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Opening Statement by Secretary Michael Regan
• Good afternoon, Chairwoman Wade, Co -Chairs Dixon and McGrady, Vice Chair
McElraft and members of the Environmental Review Commission. Thank you for
providing me with the opportunity to speak with you today about the actions the
Department of Environmental Quality has taken to date to address GenX and the overall
concerns regarding emerging chemical compounds in North Carolina's drinking water.
• My Department regulates thousands of industries and ensures the protection of more than
38,000 miles of waterways in North Carolina. We take our responsibility to protect the
quality of our water very serious because everyone deserves to have confidence in the
water they drink.
• 1 would like to spend a few minutes telling you as much as I can at this point about our
ongoing investigation into this very important matter, but equally as important, I want to
share with you the swift action we have taken since this issue was brought to my
attention.
• In June of 2017, 1 was made aware of the presence of GenX in the Cape Fear River.
• Immediately, and At Governor Cooper's direction, the Departments of Environmental
Quality and Health and Human Services began investigating the matter and for the past
two months have deployed all available resources to address this concern.
• Shortly after launching our investigation, we were successful at stopping Chemours from
releasing GenX, and as a result, have seen a dramatic decline in the concentrations of
GenX in the Cape Fear River.
• As many of you might know, Chemours has a pending permit application awaiting our
approval and we are denying their request to continue releasing GenX into the Cape Fear
River. As we reconsider the permit application, we are also requiring additional disclosure
of information regarding GenX and additional emerging compounds of concern, as well as
a permit reopener clause that will give the Department the ability to revisit these issues
and any new concerns as they arise.
• Since the GenX releases have stopped, concentrations of GenX are well below the
Department of Health and Human Services health goal at all drinking water sites.
While I am satisfied with the efforts made to date, we have more work ahead of us to
ensure we reach a resolution that re-establishes the public's confidence in the water we
all consume.
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As we push forward, it is important to note the current efforts we are undertaking are not
sustainable with our current staffing levels and the many issues we confront as we work
to protect the State's water quality over the long term.
• The large scope and pressing nature of this challenge requires a larger response than our
departments have resources to provide while continuing to meet the day-to-day
requirements.
For this investigation alone, we are (1) committed to a very thorough permit review
process, (2) committed to water sampling for the foreseeable future in the Cape Fear
River and have recently started groundwater sampling at the Chemours site, (3)
reviewing Chemours permit and investigating any possible violations of either the permit
or the Clean Water Act, (4) responding to a request for documents as part of a federal
investigation, (5) working with the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC and
EPA to establish health assessments and (6) keeping the public up to date at every step
along the way through our public website and regular phone calls with local officials,
EPA and the Congressional delegation.
• But since 2013, our water quality program has sustained significant reductions in
positions supporting compliance, enforcement and permitting. Some 70 positions have
been eliminated.
• 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.
• The additional 16 positions we're seeking would not only aid our ability to better protect
public health and the environment, but would also help drive our state's economic well-
being.
• It is for that reason we are requesting funding to support staff who can execute
compliance, permits and enforcement actions.
• These are specialized needs and must be performed by people with the knowledge, skills
and background to perform these duties.
• 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.
• Additional funding would support ongoing monitoring and assessment of threats to
public health and safety from discharges of other emerging contaminants. The department
is seeking funding to support independent verification to ensure we are providing the
public with the most reliable results.
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When it comes to these pressing issues involving the safety of our state's water quality,
our challenge is far from over.
Our citizens deserve to know that the state is doing all that is possible to ensure that the
drinking water is safe. I have heard the call from our citizens and I believe this funding
request is needed for my agency to answer that call.
Again, thank you for your time today. I look forward to working with you to address
these challenging issues.
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