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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDEQ-CFW_00075127C PLk4 G - )Len ,S�k (4 BROOKS 6b., —� PIERCE FOUNDED 1897 August 3, 2017 Via Certified Mail E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company c/o CT Corporation System, Registered Agent 160 Mine Lake Court, Suite 200 Raleigh, NC 27615-6417 Ellis H. McGaughy Fayetteville Works Plant Manager The Chemours Company FC, LLC 22828 NC Highway 87 West Fayetteville, NC 28306-7332 V. Anne Heard Region 4 Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 61 Forsyth Street, S.W. Mail Code: 9T25 Atlanta, GA 30303-8960 Michael S. Regan Secretary N.C. Department of Environmental Quality 1601 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 Michael Scott N.C. DEQ, Division of Waste Management 1646 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1646 Josh Stein N.C. Attorney General N.C. Department of Justice 9001 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-9001 2000 RENAISSANCE PLAZA 230 NORTH ELM STREET GREENSBORO, NC 27401 T 336.373.8850 F 336.378.1001 WW W.BROOKSPIERCE.COM The Chemours Company FC, LLC c/o CT Corporation System, Registered Agent 160 Mine Lake Court, Suite 200 Raleigh, NC 27615-6417 Scott Pruitt Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency William Jefferson Clinton Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. Mail Code: 1101A Washington, DC 20460 Jeff Sessions U.S. Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 S. Jay Zimmerman N.C. DEQ, Division of Water Resources 1611 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1611 Governor Roy Cooper N.C. Office of the Governor 20301 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-0301 DEQ-CFW 00075127 Re: Notice of Intent to Bring Citizen Suit Against: (a) The Chemours Company FC, LLC (Chemours) and (b) E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company (DuPont) Ladies and Gentlemen: Our law firm represents Cape Fear Public Utility Authority ("CFPUA") in connection with perfluorinated chemicals ("PFCs") released by Chemours and DuPont into the Cape Fear River at the Fayetteville Works facility. The Fayetteville Works facility is a chemical manufacturing facility owned and operated by Chemours and is located on the Cape Fear River near Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Cape Fear River is a major source for drinking water. CFPUA is a water authority created pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 162A that provides potable water to residents of New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington. One of CFPUA's water supply intakes is located on the Cape Fear River in Bladen County, North Carolina, downstream of the Fayetteville Works facility. You are hereby provided notice that CFPUA, through undersigned counsel, intends to file a lawsuit against Chemours and DuPont in federal court to enforce the requirements of the Clean Water Act ("CWA") and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"). The federal court complaint will allege that: Chemours is in continuing violation of an "effluent standard or limitation" under the CWA (33 U.S.C. § 1365(a)(1)); and Chemours and DuPont have contributed, and Chemours is contributing, "to the past or present handling, storage, treatment, transportation, or disposal of any solid or hazardous waste which may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment" in violation of RCRA (42 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(1)(B)). This notice is provided to you pursuant to and in accordance with the requirements of Section 505(b)(1)(A) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1365(b)(1)(A), and Section 7002(b)(2)(A) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. § 6972(b)(2)(A). In accordance with CWA Section 505(b)(1)(A) and applicable rules governing the provision of notice of intent to file a CWA citizen suit at 40 C.F.R. Part 135, and RCRA Section 7002(b)(2)(A) and applicable rules governing the provision of notice of intent to file a RCRA citizen suit at 40 C.F.R. Part 254, CFPUA hereby provides the following information: A. Facts 1) Fayetteville Works Facility operations Chemours was a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont when it acquired the Fayetteville Works facility from DuPont on February 1, 2015. Chemours later separated from DuPont in July 2015. The Fayetteville Works facility had been operated