DEQ-CFW_00083498

Michael S. Regan, Secretary
Release: FdMEDIATE Contact: Jamie Kritzer
Date: Sept. 5, 2017 Phone: [phone]
State orders Chemours to stop chemical releases or lace legal action, suspension of permit
RALEIGH State officials ordered Chemours on Tuesday to stop releasing all -fluorinated compounds into the Cape
Fear River and comply with the state's other demands or face legal action and suspension of its permit for discharging
wastewater into the river.
On "Tuesday, the state of North Carolina initiated a. lawsuit ayaanist Chemours in Bladen County Superior Court by
filing a summons with the court. If the company does not immediately take steps to end the discharge, attorneys with
the N.C. Department of Justice acting on behalf of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, will seek a court
order to stop it, the state said in a letter.
In a separate letter also sent Tuesday, DEQ notified Chemours the state has begun the process to suspend the
company's wastewater permit for failure to adequately disclose the release of GenX into the river. The permit governs
Chemours' discharge of wastewater from its Fayette"Ville facility and without it, the company cannot release any
wastewater into the Cape Fear River.
"Protecting people's drinking water is our top priority, and we've put Chemours on notice that it Must stop
dischaminga these chemicals into the Cape Fear River said Michael Regan, secretary of the N.C.
Department of Environmental Quality. "Chemours must stop releasing all fluorinated compounds and fully disclose
all chemicals in its waste stream, or lose its wastewater permit."
In June, DEQ and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Sel-Vices began investigating the presence in the Cape
Fear River of Gen.X. a chemical byproduct made at Chemours' Fayetteville Forks facility. As part of its
investigation, the state continues to test water at multiple locations in the bower Cape Fear and in groundwater on the
facility's property in 131aden County for the presence of C1enX and other fluorinated compounds.
The state's investigation and pressure from citizens and local officials prompted Chemours to stop discharging GenX
into the Cape Fear in June. Fast week, DEQ also demanded that Chemours stop the release of additional chemical
compounds including the Nafion byproducts, one clay after the Environmental Protection Agency informed the state
that those compounds had also been detected in the facility's waste stream. Little information is known about the
potential human health effects of Caen: or the Nafion byproducts.
Tuesday's letter from DEQ directs Chemours to comply with the state's demands or face the suspension of the
company's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, oi- NRDES, permit. The NPI)ES permit allows the
company to discharge wastewater into the Crape Fear River. Linder the law; DEQ must give the company a 60-day
notice before suspending the permit.
The letter also calls on the company to meet several earlier demands, including stopping the discharge of any
chemicals related to Clem', including the Nafon byproducts, by Sept. 8 and stopping the discharge of any other
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DEQ-CFW 00083498

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perfluorinated or polyfluorinated compounds without a wastewater discharge limit by Oct. 20. The letter also demands
that Chemours provide complete information about all chemicals included in the Fayetteville facility's waste stream,
according to a schedule preViously set by DE .
"'I'here is sufficient cause to suspend the permit under the provisions cited in this letter;" the letter states. ""e have
found no evidence in the permit file indicating that Chemours or DuPont (Chemours' predecessor) disclosed the
discharge of GenX compounds at the Fayetteville Works. In particular, the NTI DES permit renewal applications
submitted to DWR (state Division of Water Resources) contain no reference to "gent." or to any chemical name,
formula, or CAS number that would identify any GenX compounds in the discharge.';
DuPont operated. the Fayetteville Works facility that produces GenX until 2015 when Chemours was created as a
spin-off company.
Tuesday's civil court summons and letter from the N.C. Attorney general's Office reinforce the DEQ action by
making identical demands that Chemours stop its discharge of all fluorinated compounds and disclose everything in
its waste stream.
In the letter, state attorneys wrote: "DE.Q has reasonable cause to believe that Chemours has violated or is threatening
to violate provisions" of state law and "(t]herefore, has directed the Attorney General's Office to institute a civil
action for injunctive relief to restrain the violation or threatened violation of the law."
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Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ncdenr
1601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 RSS feed: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/opa/news-releases-
rss
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NCDENR
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
DEQ-CFW 00083499