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HHS News

Pender County Animal Shelter Offers Free Rabies Vaccinations for Dogs and Cats in April

PENDER COUNTY, N.C. — Rabies, a serious disease transmitted through the bite or scratch of an infected animal, poses a significant risk to both animals and humans. The virus can also spread if infected saliva or tissue from the brain or spinal cord enters broken skin, the mouth, nose, or eyes.

To combat the spread of rabies and promote public health, Pender County Animal Shelter is offering free rabies shots for dogs and cats over three months of age throughout the month of April. This vaccination initiative is exclusively available to Pender County residents.

Owners of multiple pets are encouraged to streamline their visit by pre-registering via email. They can send completed registration forms to Animalshelter@pendercountync.gov.

This campaign underscores the county’s commitment to protecting both residents and their beloved animals from the dangers of rabies.

For more information and registration forms, please visit the Pender County Animal Shelter website or contact: 910-259-1484.

Pender County Animal Shelter is open Monday – Friday 9:00 am – noon; 1:00pm – 4:30pm and Saturday and Sunday noon – 4:00 pm and is located at 33280 New Savannah Road in Burgaw.

Pender County Department of Social Services Hampstead Office Extends Office Hours to Better Serve Community

HAMPSTEAD – Effective March 1st, the Pender County Department of Social Services (DSS) is pleased to announce the extension of office hours for its Hampstead Annex Building services to five days a week from 9 am to 4 pm. The department has a dedicated team of three full-time employees specifically serving the Hampstead area, known for their knowledge, compassion, and unwavering commitment to providing essential assistance and support to the community.

The primary objective of this expansion is to enhance accessibility and convenience for clients. The department is confident that the extended hours will prove to be a valuable resource for the community and those in need.

For any inquiries or concerns about these changes, please get in touch with the department directly.

According to Wesley Stewart, the Director of the Pender County Department of Social Services, “We aim to improve the quality of living for the citizens of Pender County by empowering them to meet their human needs and by promoting self-sufficiency. We believe that providing assistance closer to citizens’ homes is one of the ways we can help.”

To learn more about Pender County DSS, click here.

 

Pender County WIC receives the highest award of excellence

BURGAW – Pender County’s WIC department received the Premiere Award of Excellence from the US Department of Agriculture. The honor is called the WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence Program.

“This is the second time Pender County’s WIC agency has been honored,” said Carolyn Moser, Pender County Health and Human Services Director. “The recognition goes to agencies that have demonstrated model practices in Breastfeeding Peer Counseling as well as those who are at varying stages of implementing exemplary breastfeeding promotion and support practices.”

Only eight North Carolina local WIC agencies achieved the WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence. Six of those were Gold Award Winners. Pender County was one of only two agencies that was honored with the Premiere Award. The other county was Buncombe.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, this year North Carolina has the highest number of awardees in the southeast region, including the most Gold awardees and the only SERO State agency with Premiere awardees.

Pender and Buncombe counties have created an elite group, they are the only local WIC agencies in the southeast region to achieve the Premiere Award twice, according to the USDA.

“We are proud of our hardworking staff,” said Moser. “This is an important program that promotes good health for mother and child.”

To qualify for the Premiere Award, local WIC agencies must have a minimum of 15 percent of infants issued the fully breastfeeding food package in the previous year with improvement in the current year or a minimum of 25 percent of infants have been issued the fully breastfeeding food package in the current year.

WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children.

EPA announces proposal to regulate PFAS in drinking water

DEQ provides assistance to public water systems

RALEIGH– Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation to establish legally enforceable levels for six PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known to occur in drinking water. Specifically, EPA is proposing an enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion (ppt), a level that can be reliably measured by most labs. The proposed rule would also regulate GenX chemicals, PFNA, PFHxS, and PFBS through the use of a Hazard Index calculation to determine if the combined levels of these PFAS pose a potential risk to human health. Once the proposed EPA rule becomes final, public water systems will have three years to comply with the regulation. More information on the EPA announcement and how to provide public comment is available here.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has been working with public water systems to prepare for the proposed regulation and assess PFAS levels in drinking water systems across the state. Under the Action Strategy for PFAS, DEQ is taking a whole-of-department approach to protect communities by identifying, reducing, and remediating PFAS pollution. DEQ is also utilizing federal funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help address PFAS contamination, including funding designated specifically for small, rural, and underserved communities.

“North Carolina has been leading efforts to address forever chemicals in our drinking water and today’s EPA announcement provides additional federal support and a roadmap for the public water systems in our state,” said Secretary Elizabeth S. Biser. “Having clear direction on national drinking water standards supports DEQ’s work with public water systems to protect the people of North Carolina.”

In late 2022, DEQ performed three months of sampling at 50 municipal and county water systems (map) identified in the 2019 PFAST Network study with PFOA/PFOS detections above the minimum reporting level indicated by the 2022 EPA interim health advisories or GenX above 10 ppt. DEQ is actively working with the systems on next steps and providing technical assistance.