by DuPont since the early 1970s. DuPont still operates a manufacturing area at the facility. The Fayetteville Works facility has five discrete manufacturing areas: (i) Fluoromonomers/Nafion (operated by Chemours); (ii) Polymer Processing Aid ("PPA") (operated by Chemours); (iii) Butacite (operated by Kuraray and rented from Chemours); (iv) SentryGlas K DEQ-CFW 00075128 (operated by Kuraray and rented from Chemours); and (v) Polyvinyl Fluoride ("PVF") (operated by DuPont and rented from Chemours). The wastewater from each of the manufacturing areas flows through Chemours' on -site wastewater treatment plant ("WWTP"), is diluted with much larger volumes of water, and is ultimately discharged into the Cape Fear River at Outfall 002. The Fayetteville Works facility is operating under NPDES Permit No. NC0003573 (the "NPDES Permit"), the most recent version of which was issued to Chemours for the point source discharge from the entire Fayetteville Works facility. According to a Chemours representative, the Fayetteville Works facility has been generating and discharging a substance or group of substances, now identified as GenX, as a byproduct since 1980. Based upon information and belief, the generation of GenX at the Fayetteville Works facility, as a product, byproduct or otherwise, has been and is accompanied by the generation of GenX Pollutants which are defined in this notice as follows: • chemicals collectively identified by DuPont and Chemours as "GenV; • chemicals that are structurally or functionally or otherwise similar to GenX that result from or are associated with the manufacture, use, processing, treatment, or disposal of GenX; • perfluoroalkyl ether carboxylic acids (PFECAs); and • chemicals that are structurally or functionally or otherwise similar to PFECAs that result from or are associated with the manufacture, use, processing, treatment, or disposal of PFECAs. More specifically, the GenX Pollutants include, without limitation, the following GenX Pollutants found in the Cape Fear River in the vicinity of the CFPUA intakes: • GenX (described in more detail in section A.3 of this notice); • Perfluoroalkyl ether carboxylic acids with one ether group (mono -ether PFECAs) including: o Perfluoro-2-methoxyacetic acid; C31-IF503; CAS No. 674-13-5 o Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid; C4HF703; CAS No. 377-73-1 o Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid; C5HF903; CAS No. 863090-89-5 Perfluoroalkyl ether carboxylic acids with multiple ether group (multi -ether PFECAs) including: o Perfluoro(3,5-dioxahexanoic) acid; C41IF704, CAS No. 39492-88-1 o Perfluoro(3,5,7-trioxaoctanoic) acid; C5HF905; CAS No. 39492-89-2 o Perfluoro(3,5,7,9-tetraoxadecanoic) acid; C6HF1106; CAS No. 39492-90-5 By 2011, in addition to its generation as a byproduct, GenX was intentionally manufactured at the Fayetteville Works facility as a replacement for another substance or group of substances called "C8" (CAS No. 3825-26-1). C8 is also known as perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") or its salt, ammonium perfluorooctanoate ("APFO"). The substance is a long -chain synthetic 3 DEQ-CFW 00075129 perfluorinated carboxylic acid' used in the manufacturing of products such as Teflon. CFPUA is informed and believes that C8 was discontinued because of its adverse effects on the environment and human health and that studies indicate GenX has similar adverse effects. Based on information and belief, Chemours and DuPont have released, and Chemours continues to release, GenX and GenX Pollutants into air, soil, surface water, and groundwater at the Fayetteville Works facility. 2) DuPont's NPDES Permit applications and production of C8 In or around December 1995, DuPont submitted to North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources ("DENR"), as part of its NPDES Permit renewal application, a request to reroute the Nafion wastewater to bypass the facility's wastewater treatment plant. According to DuPont, the only significant pollutant in the "low biodegradable" wastewater was fluoride, which wasnot removed in the water treatment process, so the wastewater only added to the hydraulic load at the WWTP. The 1996 NPDES Permit appears to have authorized the bypass. Based upon information and belief, the Nafion wastewater also included GenX Pollutants. On May 3, 2001, DuPont submitted a renewal application for its 1996 NPDES Permit in which the company disclosed its intent to