Address:ย
Burgaw | Hampstead |
805 South Walker Street Burgaw, NC 28425 |
15060 US-17, Hampstead, NC 28443 |
Phone:ย 910-259-1202
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
Website:ย https://pendercountync.gov/pcd/
GENX is a trade name for a man-made and unregulated chemical used inย manufacturing non-stick coatings and for other purposes.ย Chemours’ facility in Fayetteville began producing GenX commercially in 2009 as a replacement for PFOA (perfluroctaniac acid).ย This chemical is also produced as a byproduct during other manufacturing processes and it may have been present in the environment for many years before being produced commercially as GenX.
At present, there are no U.S. regulatory guideline levels for GENX. It is an emerging and unregulated contaminant.
Under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, the EPA gathers data about select unregulated contaminants to determine how often they appear in drinking water and at what levels.ย GenX is considered an “emerging contaminant”.ย The EPA uses the data along with relevant health effect studies to determine if regulation is necessary, and if so, at what levels.ย For more information on this monitoring rule, please visit the EPAโs website www.epa.gov
Pender County Utilities (PCU) draws raw surface water from the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authorityโs intake in the Cape Fear River in Bladen County.ย The Cape Fear River is also a water supply to theย Cape Fear Public Utility Authority and Brunswick County Utilities. PCU treats the raw (surface) water to meet federal and state drinking water standards before distributing it to consumers.
Topsail Beach and Surf City operate their own municipal water systems using deep groundwater wells.
Yes.ย The public water supplies from Pender County meet all standards for drinking water established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and North Carolina DEQ.ย Pender County Utilities staff monitors your water for the presence and concentration of dozens of different chemicals and substances. Water samples are reported monthly, quarterly, and annually as required by the EPA and DEQ, https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/title-xiv-public-health-service-act-safety-public-water-systems-safe-drinking-water-act.
Upon being notified of the study regarding GENX in our source water, the Pender County Commissioners; County Manager, Randell Woodruff; Health and Human Services Director, Carolyn Moser; and Pender County Utilitiesย began working with elected officials, DEQ, DHHS, and our regional county partners to investigate and ensure safe drinking water.
Initially, daily conference callsย were held with DHHS, DEQ, Bladen, Brunswick, and New Hanover counties for updates that may impact the health of county residents as research on GENX evolved.ย Led by Commissioner Chair, George Brown and County Manager, Randell Woodruff,ย communication is on-goingย with our Cape Fear county partners, state and federal agencies to learn more about GENX and its potential impacts. Chairman Brown has also met with other County Commissioner Chairs for a conference call with Governor Cooper.
The Pender County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution at the June 19, 2017 board meeting entitled Resolution Requesting The Chemours Company To Halt Processes Which Result In The Discharge Of The GenX Chemical Into The Cape Fear River.
County officials and staff continue toย participate on weeklyย local, regional and state conference calls.ย Staffย stay apprised of allย state and federal water sampling and testing.ย ย N.C. DEQ and N.C. DHHS are leading state investigations into the presence of GenX in the Cape Fear River and other sources such as air quality and are pushing Chemours to limit the amount of GenX being released into the river.
Studies indicate that the GENX levels detectedย are expected to pose a low risk to human health.ย The health needs and situations of individuals vary widely and the use of bottled water or distilled water is an individual decision.
Measurements of GenX are commonly reported as parts per trillion (PPT) or as nanograms per liter (ng/L).ย According to the EPA, these two forms of measurement are equivalent (1 PPT is the same as 1 ng/L), and both are equivalent to one drop in one trillion gallons of water.
There are no U.S. regulatory guideline levels for GenX.ย However, on July 14, 2017, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (N.C. DHHS) released an updated preliminary health assessment for concentrations of the unregulated compound GenX in finished, or treated drinking water.ย The health goal for exposure to GenX in drinking water is 140 nanograms per liter (also referred to as parts per trillion).ย Thisย health goal of 140 parts per trillion is expected to be the most conservative and health protective for non-cancer effects in bottle-fed infants, pregnant women, lactating women, children and adults.
