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• Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about GenX and other emerging
contaminants of concern.
• North Carolina families deserve to have confidence in the water they drink.
• For that reason Governor Cooper has directed the N.C. Departments of Environmental
Quality and Health and Human Services to investigate the presence of GenX and other
emerging contaminants in the Cape Fear River.
• Let me start by just giving you a brief overview of how we arrived where we are today.
• In November 2016, DEQ received a research report from the EPA and N.C. State
University. Dr. Detlef Knappe, one of the authors of the report, and his team had
conducted water quality sampling and testing for GenX and other emerging contaminants
in 2013 and 2014. The report showed evidence of these compounds in drinking water in
the lower Cape Fear River.
• GenX is the trade name for a man-made chemical used in the manufacture of nonstick
coatings and for other purposes.
• GenX is manufactured by Chemours. The company's facility in Fayetteville signed a
consent order with EPA under the Toxics Substance Control Act in 2009 to allow the
company to produce GenX commercially as a replacement for another manufacturing
chemical called PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid. PFOA is commonly called C8 and was
used in the manufacture of many products and is most commonly associated with
DuPont's Teflon.
• At this time, little is known about the health effects of GenX and the other emerging
compounds. However, the EPA is working to establish health risk information for these
compounds.
• In early June, a Wilmington newspaper reported on GenX.
• On June 14, at Governor Roy Cooper's direction staff in the Department of
Environmental Quality and Department of Health and Human Services launched an
investigation into the presence of GenX and the other compounds identified in the
November 2016 report.
• As an initial step, DEQ encouraged Chemours to identify measures that could be taken to
reduce or eliminate the discharges of the chemical to the river.
• On June 19, DEQ began collecting water samples from 12 sites along the Cape Fear
River.
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• On June 20, Chemours announced the company would capture, remove and safely
dispose of wastewater containing the byproduct GenX instead of releasing it into the
Cape Fear.
• On June 27, DEQ conducted an on -site inspection to verify that Chemours is redirecting
the wastewater from the GenX process into temporary storage tanks for off -site shipment
and incineration.
• On July 14, state officials released their first results of water quality samples from the
Test America lab in Colorado. The data comes from water samples collected June 19-29
near the Chemours facility in Fayetteville that produces GenX, and downstream at water
treatment facilities in the Fayetteville and Wilmington areas.
• At the same time, DHHS released an updated preliminary health assessment for
concentrations of the unregulated compound GenX in finished, or treated, drinking water.
DHHS' revised health goal for exposure to GenX in drinking water is 140 nanograms per
liter (also referred to as parts per trillion).
Since we have been successful at prompting Chemours to stop the release of GenX into
the Cape Fear River, we have seen a dramatic decline in concentrations of the chemical
compound at all sites. Tests continue to show that levels of GenX in finished drinking
water are below the state's health goal.
• While we have seen some encouraging signs our work on this investigation is far from
over.
State water quality officials will continue water sampling and analysis at the facility's
discharge into the Cape Fear River and the finished water sites downstream for the
foreseeable future.
DEQ has also expanded its water sampling investigation. In early August, DEQ added 16
monitoring wells at the Chemours facility to the sampling plan to investigate groundwater
conditions at the facility in Bladen County. DEQ will use those test results to determine if
we need to test private drinking water wells near the Chemours facility.
• We hope soon to release data about several other emerging compounds.
• Throughout our investigation, all of our efforts have been transparent. We have weekly
calls to update local officials on our investigation and we regularly publish any new
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information on this topic on our public website, https:Hdeq.nc.gov/news/hot-topics/genx-
investigation.
• At the same time we're conducting our investigation, we are also helping the federal
government with its probe. Staff in DEQ are gathering documents in response to a
subpoena issued by the federal government related to its investigation into Chemours.
We are taking this matter seriously and will provide all relevant records about Chemours
as part of this federal investigation. In the interest of transparency, we issued a news
release about the federal subpoena and posted the subpoena online, and will make all
non -privileged documents gathered for this request public, which includes the
information we have obtained from other federal investigations.
• We are also continuing to monitor the facility to ensure releases have stopped.
And we are taking a hard look at Chemours' wastewater discharge permit. At Governor
Cooper's direction, DEQ will deny Chemours' permit request to release GenX and a new
permit will be developed. As part of its permit review, DEQ's investigation is looking
into the specific identifying information the company provided for the chemicals it was
discharging to the Cape Fear River. Based on what we learn, DEQ will take any
appropriate enforcement actions related to its investigation.
During the investigation, DEQ and DHHS are exploring all regulatory options available.
Recognizing there are no national or state standards for GenX or the other chemicals
identified in the 2016 report, DEQ and DHHS are seeking involvement by the EPA on
the health effects of these emerging contaminants. This is a national issue and we're
making the best use of state resources and working with our federal partners. While the
state has the authority to enact regulatory standards, we do not have sufficient resources
necessary to make these determinations for GenX or other unregulated compounds on a
consistent basis.
• Moreover, in the few instances where DEQ instituted regulations, we were provided
significant data and scientific research from the EPA to support establishment of a state
standard. This information is not currently available for GenX or these other emerging
contaminants.
We will continue to redirect available resources to address this urgent need, but because
of budget cuts over the last few years, long-term solutions will take more resources than
our department currently has available. We regulate thousands of industries and protect
38,000 miles of waterways across the state.
As we have stated in our Aug. 14 letter, the large scope and pressing nature of this
challenge requires your help.
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• Funding is necessary for long-term water sampling and analysis for the presence of GenX
and other emerging contaminants. The state is seeking funding to support independent
verification to ensure we are providing the public with the most reliable results.
Since January 2013, DEQ's water quality program has sustained significant reductions in
positions supporting compliance, permitting and enforcement due to state legislative
budget cuts.
This has resulted in a 40 percent backlog in the issuance of wastewater permits, which
has decreased the business community's regulatory certainty and ability to create jobs
and grow the economy.
• When it comes to emerging contaminants, more compounds are being identified
statewide and, as such, the need for more qualified people to address these issues is
growing.
• And as you probably are aware, these problems are not isolated to southeastern North
Carolina. DEQ is addressing the challenge of unregulated emerging contaminants in the
Piedmont Triad and several other areas throughout the state.
• Additional funding would also support ongoing monitoring and assessment of threats to
public health and safety from discharges of other emerging contaminants.
• As more compounds are being identified statewide, the need for more qualified staff to
address these issues is growing.
• As you probably are aware, these problems are not isolated to southeastern North
Carolina. Unregulated emerging contaminants can be of concern statewide.
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