The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has fined the Chemours Company nearly $200,000 for previous violations related to failures with two treatment systems at its Fayetteville Works site that filter GenX and other PFAS from water before it enters the Cape Fear River.
PFAS, including GenX which was discovered in the Cape Fear River in 2017, are man-made chemicals produced by Dupont/Chemours and used for the manufacture of nonstick coatings, fire suppression foams, and for many other purposes in industrial processes and commercial products. They’re also known as “
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has issued a permit for a water treatment system at Chemours' Fayetteville Works site to remove PFAS from a contaminated stream that flows into the Cape Fear River, state officials announced Friday.
Cape Fear Public Utility Authority has filed a motion in Bladen County Superior Court to be granted “equal standing with the State and Cape Fear River Watch in negotiations about measures Chemours must take to address the company’s PFAS releases, including contamination in the drinking water of CFPU
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and Chemours have agreed to additional PFAS control measures that will help control groundwater-related impacts of the toxic chemicals at Chemours’ Fayetteville Works site.
Attorney General Josh Stein on Monday announced that his office has launched a formal investigation into the manufacturers and other entities responsible for the per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in North Carolina.
An investigation by the internal watchdog for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found “insufficient communication and coordination” within the agency allowed DuPont, and later Chemours, to discharge the toxic compound GenX into the Cape Fear River virtually unchecked for nearly a decade.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality announced Tuesday that it is requiring Chemours to make extensive revisions to the proposed Corrective Action Plan the company submitted in December.
Chemours submitted the corrective action plan (CAP) in December 2019 as part of a consent order with N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and Cape Fear River Watch.
The Chemours Company on Monday announced testing of its newly built thermal oxidizer facility shows it destroys PFAS air emissions at an average efficiency greater than the state’s mandate of 99.99%.
The movie is about DuPont’s contamination of drinking water in West Virginia; it hits very close to home for people in southeastern North Carolina worried about GenX contamination
Dark Waters hits theaters on Friday, and is already generating some Oscar buzz with critics. The movie, about chemicals in drinking water in a town in West Virginia, hits very close to home for people in Southeastern North Carolina worried about GenX.
A recently published study shows the total concentration of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the Cape Fear River before 2017 was nearly 1,000 times more than the state’s recommended “health goal” level for GenX.
Julie Harper gets her water from a well that's among many where PFAS were detected. The results make her feel fearful. “You don’t know the unknown,” she said. "You don’t know what it could do to you and your children."
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) has asked for assistance from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) after a fourth increase in 1,4-dioxane levels this year.
The internal watchdog for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be evaluating the federal agency’s implementation of its consent order allowing DuPont, and later Chemours, to make GenX.
A $35.9 million contract to build eight new granular activated carbon (GAC) filters at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant was approved by the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board on Wednesday.
Starting Monday and continuing through Aug. 2, Chemours will be gathering soil samples to test for levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including GenX.
North Carolina’s compost rules are due for a re-adoption and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is allowing the public to express their thoughts.
If you take a walk around Greenfield Lake, or any spot alligators tend to frequent in the Cape Fear, you may notice many have orange markings on their heads.
It has been two years since news broke of GenX found in the drinking water. This unknown contaminant sparked fear and outrage across the Cape Fear. Two years, countless meetings, protests, water samples, and lawsuits later, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority says the water is far safer to drink
The addition of eight filters to remove man-made chemical compounds in the water at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant is part of the 10-year capital improvement plan approved by the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board on Wednesday.
As part of its strategy to address compounds in surface water and biosolids, state environmental officials are requiring towns in the Cape Fear River Basin to monitor emerging compounds beginning this summer.
Commissioners voted 3-2 at a meeting Monday night to appeal Superior Court Judge Charles Henry’s decision that the previous H2GO Board of Commissioners’ decision to dissolve the authority and convey its assets to the Town of Belville is “unlawful, void and of no effect.”
CFPUA is welcoming Senate Bill 518, a newly introduced piece of legislation that would set new standards for Gen X and other similar compounds in the state’s water supply.
On March 27, CFPUA sampled finished water at three wells — two serving the plant and an emergency well that doesn't provide drinking water — in an effort to monitor potential movement of PFAS compounds that have been detected in and near an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) well.
The CFPUA board unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday that authorizes Executive Director Jim Flechtner to complete design and permitting for the project as well as obtain bond funding and construction bids.
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority wanted the money to pay for new granular activated carbon (GAC) filters meant to filter GenX and other PFAS compounds out of drinking water.
