Chemours, which makes PFAS for industrial and military uses, will pay $450 million in the first federal settlement over the 'forever chemicals.'
The U.S. and multiple states say Chemours plants have been releasing PFAS into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River and Delaware River for over a decade, in violation of the Clean Water Act and local rules. Last year, a federal judge ordered Chemours to stop discharging illegal levels of toxic chemicals into the Ohio River.
The company, a spinoff of DuPont, will pay a civil penalty of $22.5 million for alleged violations and will be required to commit $90 million over the next 15 years to mitigate PFAS discharges in New Jersey, North Carolina and West Virginia.
Chemours will spend an estimated $280 million to establish controls to prevent PFAS releases at its West Virginia facility and provide clean drinking water to communities near its sites in West Virginia and New Jersey. An independent analysis will determine whether the company also needs to install controls at its North Carolina facility.
Exposure to PFAS, which are used to make lots of consumer products, including nonstick pots and pans, has been linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, immune system disorders and other health issues.
The Trump administration says the settlement shows the administration's commitment to cracking down on corporate polluters.
"This first comprehensive federal settlement against a major PFAS manufacturer delivers on the Trump Administration's promise to make polluters pay and stop PFAS contamination at the source," said Jeffrey A. Hall, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, in a statement. "By appropriately employing the full suite of existing legal authorities, we can greatly reduce PFAS contamination of water, land and air and even begin to mitigate past harm."
But others criticized the settlement, saying it doesn't do enough to ensure the affected communities are getting safe drinking water.
"This deal is an insult to the people of eastern North Carolina," said Jeff Jackson, the state's attorney general, in a statement. "Our state is ground zero for GenX [a synthetic PFAS compound] contamination, but this deal does practically nothing to clean up our water. Chemours made this mess, and Chemours should clean it up. The EPA will be hearing from my office."
Credit: Katherine Welles/Shutterstock
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