened to the comments from the community, from leaders and from public utilities and have established a strong path forward to protect water quality and public health.”

Clean water and public health advocates who called for changes in the draft also praised the revisions. “Cape Fear River Watch continues to stand up for clean water for all North Carolinians,” said Cape Fear Riverkeeper Kemp Burdette. “This consent order is an important first step in stopping pollution from leaving the Chemours site and entering the Cape Fear River, ground water, and the air. We are committed to seeing this process through until Chemours can prove that they have cleaned up the mess they have created.”

Among other changes, the revised order includes a specific requirement that public water utilities downstream from Chemours’ Bladen County plant will be directly involved in the process of determining what further pollution control steps the company must undertake.

Up next, North Carolina Could Soon Feel Like Florida or Mexico >>

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