begin manufacturing C8 at the Fayetteville Works facility. DuPont had previously been purchasing C8 from 3M, but CFPUA is informed and believes that 3M stopped manufacturing the substance due to concerns over its persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity. CFPUA is informed and believes that, by the time of its 2001 NPDES renewal application: a) DuPont had been conducting medical studies on C8 for decades. DuPont already "understood that PFOA [Le., C8] caused cancerous testicular, pancreatic, and liver tumors in lab animals. One laboratory study suggested possible DNA damage from PFOA exposure, and a study of workers linked exposure with prostate cancer." Nathaniel Rich, The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare, The NY Times Magazine, Jan. 6, 2016. b) In 1991, DuPont set an internal exposure guideline of 1 ppb. c) DuPont had been the defendant in a federal lawsuit over adverse health effects arising from C8 contamination from its facility in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and a class action regarding adverse health effects was filed against the company in August 2001. However, CFPUA is informed and believes that DuPont in its 2001 NPDES Permit renewal application failed to disclose any of the studies or health data on C8 in its possession. Instead, DuPont represented to DEQ's Division of Water Quality3 ("DWQ") that: (i) based on "medical surveillance of its own employees and epidemiological data from others in the industry," C8 "does not pose a health concern to humans or animals at levels present in the workplace or environment"; (ii) DuPont had used C8 for forty years "with no observed health effects in workers"; and (iii) the compound "is neither a known developmental toxin nor a known human carcinogen." The 2001 ' PFOA is considered a long -chain PFC because it has a string of eight carbons off the carboxylic acid compound —hence the name "C8." 2 Now Department of Environmental Quality ("DEQ"). 3 Now Division of Water Resources ("DWR"). 4 DEQ-CFW 00075130 NPDES Permit application requested authorization to discharge the C8 wastewater directly to a dedicated outfall, bypassing the facility's WWTP. CFPUA understands that, beginning in the fall of 2002, DuPont started manufacturing C8 at the Fayetteville Works facility. The renewal NPDES Permit, however, was not issued until January 2004. Because later submissions from DuPont represented that the C8 manufacturing operation was constructed to have no process wastewater discharges, and that the wastewater would be captured and incinerated off site, the 2004 NPDES Permit did not include authorization for discharge of the C8 manufacturing wastewater. Upon information and belief, the wastewater from C8 manufacturing included GenX Pollutants. 3) Phase out of C8 and transition to GenX In 2006, EPA initiated a voluntary PFOA Stewardship Program, in which DuPont participated, calling for the complete elimination of PFOA (i.e., C8) both from emissions to all media and from product content by 2015. DuPont identified GenX as a viable replacement compound. GenX (CAS Nos. 13252-13-6 and 62037-80-3) falls within a category of chemicals known as short-chain4 PFECAs. DuPont submitted its next NPDES Permit renewal application on May 1, 2006. As to the manufacture of C8, DuPont represented in its application that: (i) the wastewater "is collected and shipped off -site for disposal"; (ii) "[n]o process wastewater from this manufacturing facility is discharged to the site's biological WWTP or to the Cape Fear River"; and (iii) the C8 produced at the facility "is used to produce fluoropolymers and fluorinated telomers, but none of the produced [C8] is used at the Fayetteville Works site." As to the Nafion manufacturing operations, DuPont disclosed in its application that the plant manufactures five final products, including FLPR Vinyl Ether monomers and HFPO monomers (hexafluoropropylene oxide, CAS No. 428-59-1). According to DuPont, the Vinyl Ether and HFPO monomers are shipped to other DuPont locations to produce various fluorochemical products such as Teflon, and the Nafion wastewater was now being treated in the facility's WWTP. The renewal NPDES Permit was issued May 25, 2007. Although all C8 process wastewater was to be captured and disposed of off -site, the permit included a monitoring condition for C8 due to known groundwater contamination. In 2008, DuPont submitted to the EPA pre -manufacture notices