NCLCV Welcomes Michael Regan to Fayetteville, North Carolina as He Announces First National Drinking Water Limit on PFAS

Today, the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV) welcomed the Administrator of the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michael Regan, to Fayetteville, NC. Regan announced limiting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (or PFAS) in drinking water to the lowest measurable levels. Today’s announcement is the first national drinking water limit on the forever chemicals. 

“This is a huge win for the country, but especially North Carolina,” said Carrie Clark, executive director at NCLCV. “It was here in North Carolina that researchers first discovered some of these forever chemicals. It is in Fayetteville that communities–primarily communities of color–have been targeted as dumping sites for state and foreign waste. Late last year the EPA denied the dumping of 4.4 million pounds of PFAS wastewater annually from the Netherlands into Fayetteville. Both this and the protections established today are one step toward environmental justice for the communities facing the brunt of this pollution in North Carolina.”

“My family and I don’t use the faucet for cooking or brushing our teeth. We use bottled water for that,” said Stacey Freeman, lead NCLCV Foundation organizer and Fayetteville resident. “It’s not just me, either; it’s my friends, it’s my community. They want to protect their kids just like I want to protect my son from these harmful chemicals. We just don’t trust the water.”

“PFAS comes up in the General Assembly every year,” said Dan Crawford, director of governmental relations at NCLCV. “Yet the pro-polluter majority has failed to enact meaningful legislation to address the issue. We welcome this announcement for everyday North Carolinians, and we will continue to work to elect candidates that will protect our drinking water. We will continue to work to oust those who bow down to the money of corporate polluters.”

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