Every time you drink from the tap of your North Carolina residence, you unwittingly ingest per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (or PFAS): perilous hazards to your well-being. These chemicals are known as forever chemicals because they do not break down in the environment or in our bodies. These chemicals are not only polluting our water but are spreading to our food as well. Ingesting fish from the Cape Fear River poses a severe threat to North Carolinians’ health, so much so that the NC Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued advisories regarding the consumption of certain fish caught from the Cape Fear River due to high levels of these chemicals.
Efforts To Update Regulations On PFAS
Despite the urgent environmental and health impacts of PFAS, the General Assembly has once again failed to adequately address this persistent issue. This session, two bills addressing PFAS failed to make it through committees; H.B. 610: 2023 Safe Drinking Water Act and S.B. 658: Water Safety Act of 2023. Both bills tried to direct the government to establish maximum contaminant levels for PFAS, as well as other harmful chemicals. On top of those two efforts, lawmakers proposed Amendment 2 for H.B 600: Regulatory Reform Act of 2023 that could have required the government to establish maximum contaminant levels for toxic chemicals in drinking water, but it was tabled along party lines.
Only one bipartisan effort has emerged to reduce PFAS. H.B. 370: Responsible Firefighting Foam Management Act prohibits the use of firefighting foam that contains intentionally added PFAS chemicals for training or testing. While this bill offers some progress, it diverts attention from other guilty parties responsible for the majority of the pollution.
In 2017, the public became aware that PFAS produced at the Chemours Fayetteville Works Facility had been discovered in the Cape Fear River, a source of drinking water for around 300,000 North Carolinians. Ignoring the calls of communities, Chemours has demonstrated a lack of urgency this session in working to solve the problem they created. The company began construction of its barrier wall in December at the pollution site, but missed two state-imposed deadlines for completion.
Substantial Wins In Limiting PFAS
The executive branch has sprung into action due to the idle state of the legislature. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) has announced their plan to pursue legally enforceable limits of PFAS in groundwater and surface water.
Additionally, NCDEQ announced an action plan to support communities that are directly affected by the pollution. Their pilot program, initiated through the Bernard Allen Emergency Drinking Water Fund, aims to assist North Carolinians with PFAS contamination in their private drinking water wells. Eligible residents with PFAS contamination levels equaling or surpassing health advisory thresholds will receive funding for treatment systems, allocated according to their household income.
Finally, Attorney General Josh Stein successfully represented the Department of Environmental Quality in their lawsuit against Chemours, which resulted in the company paying a record $12 million fine and removing pollutants from our air and water.
NCDEQ’s actions are separate from those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Beginning in Fall 2023, the EPA will not only require all manufacturers and facilities to fully report their production of PFAS but will seek to hold these companies accountable for the PFAS pollution they release. With limited action from the state legislature to put pressure on polluters, NCDEQ – with full support from Attorney General Stein – has stepped in to attack PFAS forthrightly. Their actions, coupled with the EPA’s new regulations, will improve the health of North Carolinians. Michael Regan, current administrator of the EPA and former Secretary of NCDEQ said, “We anticipate that when fully implemented, this rule will prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS related illnesses.”
This piece appeared in our 2023 Scorecard.