New Hanover County is filtering out per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) at its landfill, according to sampling results from the NC Department of Environmental Quality.
The permit incorporates the requirements of a consent order signed Feb. 25 to install the oxidizer by Dec. 31 and reduce all PFAS emissions by 99 percent beyond the 2017 baseline.
Results released this week show 1,4-dioxane of 1.8 parts per billion (ppb) in raw water on Feb. 13 and 0.54 ppb in the finished water treated at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant on Feb. 14.
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is reconsidering its motion against Chemours after the chemical company filed a revised legal agreement with the state Department of Environmental Quality on Wednesday.
The updated agreement will now require Chemours to report monthly GenX air emissions, analyze PFAS buildup in river sediment, and provide filtration systems in certain public buildings for drinking water fountains and maintain them for 20 years.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality will hold a public meeting and hearing Monday on a draft air permit for Chemours to install and operate a thermal oxidizer/scrubber system for emission control at their Fayetteville Works Facility.
Research and investigations into how GenX and substances are getting into the Cape Fear River are ongoing, but while the focus has been on major industry, experts and officials are concerned the compounds could be entering the water system in other ways.
CFPUA said in a news release it believes a consent order proposed by the state Department of Environmental Quality is not adequate to protect CFPUA’s interests or remedy harm caused by Chemours' PFAS releases into the Cape Fear River.
Brunswick County plans to increase water capacity by 12 million gallons per day and low-pressure reverse osmosis treatment to address new and emerging compounds is also expected to be added
New Hanover County Commissioner Woody White is asking his fellow board members to join ranks and oppose the proposed consent order between the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Chemours and Cape Fear River Watch over the company’s discharge of GenX and other chemicals into the drin
While acknowledging it welcomes the Environmental Protection Agency releasing a study on GenX, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority said other PFAS compounds need to be considered to protect drinking water for customers in southeastern North Carolina.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Michael Regan said on Wednesday the state’s proposed consent order against Chemours is a “very strong first step” towards cleaning up and protecting the drinking water supply.
Dozens of concerned community members gathered at Cape Fear Community College on Tuesday to hear the latest on the state of their drinking water, and the GenX investigation.
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is still drafting a legal response to a proposed consent order concerning contaminated drinking water in our area, but plans to ask the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to require more protections for New Hanover County drinking water.
The order requires Chemours to reduce GenX air emissions, provide permanent replacement drinking water supplies and pay a $12 million civil penalty to DEQ and an additional $1 million for investigative costs.
One day after the Environmental Protection Agency released its first-ever toxicity assessment of chemicals in our drinking water, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority said it is implementing a temporary solution to reduce PFAS levels at its Sweeney Water Treatment Facility.
In a CFPUA news release, the utility said the three new compounds were found in water samples collected from Nov. 11, 2017, through Spring 2018 at locations along the Cape Fear River and in parts of CFPUA’s water distribution system.
On Tuesday night, researchers with the “GenX Exposure Study” revealed their findings that blood samples of 345 New Hanover County residents tested positive for several PFAS, but not GenX.
Researchers with N.C. State University will present initial blood test results from GenX exposure in New Hanover County in a public meeting Tuesday, Nov. 13.
From 2003-14, the DHHS analyzed four categories of birth defects in Bladen, Brunswick, Cumberland, New Hanover and Pender counties using data from the NC Birth Defects Monitoring Program.
In an effort to reduce levels of PFAS in drinking water, staff from Calgon Carbon are at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant this week replacing carbon filters.
North Carolina health officials said GenX was not found in the blood and urine samples taken from 30 people living near Chemours’ Fayetteville Works facility.
Each forum will include a presentation on CFPUA's effort to reduce PFAS in drinking water. The public is encouraged to attend the meetings and ask questions of CFPUA staff.
A New Hanover County representative who is also the senior chairman of the House Committee on River Quality has sent a letter to Governor Roy Cooper expressing concern about the Chemours Company and GenX.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public information session on the state's GenX investigation on Thursday, Aug. 30. The event will be held at the Bladen County Cooperative Extension Center at 450 Smith Circle in Elizabethtown.
The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a community engagement event in Fayetteville on Tuesday, August 14, to discuss GenX and other chemical compounds found in local water.
Chemours declined a public meeting and instead offered local leaders a tour of its Fayetteville Works plant, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo and New Hanover Co. Board Chairman Woody White said Monday.
