CFPUA asks to join Chemours lawsuit as new, previously unknown PFAS identified in the water

By Port City Daily Staff | Port City Daily | September 10, 2020

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"The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is contending that it should be granted equal standing in negotiations for a lawsuit against Chemours, in which the state is arguing that Chemours has allowed undue levels of PFAS into the drinking water of some New Hanover County residents. The request comes on the heels of news of additional, previously unknown PFAS in the Cape Fear River.

CFPUA said in a motion filed with the court this week that its officials were not consulted “about important proposals to address the burdens CFPUA and our community bear for Chemours’ contamination,” according to a press release from CFPUA. The press release said under an addendum to the state’s consent order, Chemours will have until 2025 to outline steps that will “result in significant reductions of PFAS entering the river from groundwater and stormwater runoff at its highly contaminated industrial site.”

The lawsuit, filed originally by the state, alleges that “the surface water into which the Chemours Facility discharges wastewater is used as a public water supply source that serves residents and businesses in several counties,” and also asserts that Chemours and its predecessor, DuPont, “knew for years that GenX and related compounds were being discharged into surface waters of the State.”