Groups Sue Chemours to Stop PFAS, GenX Pollution under U.S. Water and Toxic Substance Laws

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—On behalf of Cape Fear River Watch, the Southern Environmental Law Center today sued Chemours in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina for its pollution of air and water with toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including GenX, from the Chemours Fayetteville Works Facility in violation of the Clean Water Act and Toxic Substances Control Act.

“Chemours’ decades-long contamination of North Carolina’s environment must stop to prevent more harm,” said Geoff Gisler, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center. “The families and communities who drink from, swim in, and fish on the Cape Fear River deserve healthy, clean water.”

Documents filed today by the conservation groups in court outline Chemours’ continued PFAS pollution of North Carolina’s water and air through its stack emissions, leaking pipes, unlined pits and wastewater ditches, and contaminated equipment in violation of both the Clean Water Act and Toxic Substances Control Act. The conservation groups earlier notified Chemours of their intent to sue the company in federal court if it did not stop its illegal releases of PFAS.

'Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians get their drinking water downstream from Chemours’ toxic discharge,” said Kemp Burdette, Cape Fear Riverkeeper. “This illegal contamination can't stop soon enough for them and Chemours and DuPont must be held accountable for their reckless behavior.”

Chemours and DuPont knowingly polluted North Carolina’s environment with toxic PFAS for nearly four decades, causing widespread and dangerous contamination of groundwater and surface waters. After over a year of investigation, Chemours continues to release GenX and other PFAS compounds into the water, air, and soil through its stack emissions, leaking pipes, and unlined, leaking pits and ditches.

Families and communities have already been exposed to decades of toxic contamination. DEQ has now found GenX in 763 private drinking water wells up to 5.5 miles away from the Chemours’ facility, and in the rainwater, fish, and honey.

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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