Press Release | February 20, 2019

GenX Consent Order Stopping Chemours’ Pollution Modified After Public Comment

Statements by Cape Fear River Watch and the Southern Environmental Law Center

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Cape Fear River Watch and the Southern Environmental Law Center today issued the following statements regarding changes made to a proposed consent order that requires the Chemours Company, LLC to stop polluting the Cape Fear River with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, including GenX. Cape Fear River Watch is represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center in litigation under the Clean Water Act and Toxic Substances Control Act against Chemours to stop its illegal pollution.

“Cape Fear River Watch continues to stand up for clean water for all North Carolinians,” said Cape Fear Riverkeeper Kemp Burdette. “This consent order is an important first step in stopping pollution from leaving the Chemours site and entering the Cape Fear River, ground water, and the air. We are committed to seeing this process through until Chemours can prove that they have cleaned up the mess they have created.”

“From the beginning, our focus has been to stop Chemours’ pollution of our air, water and soil, and to hold the company accountable for contaminating the river, groundwater, and communities,” said Geoff Gisler, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “This order will result in cleaner air, a cleaner Cape Fear, and cleaner drinking water for families nearby and downstream.”

Key changes to the consent order include: (1) a provision that gives downstream public water utilities a seat at the table to determine how Chemours can immediately reduce its pollution in the Cape Fear River, and (2) a provision requiring Chemours to study the extent of its sediment pollution in the Cape Fear River.

###

For more than 30 years, the Southern Environmental Law Center has used the power of the law to champion the environment of the Southeast. With over 70 attorneys and nine offices across the region, SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast’s foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC works on a full range of environmental issues to protect our natural resources and the health and well-being of all the people in our region. www.SouthernEnvironment.org

###

The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 200, including more than 120 legal and policy experts, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, D.C.

southernenvironment.org

Are you a reporter and would like more information? Please visit our press contact page for a full list of SELC’s press contacts.