The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality wants to remind the public that the 30-day public comment period for the proposed order will conclude on July 11. DEQ filed a proposed court order on June 11 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.
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: https://deq.nc.gov/news/hot-topics/genx-investigation/investigations-and-enforcement-actions.
The public can comment on the proposed order, and comments will be used in the evaluation on whether changes to the proposed order are needed.
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.