for GenX (P-08-508 and P-08-509) pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA"). On January 28, 2009, EPA and DuPont entered the TSCA Consent Order governing the manufacture of GenX. The Consent Order specified that "EPA has concerns that [GenX] will persist in the environment, could bioaccumulate, and be toxic (`PBT') to people, wild mammals, and birds," and that, based on available data, "EPA has human health concerns" for GenX. TSCA Consent Order at vii. Due to the likelihood that GenX would be used as a substitute for C8, EPA determined that "more information is needed on the toxicity and pharmacokinetics" of GenX, and noted the "high concern for possible environmental effects over the long-term." TSCA Consent Order at xi xii. Accordingly, EPA concluded that "uncontrolled manufacture, import, processing, distribution in 4 GenX is a short -chain PFC in that two shorter carbon chains are connected by an ether linkage as opposed to the unbroken eight -carbon chain in C8. DEQ-CFW 00075131 commerce, use, and disposal of [GenX] may present an unreasonable risk of injury to human health and the environment." TSCA Consent Order at xv. Due to the stated concerns of EPA, the Consent Order authorized the manufacture of GenX but required that DuPont "recover and capture (destroy) or recycle [GenX] at an overall efficiency of 99% from all effluent process streams and the air emissions (point source and fugitive)." TSCA Consent Order at 36. As part of its NPDES permit renewal process, DuPont representatives, including its environmental manager Michael Johnson, met in August 2010 with DWQ to discuss the phase -out of C8. During that meeting, CFPUA is informed and believes that DuPont identified the C8 replacement as "GenX" and, consistent with the disclosures in its renewal application, represented that the wastewater generated from the manufacture of GenX would be captured and disposed of off -site. On April 29, 2011, DuPont submitted another NPDES Permit renewal application. CFPUA is informed and believes that DuPont had begun transitioning from C8 to GenX by that time. Where its disclosures previously identified the manufacture of C8, DuPont instead identified the manufacturing area as a "PPA [polymer processing aid] manufacturing area" DuPont represented in its application that: (i) the "processing aids produced in this unit are used to produce fluoropolymers and fluorinated telomers, but none of the produced processing aids are used at the Fayetteville Works site"; (ii) "[a]ll process wastewater generated from this manufacturing facility is collected and shipped off -site for disposal'; and (iii) "[n]o process wastewater from this manufacturing facility is discharged to the site's biological WWTP or to the Cape Fear River." DuPont's representations regarding the Nafion plant are essentially identical to its May 2006 NPDES application. The effluent from the Nafion wastewater is represented as being heavily diluted with noncontact river water and other water prior to discharge. The NPDES Permit renewal was issued February 6, 2012, and advised DuPont that the Cape Fear River segment into which DuPont is discharging wastewater had been reclassified to a water supply classification—WS-IV. As with the prior NPDES permit, PFOA (i.e., C8) monitoring conditions were included; PFOA monitoring was required at Outfall 002—after dilution with large volumes of non -contact river water and other water. The 2012 NPDES Permit does not authorize the discharge of GenX or any other GenX Pollutants. 4) RCRA investigation of C8 contamination At some point after DuPont began the manufacture of C8 at its Fayetteville Works facility, the site became contaminated with C8 in the soil and groundwater, due (on information and belief) to some combination of spills, leaks, releases, discharges, and air emissions. DuPont conducted a RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) under the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Corrective Action Program, which led to the issuance of a Phase III RFI Report in February 2014, revised August 2014. According to the RFI Report, at least seven releases occurred between March 2011 and February 2013, including a release from the PPA facility in June 2011, a release from the Nafion facility in March 2012, and a release from the Waste Fluorocarbon Storage Tank in March 2012. Based upon information and belief, at the time of some or all of those releases, DuPont was manufacturing or otherwise producing GenX Pollutants, which are likely to have been contaminants in one or more of the releases. 