Administrative Watch: DEQ Moves to Revoke Chemours Permit
Rule #1 for permitted waste dischargers: If you mess up, ‘fess up.
The controversial Chemours plant on the Cape Fear River, origin of the infamous GenX toxic contaminant, is facing possible loss of its permit to discharge treated wastewater into the river. The NC Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is investigating the company’s apparent failure to report a discharge of wastewater including the banned pollutant in early October.
DEQ announced last week that it would suspend Chemours’ authorization to discharge wastewater from its Bladen County plant’s operations on November 30, and that it was initiating steps to revoke its discharge permit altogether.
Those moves followed DEQ’s announcement earlier in the week that it had issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Chemours for failing to report an October 6 spill of a toxic contaminant which breaks down to produce a GenX-like substance. The plant is required by its permit to report such spills within 24 hours. The spill was detected by DEQ monitoring of a toxic spike in the river before any report was made, and the company did not acknowledge the spill to the state until early November, according to DEQ.
Chemours was already in hot water over extensive GenX contamination downstream, although DEQ had announced previously that it was not planning to revoke the permit. That perspective changed after the latest incident. DEQ Secretary Michael Regan said in a statement, “We’re taking action to suspend Chemours’ wastewater permit and moving to permanently revoke it because the company has repeatedly failed to follow the law.”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, late in the week DEQ announced that it was investigating an air emissions leak involving the same pollutant from Chemours’ facility.
Responsible company officials should perhaps avoid planning long trips right now: That next knock at the door may come from officers with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
Up next: the new state legislative maps have been drawn. Now what? >>
