Gov. Stein rips Chemours-EPA PFAS settlement; company responds
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Chemours pushed back on state leaders' opposition to a proposed deal involving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
On Wednesday, the company responded to Gov. Josh Stein, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the Department of Environmental Quality publicly opposing the proposed PFAS deal between the EPA and Chemours.
The state is urging the federal government to withdraw the proposed settlement, saying it would do almost nothing to address the damage that Chemours has done in North Carolina.
In a statement, Stein said, "For decades, Chemours knowingly contaminated North Carolina's air and water by discharging PFAS from its Fayetteville plant into the Cape Fear River. Now, Chemours is cutting a settlement deal with the federal government that does next to nothing for North Carolinians and, at the same time, is trying to evade the North Carolina Department of Justice's lawsuit so it can avoid repaying the state for the damage it inflicted. Now is the time for the EPA and the state Supreme Court to do right by our people and our water and truly hold Chemours accountable."
PFAS contamination can pose serious health risks.
Instead of the proposed settlement, Stein is calling on the EPA to work with North Carolina to develop a new settlement, saying the state was excluded from negotiations as part of the current deal and was excluded from any drinking water relief.
Chemours has been ordered to pay up to $90 million to fund PFAS pollution reduction, but Stein said the company is not obligated to spend any of that money in North Carolina.
A Chemours spokesperson responded on Thursday evening, telling ABC11, "When crafting this settlement agreement, US EPA and DOJ understood that Chemours had already invested $400+ million in North Carolina to significantly reduce PFAS emissions from Fayetteville Works and mitigate off-site impacts in the surrounding communities. I defer to US EPA and DOJ to comment on the state's claims."