0 DEQ-CFW 00075132 Earlier RFI reports —in particular the Phase I RFI dated April 14, 2003 and revised August 1, 2003, the Phase II RFI dated June 2006 and its August 2009 Addendum —include additional findings regarding historical contamination and releases at the Fayetteville Works facility. Among other things, the RFIs: (i) identify C8 contamination in soil and groundwater throughout the Fayetteville Works facility, and posit that some of the contamination is due to deposition of C8 air emissions; (ii) indicate that until 1990, unlined lagoons constructed in or around 1979 were used as biosludge settlement lagoons for wastewater from throughout the facility, before discharging to the Cape Fear River; and (iii) acknowledge historical releases at the Nafion manufacturing area, including from solid waste management units (SWMUs) handling Nafion wastewater. CFPUA is informed and believes that DuPont was generating GenX Pollutants at the Fayetteville Works facility during the time of the activities and releases at the facility identified in the RFIs, such that GenX Pollutants were constituents of the contamination and releases described in the RFIs. 5) Change of ownership and 2016 NPDES Permit application On June 19, 2015, DuPont submitted an ownership change request, notifying DWR of the pending transfer of the Fayetteville Works facility to Chemours and requesting a permit amendment. On June 24, 2015, Michael Johnson, Chemours' (and previously DuPont's) environmental manager, met with DWQ officials to discuss a "new" perfluorinated compound identified in the Cape Fear River, GenX, which had been identified by N.C. State University researchers conducting sampling on the Cape Fear River as part of a study commissioned by EPA. The researchers have since published their results, Legacy and Emerging Perfluoroalkyl Substances are Important Drinking Water Contaminants in the Cape Fear River Watershed of North Carolina, in Environmental Science & Technology Letters (November 10, 2016) ("Knappe Report"). CFPUA is informed and believes that DuPont represented to DWQ that GenX was C8's replacement, and that GenX was no longer being discharged to the Cape Fear. The 2012 NPDES Permit was amended to reflect the change of ownership effective July 1, 2015. Chemours submitted its most recent NPDES Permit renewal application on April 27, 2016. The application contained essentially identical representations regarding the PPA and Nafion manufacturing areas as the April 2011 renewal application. Similar to the prior application, the effluent from the Nafion wastewater is represented as being heavily diluted with noncontact river water and other water prior to discharge. The April 2016 NPDES renewal application requested that the C8 monitoring condition be removed from the NPDES Permit. Chemours' justification for the request was that C8 monitoring at Outfall 002 showed an average C8 concentration of .027 ug/L below the recommended Interim Maximum Allowable Concentration ("IMAC") of I ug/L. Chemours' further asserted that non - contact water from the Cape Fear River —which Chemours represented constituted 99% of the effluent flow at Outfall 002 had an average C8 concentration of .012 ug/L, thus contributing to the total C8 in the effluent. Based on Chemours' representations: (i) the pre -dilution effluent — only 1 % of the final discharge —would be the cause of the increase in C8 concentration from .012 ug/L to .027 ug/L at Outfall 002, and (ii) the actual concentration of C8 in Chemours' effluent prior to dilution by water from the Cape Fear River would be 1.5 ug/L, which exceeds by 50 percent the IMAC upon which Chemours chose to base its request. In addition, groundwater monitoring results in the RFI Report suggest that Chemours' on -site C8 contamination may have 7 DEQ-CFW 00075133 impacted Willis Creek, which flows into Cape Fear River just upstream of Chemours' intake, potentially contributing to the reported 0.12 ug/L concentration of C8 in the Cape Fear River at the Chemours intake. 