Chemours, EPA 'behind our backs' deal heavily criticized in North Carolina

Two elected executive officers for North Carolina, and a member of the Stein administration, oppose the proposed settlement negotiated they say "behind our backs" by the EPA and Chemours. First-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, first-term Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Secretary Reid Wilson of the Division of Environmental Quality made their case to the U.S. assistant attorney general's office. Penalties for Wilmington, Del.-headquartered Chemours in the $450 million settlement are $22.5 million in civil penalties and implementation of injunctive relief programs. Additionally, Chemours will conduct a multi-year, $90 million program to mitigate PFAS discharges; install PFAS pollution controls for surface water discharges and air emissions at its facility in West Virginia, at an estimated cost of $60 million; supply clean drinking water for more than a decade to communities that surround its facilities in West Virginia and New Jersey at an estimated cost of $280 million; and evaluate options and implement corresponding controls to reduce releases of PFAS and other toxic chemicals from its facility in North Carolina. "Chemours and the EPA negotiated this deal behind our backs," Jackson said. "It does nothing to fix the decades of damage Chemours has done to our state, and it's offensive to the people who drink this water. That's why I'm asking the federal government to throw it out. The people of eastern North Carolina deserve better." The U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection announced the deal June 24. The litigation concerns forever chemicals known as PFAS. PFAS, an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are widely used, long-lasting chemicals whose components break down very slowly over time. Studies vary on their harmful effects; more is known about their impact on animals than on humans. PFAS, the Environmental Protection Agency says, "are found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation" and throughout the world. Chemours has a 6.7% market share in the global chemical sector, with $1.6 billion in liquidity per the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Net sales in fiscal year 2025 were $5.8 billion, and standard earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization – EBITDA – was $742 million. DuPont previously was the parent company of Chemours. "For decades, Chemours knowingly contaminated North Carolina's air and water by discharging PFAS from its Fayetteville plant into the Cape Fear River," Stein said. "Now, the EPA is cutting a deal with Chemours that does next to nothing for North Carolinians and allows polluters to choose what to clean up and where. I will continue to fight for North Carolinians' clean air and clean water." The trio of letter-writers say the deal should be withdrawn because EPA guidelines call for the state to be included in negotiations; the state received no drinking water relief; none of the $90 million for PFAS pollution reduction and alternative drinking water projects is required to be in North Carolina; and the state Department of Environmental Quality's demand Chemours install technology to reduce certain GenX pollution at 99.99% efficiency is greater than the EPA's 99.5% requirement, and those reductions can be claimed in other states and are not guaranteed to happen in North Carolina. They also say 200 or more Clean Water Act violations at Fayetteville Works are resolved "for no real benefit to North Carolina." The settlement addressed complaints linked to the federal Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Toxic Substance Control Act, along with West Virginia's Water Pollution Control Act. Chemours can "continue manufacturing PFAS for critical commercial and military applications while preventing future contamination and protecting communities from that contamination," a release from the Justice Department says. The complaint says Chemours discharged PFAS into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River and Delaware River in violation of government permits. Chemours also was accused of noncompliance with legal requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act at all four targeted facilities. The North Carolina Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in September in Jackson's separate lawsuit against DuPont and Chemours. The StarNews newspaper in Wilmington was first to report contamination found in the Cape Fear River by N.C. State researchers in June 2017. It led to multiple litigations, the building of a $100 million thermal oxidizer designed to reduce air emissions at the riverside plant, testing, hearings and lots of finger-pointing for blame. At the time of discovery, the impact of GenX – a PFAS used to make nonstick coatings, for example, on cookware – and other PFAS on humans was evolving. Animal tests had indicated cancer possibilities, and humans were believed to be at risk for kidney or testicular cancer, elevated cholesterol levels and health challenges for children. Downstream from Chemours at the Fayetteville Works Plant, the Cape Fear River is a source of drinking water for about 1 million people in the region of a state with a population of 10.8 million.