DEQ-CFW_00003465

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1) Can you explain the relationship between DuPont, Chemours, and Kuraray?
The Chemours Company— Fayetteville Works (formerly the DuPont Company— Fayetteville Works) is
a fluorinated chemicals manufacturer. Chemours' products produced at the facility include
fluorinated monomers and fluorinated vinyl ethers, NafionT", membranes and dispersion, and
fluoropolymer processing aids (GenX). In addition, Chemours operates two natural/ fuel oil -fired
boilers, which provide steam for the entire facility.
Also located at this facility are two tenant companies: Kuraray America Inc. and the DuPont Company.
Kuraray operates the Butaclte° polyvinyl butyral (PVB) thermoplastic sheet and resin manufacturing
unit and the SentryGlas° ionoplast interlayer manufacturing unit. DuPont operates two polyvinyl
fluoride (PVF) resin manufacturing units.
Process wastewaters from several manufacturing areas (from Chemours, Kuraray, and DuPont) are
sent to Chemours' wastewater treatment plant. Chemours is responsible for the treatment and
discharge of all wastewaters. These process wastewaters along with sanitary wastewater, and
stormwater collected from process areas, are treated in the Chemours' owned and operated
wastewater treatment plant. Treated wastewaters from the wastewater plant are mixed with non -
contact cooling water, stormwater, and boiler blowdown and discharged through Outfall 002 to the
Cape Fear River under NPDES Wastewater Discharge permit NC0003573.
Which company(s) is/are actually producing GenX either as a commercial product or a waste byproduct?
Chemours' fluoropolymer processing aids manufacturing area produces GenX as a commercial
product.
The Chemours' fluorinated vinyl ethers process discharges a HFPO monomer (a GenX compound) as a
byproduct in the wastewater.
According to the permit application, Dupont and Kuraray do not produce or discharge a HFPO
monomer (a GenX compound) in their wastewaters.
For each company that is producing GenX, please explain how GenX is captured and/or treated?
Chemours' fluoropolymer processing aids manufacturing area produces GenX as a commercial
product. DEQ understands that wastewaters from this area have always been collected and shipped
off -site for disposal. No discharge of wastewater occurs from this area.
The Chemours' fluorinated vinyl ethers process discharges a HFPO monomer (a GenX compound) as a
byproduct in the wastewater. Chemours began capturing the Vinyl Ethers Process' wastewater on
June 21, 2017. It is DEQ's understanding that all wastewater from the Vinyl Ethers Process,
approximately 13,000 to 15,000 gallons per day, are held in temporary storage tanks until they are
hauled to Arkansas for incineration. Prior to June 21, 2017 the 13,000 to 15,000 gallons per day from
the Vinyl Ethers process were discharged to the Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant where
all other process wastewaters are being discharged. Treated wastewaters from the wastewater plant
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are mixed with non -contact cooling water, stormwater, and boiler blowdown and discharged through
Outfall 002 to the Cape Fear River under NPDES Wastewater Discharge permit NC0003573.
What companies are contributing GenX to the waste stream that is treated on site and then discharged
per NPDES Permit # NC0003573. (I understand that Chemours has recently agreed to
capture/truck/incinerate GenX, but I am interested in the process immediately prior to this voluntary
decision).
Chemours is responsible for the discharge of a HFPO monomer (a GenX compound) as a byproduct
from the Vinyl Ethers Process. Prior to June 21, 2017 the 13,000 to 15,000 gallons per day from the
Vinyl Ethers process were discharged to the Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant where all
other process wastewaters are being discharged. Treated wastewaters from the wastewater plant are
mixed with non -contact cooling water, stormwater, and boiler blowdown and discharged through
Outfall 002 to the Cape Fear River under NPDES Wastewater Discharge permit NC0003573.
2) Please confirm that Chemours, per NPDES Permit # NC0003573, is ultimately responsible for any
substance that is discharged from the site, regardless of which of the three companies adds that
substance to the waste -stream.
Chemours takes full responsibility for the wastewaters discharged to the Cape Fear River from this
facility under NPDES Permit No. NC0003573.
3) Please explain the 2009 Consent Order between EPA and DuPont, and the 2017 First Amendment to
Order on Consent. Does this consent order allow for the discharge of GenX as a by-product at the
Fayetteville Works site?
Linda Culpepper sent the first part of question 3) to US EPA Region 4 asking them to develop the
response or tell NC DEQ who to coordinate with at EPA to get an answer to this question.
Did NC DEQ take this document into consideration when writing NPDES Permit # NC0003573? If so,
please explain how this document was considered and whether it influenced the terms of the permit.
It is unclear what impact this information had on the permit renewal, if any. PFOA sampling was
maintained in the permit under Outfall 002.
4) Please explain how the current NPDES permit allows for the discharge of GenX. It is present in the
discharge but does not appear to be listed in the Effluent Limitations and Monitoring Requirements -
Subpart I. If reporting or monitoring is not required by the NPDES permit are there other requirements
for the company to report its discharge of GenX or other perfluorinated compounds and if so, what are
those requirements and where can the public access this data?
Unregulated compounds such as GenX or other perfluorinated compounds are not regulated under
EPA's Federal Organic Chemicals, Plastics and Synthetic Fibers (OCPSF) Effluent Guidelines and
Standards (40 CFR Part 414) which the Chemours facility is subject to. There is an US EPA established
lifetime health advisory level in drinking water of 70 ng/L for the sum of PFOA and PFOS — two
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Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). Monitoring for one PFC, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is. required
at the facility's effluent discharge point - Outfall 002, see Section A. (3.) of the NPDES permit.