Some public water systems in North Carolina are currently monitoring for PFAS voluntarily.  DEQ is also implementing plans to sample hundreds of smaller water systems that may not have that capability to better assess the levels of PFAS on a statewide basis. DEQ recommends that public water systems share their PFAS results with customers.

Beyond public water systems, DEQ has taken several actions to better identify PFAS sources and reduce emissions and discharges:

  • Requiring PFAS information from new facilities and industries and developing permit conditions as appropriate throughout the state;
  • Inventorying and prioritizing locations for additional assessment where these substances may have been manufactured, used, discharged or disposed;
  • Adding permit conditions as appropriate to address PFAS air emissions, waste generation, or wastewater discharges and require disclosure of data and additional monitoring;
  • Conducting groundwater testing and additional monitoring in areas with known or suspected PFAS contamination;
  • Requiring all solid waste sanitary landfills to include PFAS analyses of all regular groundwater, surface water and leachate samples;

DEQ continues to gather data to support setting regulatory standards and to provide technical assistance to facilities to reduce future PFAS pollution.

If you have public water, contact your water provider to find out whether they have sampled for PFAS and what steps they are taking to address PFAS.

If you are concerned about the level of PFAS in your drinking water, whether you are on a private well or public water system, you may consider adding filtration to reduce the amount of PFAS you consume. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has developed a list of filtration options, from whole house or under sink systems to pitcher of fridge filters with information on their effectiveness. NC DHHS Filtration Options and Sampling Factsheet

Additional information on PFAS is available on the DEQ website.

DEQ to hold Community Meeting in Pender County on Private Well Sampling

RALEIGH – The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hold a community information meeting on Tuesday, February 28, at Heide Trask Senior High School Auditorium in Rocky Point.

DEQ will share updates on private well sampling underway for PFAS contamination in Columbus, New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties.  Staff will also answer questions from the public about the private well sampling and alternate water supplies.

When:        Tuesday, February 28 at 6 p.m.

Where:      Heide Trask Senior High School
14328 NC Hwy 210, Rocky Point, NC 28457

Speaker sign-up will be available upon arrival at the meeting.

At DEQ’s direction, Chemours is sampling for PFAS contamination in eligible private drinking water wells downstream of the Fayetteville Works Facility. Chemours is required to provide alternate water supplies to residents whose wells exceed specific action levels.

To have your well sampled, call Chemours at (910) 678-1100. Messages to the Chemours call-line are monitored during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); Chemours should respond within 24-to-48 hours starting on the next business day. If you don’t currently qualify for well testing, you may qualify in the future. Chemours is required to keep your contact information and notify you if testing expands to your area.

Additional well sampling information for residents, including criteria for eligible wells and other resources, are available on the DEQ website.

DEQ Statement on Chemours Appeal of the NPDES Permit

The NPDES permit for the treatment system is part of the larger barrier wall remediation project to substantially reduce PFAS entering the Cape Fear River and impacting downstream communities.   Chemours is required to fulfill its obligations under the Consent Order and reduce the amount of contaminated groundwater reaching the Cape Fear River from the Chemours Fayetteville Works facility.

The Consent Order Addendum specifies a minimum reduction of 99% for the treatment system. DEQ expects Chemours to take all necessary steps to minimize its PFAS impacts on the environment. Pursuing litigation threatens to delay implementation beyond the Consent Order deadline of March 2023 and extend the ongoing contamination reaching the river and impacting downstream residents.

Chemours Draft Permit to Address Groundwater Contamination

Permit is part of remediation plan to substantially reduce PFAS entering the Cape Fear River

RALEIGH – The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources (DWR) will hold public hearings on June 21 and 23 to accept comments on a proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) wastewater permit, for a groundwater treatment system at the Chemours Fayetteville Works facility. The draft permit would substantially reduce the PFAS entering the Cape Fear River via contaminated groundwater which is currently entering the river untreated.

IN PERSON

Date:                          Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at 6 p.m.

Location:                    Cape Fear Community College, 411 N. Front Street, Wilmington

Union Station, First Floor Auditorium

Register:                     Speaker registration opens at 5 p.m., onsite signup sheet

 

REMOTE/ONLINE

Date:                           Thursday, June 23, 2022, at 6.p.m.

Meeting Access:         WebEx link: https://ncdenrits.webex.com/ncdenrits/onstage/g.php?MTID=e6a3cebefc6af2776f229c3d4f2c74da9

Event number:            2421 589 1484

Event password:         NCDEQ

Audio conference:      US TOLL +1-415-655-0003, Access code: 2421 589 1484

Register to Speak:       Speaker registration by 12 noon, June 23, at https://forms.office.com/g/YEqDLDDDp7

Please contact Peter Johnston if you have issues registering online at 919-707-9011 or email peter.johnston@ncdenr.gov.

To submit comments by email, send to publiccomments@ncdenr.gov with CHEMOURS noted in the subject line by 5 p.m. June 24, 2022. Public comments may also be mailed to Wastewater Permitting, Attn: Chemours Permit, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699-1617.

The draft permit and fact sheet are available to view online.