There is no expected benefitย in boiling waterย to remove GenX because it is a chemical compound.
There is not enough information to support the recommendation of any specific filtration method, such as reverse osmosis or granular activated carbon, that can remove GenX from the water.ย Research on filtration methods is on-going and information will be shared when it is available.
Preliminary research suggests that the best method to remove GenX from water is with a reverse osmosis filter system.ย This method may pose problems for homes with septic systems.ย To date, filtering water through activated carbon or activated charcoal has not been proven effective at removing GenX.
Information about the health effects of GenX is limited.ย Laboratory studies in which animals were exposed to different levels of GenXย did show adverse effects to the liver and blood, along with liver, pancreatic, testicular and uterine cancers, but there is no information about whether these or other health effects would be seen in humans.ย A recent review of cancer rates over the last 20 years in Bladen, Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties indicated that the rates in those counties were generally similar to the statewide rates of pancreatic, liver, uterine, testicular and kidney cancers.ย However, no conclusions can be drawn as to whether GenX or any other specific exposures contributed to cancer rates that were examined.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has committed to doing an assessment on the possible long-term health effects of GenX.ย Theย North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has reviewed existing research studies and is working with the EPA, CDC, and academic researchers to gather more health information about GenX and related chemicals.ย .
Currently, there are no state or federal criteria necessary to establish regulation of the wastewater discharge of GenX.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not published health recommendations for GenX at this time.ย The EPA is expected to release GenX standards in September 2018.
If the permit was createdย through PORT, the information regarding the permit will be available for you to view online. If your permit was issued prior to April 30th, 2019, it is not available online.
Contact the Environmental Health Offices to obtain an existing permit that is not online:
Contact the Environmental Health Office in Burgaw at (910) 259-1233 during the hours from 8:00a.m. to 9:00a.m. or 4:00p.m. to 5:00p.m.
You have to wait for Public Health to review the restaurant kitchen plans and menu before getting a building permit.ย Environmental Health Specialists who have many years of experience working with food safety regulations are assigned the task of reviewing restaurant kitchen plans before the project is released for issue of building permits.ย We can better help business owners set themselves up for success if we work together on paper ahead of brick and mortar activities.
The PORT is an online portal that allows citizens of Pender County to apply for permits, see the status of current permits, and even pay fees online. In order to use the PORT, citizens must register their account.
Please include the proposed addition or new construction with dimensions, as well any other existing structures, buildings, driveways, wells, septic tank systems, easements, or any other relevant items that are located on the property.
The location of a property can also be entered by adding the Parcel ID number.ย After selecting the โAdd Locationโ link, click โParcelโ to be able to enter the Parcel ID number. Please see the pictures below for reference.
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Address:ย
Burgaw | Hampstead |
805 South Walker Street Burgaw, NC 28425 |
15060 US-17, Hampstead, NC 28443 |
Phone:ย 910-259-1202
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
Website:ย https://pendercountync.gov/pcd/
Address:ย
Burgaw | Hampstead |
803 South Walker Street Burgaw, NC 28425 |
15060 US-17, Hampstead, NC 28443 |
Phone:ย 910-270-5000
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
Website:ย https://pendercountync.gov/hhs/health-human-services/health-department/environmental-health/
Address:ย
Burgaw | Hampstead |
805 South Walker Street Burgaw, NC 28425 |
15060 US-17, Hampstead, NC 28443 |
Phone:
Burgaw | Hampstead |
910-259-1201 | 910-270-2505 |
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
Website:ย https://pendercountync.gov/inp/
If the permit was createdย through PORT, the information regarding the permit will be available for you to view online. If your permit was issued prior to April 30th, 2019, it is not available online.
Please contact the department responsible for the permit in question to obtain it.
Sometimes a contractor, owner, or other contact will not be displayed in the PORT. If this is the case, please contact Gracie Thomas, Inspections & Permitting at gthomas@pendercountync.gov or call 910-259-1518.