Stein, Jackson, DEQ chief pan feds’ deal with Chemours

Gov. Josh Stein, Attorney General Jeff Jackson, and the head of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality are officially objecting to the federal government’s $450 million deal with Chemours over environmental contamination.

Stein, Jackson, and DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson wrote a letter Wednesday to the US Justice Department “to voice our grave concerns regarding the deficiencies” in the settlement. The North Carolina officials urged Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and a federal judge “not to proceed with this proposed decree” before addressing concerns detailed in the letter.

“This case concerns the continuing devastating effects of the decades-long callous disregard for human health and the environment wrought by the defendants and their predecessors across several states,” the letter opened. “The defendants currently own and operate facilities in North Carolina, New Jersey and West Virginia with an unparalleled legacy of environmental contamination.”

North Carolina officials wrote that they have played no role in the settlement, which covers Chemours’ Fayetteville Works plant.

“[T]here is a very real risk that the federal government will have released claims for hundreds of violations arising out of the harm the defendants caused in North Carolina without having secured any meaningful relief for North Carolinians at all,” according to the letter. “If the federal government is serious about resolving [violations], it needs to do more than offer the residents of North Carolina some hope that maybe its proposed court-approved agreement may have some benefits in North Carolina. It needs to offer concrete, enforceable measures that will — not may — improve the lives of the North Carolinians who have been affected by years of reckless conduct at Fayetteville Works.”

Stein, Jackson, and Wilson urged federal officials to “withdraw” the proposed agreement. The letter suggests that federal officials work “with Chemours and North Carolina to develop a proposal that equitably and substantially addresses the defendants’ violations.”

“For decades, Chemours knowingly contaminated North Carolina’s air and water by discharging PFAS from its Fayetteville plant into the Cape Fear River,” Stein said in a news release. “Now, the EPA is cutting a deal with Chemours that does next to nothing for North Carolinians and allows polluters to choose what to clean up and where. I will continue to fight for North Carolinians’ clean air and clean water.”  

“Chemours and the EPA negotiated this deal behind our backs,” Jackson said in the same release. “It does nothing to fix the decades of damage Chemours has done to our state, and it’s offensive to the people who drink this water. That’s why I’m asking the federal government to throw it out. The people of eastern North Carolina deserve better.”

“DEQ has worked tirelessly to hold Chemours accountable for contaminating North Carolina’s air and water,” Wilson added. “This proposed sweetheart deal that was brokered without even consulting North Carolina requires almost nothing more of Chemours than it’s already doing under the consent order it signed with DEQ. It’s offensive and unfair to the people of this State, and I urge the court to reject it.”

The federal government announced the $450 million settlement with Chemours in June to resolve complaints about the release of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in North Carolina, New Jersey, and West Virginia.

Stein and Jackson denounced the deal in a joint news release at the time. Labeling it a “backroom” deal with no input from North Carolina officials, Stein and Jackson argued that the arrangement would provide benefits mainly to West Virginia.

The US Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency, and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection announced the deal.

“Under the agreement, Chemours will pay a civil penalty of $22.5 million for alleged violations and conduct a multi-year, $90 million program to mitigate PFAS discharges,” according to a DOJ news release. “Chemours will also install PFAS pollution controls for surface water discharges and air emissions at its facility in West Virginia, at an estimated cost of $60 million, supply clean drinking water for more than a decade to communities that surround its facilities in West Virginia and New Jersey at an estimated cost of $280 million, and evaluate options and implement corresponding controls to reduce releases of PFAS and other toxic chemicals from its facility in North Carolina.”

“Combined, the cost of the penalty and injunctive relief programs are estimated to exceed $450 million,” the DOJ reported.

The settlement addressed complaints linked to the federal Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Toxic Substance Control Act, along with West Virginia’s Water Pollution Control Act.

Chemours can “continue manufacturing PFAS for critical commercial and military applications while preventing future contamination and protecting communities from that contamination,” DOJ reported.

 “This is the first comprehensive settlement by the federal government to resolve enforcement claims over pollution by a manufacturer of forever chemicals,” according to the news release.   

“This landmark settlement shows the Administration’s commitment to protecting the public from harmful pollution,” said Adam Gustafson, principal deputy assistant attorney general with the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Through this commitment, Chemours will better control PFAS at its plants, allowing the company to continue its manufacturing operations while protecting communities in North Carolina, West Virginia, and New Jersey from PFAS exposure. This agreement ensures that the company will manufacture these critical materials in a responsible manner.”

“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 Hall, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “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. This settlement brings Chemours into compliance with the law and holds it fully accountable.”

The complaint alleges that Chemours discharged PFAS into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River, and Delaware River, in violation of government permits. Chemours also was alleged to not comply with legal requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act at all four targeted facilities. “These alleged violations continued for over a decade,” according to the news release.

DuPont owned the facilities “for many decades” before Chemours. The settlement “does not resolve DuPont’s liability for forever chemicals,” the DOJ reported.

The settlement calls for Chemours to control releases of the chemical compound GenX — used to aid in making plastics called fluoropolymers — from each facility at an efficiency of at least 99%, according to the release. “Additionally, Chemours will implement controls at its North Carolina facility to mitigate releases of PFAS and other toxics based on recommendations from a third-party engineering firm. These programs will last for 15 years.”

“The EPA and Chemours reached this deal without consulting the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office or the Department of Environmental Quality,” according to a news release from Jackson’s office. “Under the reported terms of the deal announced today, West Virginia would receive almost all of the relief, leaving virtually nothing for North Carolina.”

Stein and Jackson take issue with Chemours’ agreement to pay up to $90 million over 15 years to fund water cleanup and clean drinking water projects. “Chemours will get to propose the projects it will fund, without any input from North Carolina or its residents,” according to Jackson’s news release. “If any of the states require Chemours to do any additional PFAS cleanup or mitigation, the money that Chemours spends can get credited against this $90 million pool.”

“Chemours doesn’t have to make any commitments to spending any of this money in North Carolina,” according to the attorney general’s news release. “Even if Chemours does choose to split the money evenly among the three states, only about $2 million per year would be spent to address water pollution in North Carolina.”

“This deal does nothing meaningful for North Carolinians,” Stein said. “This EPA, which has already weakened protections against chemicals like GenX, is now allowing polluters to pick and choose how and where they’ll fix their contamination — leaving North Carolina with no guarantees.”

“Fortunately, over the last few years, North Carolina has fought for and won measures that will help keep people safe,” Stein added. “We will continue working to hold DuPont and Chemours accountable for the mess they made and ensure North Carolinians can trust the water coming out of their tap.”

“This deal is an insult to the people of eastern North Carolina,” Jackson said. “Our state is ground zero for GenX 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.”      

The North Carolina Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in September in Jackson’s separate lawsuit against DuPont and Chemours. Stein and DEQ filed a friend-of-the-court brief Wednesday supporting Jackson.

“Stein, Jackson, DEQ chief pan feds’ deal with Chemours” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.