Chemours has been prohibited from discharging PFAS-contaminated process wastewater from its manufacturing operations into the Cape Fear River since 2017. However, historic operations at the facility have caused significant groundwater contamination at the site. The draft NPDES permit (NC0090042) allows only the discharge of treated water associated with groundwater remediation efforts, primarily treated groundwater, some surface water and stormwater. It would not allow the discharge of wastewater from Chemours manufacturing processes.

As outlined in the 2020 Addendum to the Consent Order, Chemours is required to address groundwater contamination by installing an underground barrier wall that will run more than a mile alongside the Cape Fear River. This wall will intercept contaminated groundwater from the facility before it reaches the river, and a series of extraction wells will pump the captured groundwater to a treatment system. The draft permit requires that the treatment system remove at least 99% of PFAS from the pumped groundwater before it enters the river. Without this treatment system intervention and accompanying discharge permit, this heavily contaminated groundwater would continue to flow to the river untreated and continue to impact downstream water supplies.

State agencies responding to release of EPA health advisories for four PFAS compounds

RALEIGH – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released health advisory values for four PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances): GenX, PFOA, PFOS and PFBS. Today’s EPA actions are based on the best available science and consider lifetime exposure to these PFAS compounds. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) are moving quickly to evaluate the state’s drinking water supplies based on these health advisories and determine appropriate next steps to assess and reduce exposure risks. 

In step with the DEQ Action Strategy for PFAS, DEQ will prioritize actions to protect communities based upon the number of people impacted, concentration of PFAS in the drinking water, and the impacts to vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.  

GenX  

Since 2017, North Carolina has taken decisive action to address GenX contamination originating from the Chemours Fayetteville Works Facility. For GenX, the EPA set a final lifetime health advisory level of 10 parts per trillion (ppt), which would replace the state’s provisional drinking water health goal of 140 ppt developed by NCDHHS in 2018.  The Consent Order requires Chemours to provide whole house filtration for private drinking water wells with GenX concentrations above a health advisory.  The federal health advisory will now replace the state provisional drinking water health goal and DEQ estimates more than 1700 additional private well users will now be eligible for whole house filtration or connection to a public water supply.  DEQ is directing Chemours to proceed with the implementation of the health advisory and additional information will be provided to residents about their options and next steps as soon as possible. 

PFOA and PFOS 

While GenX contamination is specific to the Cape Fear River Basin in North Carolina, PFOS and PFOA were commonly used nationwide for decades in a variety of consumer goods and industrial processes.  PFOA and PFOS, often called ‘legacy compounds’ have been largely phased out of current use and replaced by GenX and PFBS.   

EPA issued interim updated health advisories of 0.004 ppt for PFOA and 0.02 ppt for PFOS, with a minimum reporting level of 4 ppt.  These interim advisories replace the 2016 provisional health advisory of 70 ppt for both compounds.  According to EPA, there is an increased risk of adverse health effects, including effects on the immune system, the cardiovascular system, human development (e.g., decreased birth weight), and cancer, when drinking water with compounds above the health advisory over a lifetime.  

EPA recommends water systems that measure any levels of PFOA or PFOS take steps to inform customers, undertake additional sampling to assess the level, scope and source of contamination, and examine steps to limit exposure.  At this time, EPA is not recommending bottled water or providing alternative water sources, based solely on concentrations of these chemicals in drinking water that exceed the health advisory levels.  

Data on the PFOA and PFOS levels in North Carolina’s private drinking water wells and public water systems are limited.  However, available sampling indicates the presence of one or both compounds in multiple public water systems across the state. DEQ and DHHS are evaluating the available data in light of these new health advisories to identify potentially affected communities and take action to address impacts to North Carolina residents.  DHHS will ensure guidance on health impacts related to these forever chemicals is available to the public and remains up-to-date. Specific health information can be found in the EPA’s health advisories or in the NCDHHS PFAS fact sheet and GenX fact sheet.  

Most exposures occur by consuming food or water containing PFAS. The EPA health advisories account for margin of safety for other potential exposure sources, such as through skin (dermal), breathing (inhalation), dietary exposure, consumer products, etc. You can lower the risks of health impacts by using home or point of use water filters or alternate water sources if PFAS are above health advisory levels in your drinking water. Information on testing and filtration can be found in the NCDHHS PFAS Testing and Filtration Resources Fact Sheet.  

While health advisories are not enforceable regulatory standards, EPA plans to propose federal drinking water standards for both PFOA and PFOS.  DEQ is evaluating the appropriate next steps to assist communities, well owners, and water systems in advance of the proposed federal drinking water standards.  

PFBS
For PFBS, EPA set a health advisory at 2,000 ppt.  PFBS has not been found in significant concentrations in sampling to date in North Carolina.  

DEQ and DHHS will plan additional outreach for affected residents in the weeks ahead.  Specific health information related to PFAS from DHHS, including fact sheets, can be found online here. Additional DEQ information about PFAS, including the DEQ Action Strategy for PFAS, is available here. 

DHHS Anticipated Public Question Responses V2 GenX_Factsheet_6.15.22 PFAS_Factsheet_6.15.22 PFAS_TestingFiltration

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