All discharge data is available via the monthly Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) submitted to
DEQ. All DMRs are publicly available.
5) (similar to #3) Please explain how the current NPDES permit allows for the discharge of C8 or PFOA.
The current NPDES permit requires PFOA monitoring at the facility's effluent discharge point - Outfall
002, see Section A. (3.) of the permit. DEQ was aware Chemours was working to reduce global facility
emissions and product content of PFOA and related chemicals by 95 percent by 2010, and toward
eliminating emissions and product content by 2015. Monitoring for PFOA was maintained in the
NPDES permit on Outfall 002 as a check to make sure PFOA was reduced.
A review of effluent data shows a slight increase of PFOA between the Cape Fear water withdrawal
intake at the Chemours' facility verses the PFOA measured at the discharge point or effluent. This will
be evaluated as the part of the permit renewal process. A review of the Chemours' effluent data from
5-4-2016 thru 4-12-2017 shows the average discharge of PFOA from Chemours' Outfall 002 is 0.014
ug/L or 14 ng/L. This value is well below the US EPA established lifetime health advisory level for
drinking water of 70 ng/L for the sum of PFOA and PFOS. Low legacy Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances (PFAS) measured at the Cape Fear water withdrawal intake at the Chemours facility are
consistent with the findings of the US EPA UCMR3 drinking water data collected in this part of the
Cape Fear.
The 2009 EPA consent order appears to prohibit the discharge of C8 or PFOA and yet it also appears to
be present in the discharge.
US EPA Region 4 should clarify the accuracy of this statement.
These compounds also do not appear to be listed in the Effluent Limitations and Monitoring
Requirements - Subpart 1.
PFOA monitoring is required at the facility's effluent discharge point - Outfall 002, see Section A. (3.).
Unregulated compounds such as GenX or other perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are not regulated
under EPA's Federal Organic Chemicals, Plastics and Synthetic Fibers (OCPSF) Effluent Guidelines and
Standards (40 CFR Part 414) which the Chemours Facility is subject to.
If reporting or monitoring is not required by the NPDES permit are there other requirements for the
company to report its discharge of C8 or PFOA or other perfluorinated compounds and if so, what are
those requirements and where can the public access this data?
One perfluorinated compound, PFOA, is required to be monitored at the facility's effluent discharge
point - Outfall 002, see Section A. (3.). All discharge data is available via the monthly Discharge
Monitoring Reports (DMRs) submitted to DEQ.
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6) DEQ's sister agency DHHS has determined, based on one European study, that GenX poses a low
health risk at levels at or below 70,909 ppt (although among researchers there is a growing consensus
that GenX is as toxic as C8 suggesting this level may be high). If DHHS determines that a compound is
present at unsafe levels in drinking water how does that finding impact DEQ's permitting process?
DHHS and DEQ are working with US EPA counterparts to evaluate all available literature on the toxic
effects of GenX. If DHHS updates their Health Risk Evaluation for GenX, DEQ will examine the
references, facts, and calculations in accordance with state regulations to determine the applicability
of the information in developing surface water quality criteria. If sufficiently strong scientific
information is available, DEQ would follow state regulations in developing surface water criteria.
Development of surface water quality criteria could potentially result in a permit limitation.
Has there been communication between DEQ and DHHS regarding the presence of perfluorinated
compounds in the Cape Fear River?
Yes, DEQ staff have been in close and frequent contact with DHHS staff.
Please explain how the DHHS assessment will influence the renewal of NPDES Permit # NC0003573. How
would DEQ respond if DHHS were to lower the safe concentration determination for GenX, or other
perfluorinated compounds, below the concentrations currently found in the river.
In developing a NPDES wastewater permit, the NPDES limits for any parameter are calculated so that
levels discharged in the Outfall will not cause an exceedance of a determined instream concentration.
As noted above, if sufficient data exists to determine appropriate surface water criteria applicable to
GenX, DEQ will proceed in accordance with state regulations. If there are additional sources to be
accounted for, NPDES can consider background concentrations in the calculation.
7) What is the process for establishing Water Quality Based Effluent Limits for perfluorinated
compounds, like GenX?
Water Quality Based Effluent Limits are based upon the concept that any discharge should not violate
instream water quality standards. Water quality standards are established to assure that public health
and the environment are protected from adverse effects. The State has established specific rules and
regulations outlining how these protective levels are derived (15A NCAC 02B). As previously noted,
scientific data and environmental factors used to calculate protective levels are being researched and
investigated by DEQ and DHHS with the assistance of the US EPA. If information is available, in
accordance with state rule a calculation of surface water criteria may be justified and could result in an
effluent limit for the Chemours Facility.
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8) Chemours voluntarily ceased discharging GenX into the Cape Fear River. Given the uncertainty of the
impacts to downstream drinking water supplies, what steps is DEQ taking in the permit renewal process
to ensure that this discharge is not resumed by the company?
DEQ wants to analyze all the sampling results recently collected, work with DHHS to understand an
acceptable level in drinking water (if this can be determined), and make sure there is a complete
characterization of all wastewaters being discharged at the Chemours Facility before a permit renewal
can be drafted. DEQ will encourage Chemours to continue collection and incineration of the Vinyl
Ether process wastewaters until a better understanding of GenX and other ether compounds is
achieved.
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