By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Leaders in North Carolina are looking to stop a federal settlement over the discharge of “forever chemicals,” arguing it will not bring relief to the state.
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On Thursday, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson sent a letter to the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division.
In the letter, the three state leaders voiced their opposition to the proposed settlement between the United States Environmental Protection Agency and chemical company Chemours, which was reached in June. Under the settlement, Chemours must pay $90 million over 15 years to mitigate PFAS discharges in North Carolina, New Jersey, and West Virginia.
Chemours, which operates a plant in Fayetteville, is accused by state leaders of discharging harmful chemicals known as PFAS into the Cape Fear River for decades.
North Carolina leaders are arguing the federal court should reject the settlement for the following reasons:
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- North Carolina was not included in the negotiations, which is a violation of EPA guidelines
- North Carolina will not receive drinking water relief
- Chemours does not have spent any of the $90 million in North Carolina
- Pollution from the chemical GenX will not be meaningfully reduced
- There will be no real benefit to North Carolina
“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 statement. “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,” Stein continued in his statement.
Jackson said in a statement, “Chemours and the EPA negotiated this deal behind our backs. 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.”
Said Wilson in a statement, “DEQ has worked tirelessly to hold Chemours accountable for contaminating North Carolina’s air and water. 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.”
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The full letter can be viewed below.