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GenX

Public comment accepted through Aug. 10 regarding Chemours permit to keep PFAS from the Cape Fear River

Community response accepted regarding Chemours permit to keep PFAS out of Cape Fear River

RALEIGH – The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking public comment on a draft discharge permit for a water treatment system at the Chemours Fayetteville Works site to remove PFAS contamination. Chemours is required under the terms of paragraph 12(e) of the Consent Order to reduce by at least 99% PFAS in the groundwater flowing from the site through Old Outfall 002 into the Cape Fear River and downstream intakes.

The treatment system must be operational by September 30, 2020, according to the Consent Order. The system will treat groundwater that currently discharges without treatment into the river, and it is not designed for process wastewater from the facility. Since 2017, Chemours has been prohibited from discharging process wastewater into the Cape Fear River.

DEQ will accept public comment through August 10, 2020. Comment may be submitted via email to publiccomments@ncdenr.gov (please include “Chemours” in the subject line), or by mail to:

Wastewater Permitting
Attn: Chemours Permit
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N.C., 27699-1617

The draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and factsheet are available online.

The February 2019 Consent Order and related documents are available online at: https://deq.nc.gov/ChemoursConsentOrder.

DEQ requires Chemours to make revisions to its corrective action plan

RALEIGH – The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will require extensive revisions to the proposed Corrective Action Plan submitted by Chemours on December 31, 2019, due to inadequacies in the plan.

“The proposed plan is clearly deficient and fails to address the fundamental purposes of a corrective action plan,” said Michael S. Regan, DEQ Secretary. “Chemours will not receive approval from this department until they address appropriate cleanup measures for the communities impacted by the contamination and meet the terms of the Consent Order.”

The purpose of the Corrective Action Plan is to address remediation of groundwater and soil and significantly reduce PFAS flowing from onsite groundwater into surface water. As noted in the Consent Order, the corrective action plan must adhere to DEQ’s groundwater rules.

Based on initial review, the proposed Corrective Action Plan lacks a thorough technical basis, including an adequate assessment of human exposure to PFAS compounds and a thorough evaluation of on- and off-site groundwater contamination. In addition, DEQ believes the plan does not provide for appropriate remediation of on-site groundwater or off-site contamination.

In addition to internal review, DEQ provided the proposed Corrective Action Plan to the public for comment. From January 6 to April 6, DEQ received more than 1,240 public comments and DEQ staff continues to review the comments. The vast majority of the commenters believe the proposed plan from Chemours is not sufficient to address community concerns, the requirements of state law and the Consent Order. The public comments are available online here.

The February 2019 Consent Order and related documents are available online at https://deq.nc.gov/ChemoursConsentOrder.

GenX Biomonitoring Report – November 13, 2018

Here is the final report related to the biomonitoring investigation to determine if GenX and other PFAS could be detected in the blood and urine of residents living near the Fayetteville Works facility. The completed report does not share any new findings related to the information released in October. It expands on the results of the investigation conducted to improve understanding of exposure to GenX and other PFAS among people living near a manufacturing facility in Bladen County, NC. The previous press release highlighted a summary of results available here and it included a generic version of the letter sent to participants.

Link to Biomonitoring Report
https://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/oee/pfas/NCDHHS_PFAS%20Biomonitoring%20Report_8Nov2018.pdf

Link to GenX and Other PFAS Overview
https://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/oee/a_z/genx.html

DEQ issues violation notice to Chemours for unreported chemical spill

DEQ issues violation notice to Chemours for unreported chemical spill

RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has cited Chemours with violating the conditions of its wastewater discharge permit because the company failed to report an Oct. 6 chemical spill at its Fayetteville Works facility.

The violation notice demands that Chemours submit within 10 days to DEQ information about the duration and quantity of the dimer acid fluoride and any other chemicals spilled, as well as a description of all actions the company took to stop the spill.

Chemours faces a possible fine for this violation, depending on the outcome of DEQ’s investigation into the spill. The Chemours permit requires that DEQ be notified within 24 hours of any discharge of significant amounts of waste that are abnormal in quantity or characteristic, as well as any non-compliance that potentially threatens public health or the environment.

DEQ questioned Chemours officials in early November after receiving preliminary data from water samples the state agency collected that indicated elevated concentrations of GenX at Chemours’ primary wastewater discharge outfall.

After being questioned by DEQ, the company admitted to DEQ that a spill had occurred four weeks earlier on Oct. 6 from a manufacturing line at the Chemours facility. The company told state officials that dimer acid fluoride, a precursor to GenX, had spilled.

“It is both unlawful and unacceptable for a company to fail to report a chemical spill to the state and public as soon as possible,” said Michael Regan, Secretary for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. “We will take all appropriate enforcement action to hold Chemours accountable for failing to comply with its permit.”

By state law, Chemours must be provided an opportunity to respond to a notice of violation before a civil penalty can be assessed. DEQ will review the company’s response and any additional information the company submits before determining further enforcement.

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  • November 14, 2017 by in GenX

Governor Cooper to Visit Wilmington Monday For GenX Briefing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 21, 2017

Contact: Ford Porter

Phone: 919-814-2100

Email: govpress@nc.gov

 

Governor Cooper to Visit Wilmington Monday For GenX Briefing

 

RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper will travel to Wilmington on Monday for a briefing with local leaders about GenX. Governor Cooper will be joined by DEQ Secretary Michael Regan and HHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen.

The briefing will take place Monday, July 24 at 9:00 AM at the New Hanover County Government Center at 230 Government Center Drive. The briefing will be followed immediately at 10:00 AM by a public briefing open to the media in the Andre Mallette Training Center in the Government Center.

Participants in the briefing will include local, state and federal elected officials; county managers; and water system officials.

At the Governor’s direction, the NC Department of Environmental Quality along with the NC Department of Health and Human Services launched an investigation on June 14 into the presence of GenX in the Cape Fear River.

The Cooper administration and others got Chemours, the chemical’s manufacturer, to stop discharging GenX into the Cape Fear. As a result, initial water tests being conducted by DEQ show that levels of GenX in the water supply are trending down.  State officials continue to collect water samples, with samples being tested at an EPA lab in North Carolina and a private lab in Colorado.

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