6) Discovery of GenX in the Cape Fear River The Knappe Report shows that GenX, along with six other GenX Pollutants, are present in the Cape Fear River, downstream of the Fayetteville Works facility. The report found that GenX was in the raw water at CFPUA's intake at mean concentrations of 631 ng/L, and six other GenX Pollutants (all PFECAs) were found at even higher levels. Based upon information and belief, the Fayetteville Works facility is the source of each of the GenX Pollutants at CFPUA's intake. The Knappe Report indicates that CFPUA's water treatment plant is largely ineffective at removing PFECAs from the water during the treatment process. With regard to treatment options, although reverse osmosis might be effective, it is not practicable to implement at the scale required given the volume of water treated by CFPUA. Finally, carbon filtration is not known to be effective at removing PFECAs. Once publicly confronted about GenX contamination in the Cape Fear River, Chemours: (a) asserted that GenX is an "unregulated" chemical that was being discharged as a byproduct from its Nafion-related manufacturing processes, in particular during the manufacture of vinyl ethers; (b) disclosed that GenX was in its air emissions as part of those same processes; and (c) explained that GenX had been discharged from its vinyl ether process, unabated, from 1980 until November 2013, at which time abatement technology was implemented to reduce the GenX discharge by 80 percent. Following public outcry, Chemours committed to taking steps to prevent discharge of any wastewaters containing GenX by June 21, 2017. However, as recently as July 12, 2017, GenX was identified in Chemours' effluent being discharged to the Cape Fear River. After reviewing the available data regarding the PBT characteristics of GenX and consultation with EPA, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services ("DHHS") issued a Risk Assessment on July 14, 2017 setting a health goal of 140 nn L�Subsequent testing has shown GenX present in the raw CFPUA's intake, and in the Authofify's finished water, at concentrations in excess of the health goal. B. Chemours is violating CWA and RCRA, and Chemours and DuPont have violated RCRA 1) The specific standard, limitation or order alleged to be violated under CWA Section 505(a)(1) of the CWA permits citizens to commence a civil action against "any person ... who is alleged to be in violation of ... an effluent standard or limitation under this Act," 33 U.S.C. § 1365(a)(1), including the prohibition against discharging pollutants without an NPDES permit. 33 U.S.C. § 1311(a). "Pollutants" under the CWA include "chemical wastes ... and industrial ... waste discharged into water." 33 U.S.C. § 1362(6). GenX Pollutants, including GenX, are "pollutants" DEQ-CFW 00075134 as defined under the CWA. Based on information and belief, GenX Pollutants have been and continue to be among CWA pollutants that are discharged into the Cape Fear River from the Fayetteville Works. Based on information and belief, GenX Pollutants are discharged by DuPont from its manufacturing area to the Cape Fear River, using the Chemours WWTP as a conduit. Based on information and belief, the WWTP does not effectively remove GenX Pollutants from wastewater that is routed through it. The NPDES Permit does not authorize, and has never authorized, discharge of GenX Pollutants from the Fayetteville Works facility. In order to operate in compliance with an NPDES permit, the permit holder must (1) comply with the express terms of the permit; and (2) not make a discharge of pollutants that was not within the reasonable contemplation of the permitting authority at the time the permit was granted. Piney Run Pres. Assn v. County Commis of Carroll County, 268 F.3d 255 (4th Cir. 2001). Because Chemours and DuPont never identified the GenX Pollutants as constituents in their effluent, the substances could not have been within the contemplation of DEQ, and are therefore not authorized to be discharged by the NPDES Permit. In addition, DuPont's and Chemours' unauthorized discharges of GenX Pollutants are causing violations of North Carolina water quality standards adopted and enforced pursuant to the CWA, including water quality standards for "oils, deleterious substances, colored, or other wastes," 15A NCAC 2B .0211(12), and for "toxic substances." 15A NCAC 2B .0208, 15A NCAC 2B .0211 (incorporating 15A NCAC 2B .0208 by reference), and 15A NCAC 2B .0216(3)(a) and (h). 