The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality today filed a proposed court order to require the Chemours Company to implement numerous measures to eliminate or reduce air emissions and water impacts caused by GenX and related compounds, and address contamination in and around the Fayetteville Works facility.
“We are taking this comprehensive legal action to protect communities from further impacts due to GenX contamination,” said DEQ Secretary Michael Regan. “We need to ensure that Chemours moves quickly to stop the release of these chemicals and address the impacts that have already occurred.”
DEQ will request a court date for a hearing on the order. DEQ has also established a 30-day public comment period for the proposed order. Upon conclusion of the public comment period, DEQ will evaluate whether changes to the proposed order are needed and if so, submit a revised order to the court. DEQ intends to ask the court at that time to issue the proposed order.
Among its many requirements, the proposed order states that Chemours must:
- Reduce facility-wide air emissions of GenX compounds by at least 97 percent by Aug. 31, 2018, with a 99 percent reduction required by Dec. 31, 2019.
- Conduct re-testing of private drinking wells on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis, depending on the level of GenX compounds detected in the initial round of testing.
- Provide permanent alternative water supplies or treatment systems to households impacted by groundwater contamination.
- Conduct toxicity studies relating to human health and aquatic life impacts from chemicals at the facility.
- Notify and coordinate with downstream public water utilities when an event at the facility has the potential to cause a discharge of GenX compounds into the Cape Fear River above the health goal of 140 parts per trillion.
A copy of the proposed order is available on DEQ’s website at: /genx/draft-proposed-order-061118/download.
For details on how to formally comment on the proposed order, click here.
Additional enforcement action taken
DEQ also issued today a notice of violation to Chemours for 18 additional compounds found at the Fayetteville Works facility as detailed in a Jan. 31 report submitted by the company. Onsite groundwater sampling data included in the report showed levels of the compounds that exceeded allowable concentrations. DEQ is exploring all legal options, including civil penalties, for the violations outlined in the notice.
More information about the state’s GenX investigation, enforcement actions and related topics is available on the DEQ website at: https://deq.nc.gov/news/hot-topics/genx-investigation.