DEQ-CFW_00084805

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Kritzer, Jamie [/D=[XCHANG[LAB5/OU=EXCHANGEADMINISTRATIVE GROUP
(FYD|BOHF2]SPDLT)/CN=REOP|ENTS/CN=C[E9]C49D01445A]B541B8327DCDCD4O-JBKR|TZ[R]
9/19/I0I79:I8:02PW1
Lucas, Jill K8[/o=[xchangeLabs/ou=ExchangeAdministrative Group
(FYD|8OHFZ33PDO)/cn=Redpient$cn=7187fc41O6394e6Oa5e554ccZ79c0d7Z-jm|ucas]
RE: here's aletter wewrote toEPA onemerging contaminants might have anugget ortwo for speaking points.
Jamie Kritzer
Communications Director
N�Department ofEnvironmental Quality
919-707-8602
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From: Lucas, Jill K4
Sent: Tuesday, September 19,ZOl7S:l3PM
To: Kritzer, Jamie ^jamie.krhzer@ncdenr.8ov>
Subject: RE: here's a letter we wrote to EPA on emerging contaminants - might have a nugget or two for speaking points.
Signed by Governor or Secretary?
Just left you're a phone message.
From: Kritzer, Jamie
Sent: Tuesday, September 19,ZOl75:1ZPM
To: Lucas, Jill M
Subject: here's a letter we wrote to EPA on emerging contaminants - might have a nugget or two for speaking points.
July 17, 2017
E. Scott Pruitt
Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D[JO46O
Dear Administrator Pruitt:
North Carolina residents need immediate help and long-term certainty about the safety of the water they drink. I write

When we turn on the tap to get a drink, cook a meal for our family, or run a bath for our children, we count on that
water to be safe. North Carolina must have your help to make sure the water is safe for millions of our families.
At my direction, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) along with the NC Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS) launched an investigation June 14 into the presence of the unregulated chemical GenX in the
[ape Fear River, the primary source ofdrinking water for Pender, B|aden, New Hanover and Brunswick counties in North
Carolina. This compound entered the river as wastewater discharge at a Chemours manufacturing facility near
Fayetteville. Following requests from my administration, local leaders and area residents, [hemourustopped discharging
GenXwhile the state investigation isunderway.
The good news is that initial results from ongoing rigorous water sampling being conducted by state scientists shows
that levels of GenX in the water supply have decreased dramatically since we succeeded at getting Chemours to cease its
discharge. However, many questions remain about potential health effects caused by exposure to this and other
emerging contaminants, and we know that only your agency can give certainty about the effects of these contaminants
onpublic health.
The troubling problem of unregulated, relatively unknown chemicals in the public water supply is nationwide and cannot
be solved by our state alone. I appreciate the assistance the EPA has provided thus far to scientists with DEQ and DHHS
working on our GenX investigation, but we need the EPA to move more quickly to finalize its health assessment of GenX
and seta maximum contaminant level for it. These are critical steps that must take place in order for North Carolina to
beable torequire [hemourstolimit oreliminate discharge ofGenX.
The EPA already has an order in place to control some GenX emissions that should be expanded to hold Chemours
accountable for any discharge of GenX. As you may know, EPA concerns that GenX could be toxic led the agency to seek
a 2009 consent order limiting Chemours' emissions from GenX production. However, Chemours has stated publicly that
it does not believe this order governs discharge of the same chemical when it is a byproduct of other chemical
processes. | ask that the EPA revisit this consent order immediately and modify it to apply to GenX released through the
discharge aswell asthe manufacturing process.
North Carolina and its people rely on the EPA to ensure chemicals are manufactured in a way that protects our air, our
water and our health. Under the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the EPA bears the sole responsibility for
regulating the introduction of new chemicals. I urge you to use EPA authority under the TSCA to evaluate byproducts
from other[hemours production lines, including wastewater discharge.
I also ask that you require companies to submit not just one but multiple health studies covering several exposure
methods when registering chemicals under TSCA. This will increase the public's understanding of chemical compounds
introduced into our waterways. These safeguards are more important than ever as North Carolina and other states
confront the presence of unregulated, emerging contaminants in our water.
Administrator Pruitt, at your confirmation in January, you said, "What could be more important than protecting our
Nation's waters, improving our air, and managing the land that we have been blessed with as a Nation, all the while
protecting the health and welfare of our people?" The water, health and welfare of the people of North Carolina require
your protection now from unregulated emerging contaminants like GenX.
I thank you for the support that your agency is providing to North Carolina, and look forward to your swift reply.
Jamie Kritzer
Communications Director
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
519-707-8602

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DEQ-CFW-00084807