2) The specific permit, standard, regulation, condition, requirement, or order which has allegedly been violated under RCRA Section 7002(a)(1)(B) of RCRA permits citizens to commence a civil action against: any person ... including any past or present generator, past or present transporter, or past or present owner or operator of a treatment, storage, or disposal facility, who has contributed or who is contributing to the past or present handling, storage, treatment, transportation, or disposal of any solid or hazardous waste which may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment. 42 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(1)(B). Chemours and DuPont are both in violation of this provision, based on their discharges, disposals and other releases of GenX Pollutants described above and discussed in more detail below. 3) Activities alleged to be a violation of CWA and RCRA The CWA violations by DuPont and Chemours are the historic and ongoing unpermitted discharges of GenX Pollutants at and from the Fayetteville Works facility (including without limitation discharges from the WWTP) and the resulting violations of water quality standards as previously described. DEQ-CFW 00075135 The RCRA violations by Chemours and DuPont are the historic and ongoing contribution to the disposals and other releases of GenX Pollutants to soil, groundwater, surface water, and air at and from the Fayetteville Works facility, which have contaminated and are contaminating the Cape Fear River. As determined by DHHS in its Risk Assessment, and consistent with the health concerns identified by EPA in its TSCA Consent Order, and as indicated in study reports such as Evaluation of substances used in the GenX technology by Chemours, Dordecht, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands (2016) at page 3 of 92 (GenX substances "are perfluorinated hydrocarbons and poorly degradable in the environment ... [and] are causing similar harmful effects as PFOA (such as carcinogenic [effects] and effects on the liver.")), the GenX released in the Cape Fear River may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment. Other GenX Pollutants in the Cape Fear River are similar substances to GenX and should be expected to have similar effects and therefore may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment. The dates of the violations are as identified in Part A above. On June 27, 2017, CFPUA sent written Requests for Information to Chemours, requesting information regarding, among other things, Chemours' and DuPont's historical use, discharges, releases, and emissions of GenX Pollutants, as well as information regarding GenX Pollutants' effect on human or environmental health. To date, Chemours has refused to provide the requested information. CFPUA expressly reserves the right to supplement its prospective citizen suit with any information currently withheld by Chemours that is later disclosed in discovery. 4) Persons responsible for the alleged violation The persons responsible for the alleged violation currently known to CFPUA include Ellis H. McGaughy, Fayetteville Works plant manager, and Michael E. Johnson, Fayetteville Works plant environmental manager. 5) Name, address, -and telephone number of person giving notice The name and contact information of the person giving notice is as follows: Cape Fear Public Utility Authority 235 Government Center Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 Attn: Jim Flechtner Telephone: (910) 332-6550 The counsel for CFPUA is Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey, and Leonard, L.L.P., of Greensboro, North Carolina. The name and contact information of counsel for the person giving notice is as follows: 10 DEQ-CFW 00075136 George W. House V. Randall Tinsley Joseph A. Ponzi Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, L.L.P. 2000 Renaissance Plaza 230 North Elm Street Greensboro, NC 27401 Telephone: (336) 373-8850 Facsimile: (336) 378-1001 Messrs. House, Tinsley, and Ponzi are providing this notice as counsel for CFPUA. 6) Notice of intent to sue CFPUA intends to file suit not earlier than 60 days after this notice is given as authorized by the Clean Water Act. CFPUA intends to file suit not earlier than 90 days after this notice is given as authorized by the Resource Conservation Recovery Act. Pursuant to the CWA, RCRA, and EPA's rules at 40 C.F.R. Part 135 and Part 254, copies of this notice letter are being served on the EPA Administrator, the EPA Regional Administrator, the United States Attorney General, the N.C. DEQ Secretary, the N.C: DWR Director, and the N.C. DWM Director. cc: Bill Lane, NC DEQ 11 Sincerely, George W. ouse V. Randall Tinsley Joseph A. Ponzi DEQ-CFW 00075137