A bill that would make manufacturers of “forever chemicals” pay for the cost of public water systems to filter PFAS pollution is being considered by the state Senate after passing the N.C. House of Representatives last month.
The N.C. House passed House Bill 569, known as the PFAS Pollution and Polluter Liability Act, on May 7 in a 104-3 vote, with three Republican representatives voting no. The Senate bill passed a first reading on May 8, and the legislation was referred to the chamber’s Agriculture, Energy and Environment Standing Committee on June 5.
The bill, targeted at Chemours, gives the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality the power to order PFAS manufacturers who contributed to contamination in public water supplies to pay to remove the harmful chemicals.
Rep. Ted Davis, a Wilmington Republican and a primary sponsor of the bill, celebrated its success in May.
“I just thank goodness that the bill did pass,” Davis said at the time, WUNC reported. “It’s taken me five years to do that, but I think and hope that the ratepayers for the public utilities in New Hanover, Brunswick and Cumberland would be very pleased that this bill did pass the House.”
State Rep. Diane Wheatley, a Cumberland County Republican, is a primary sponsor of the bill. Other Cumberland County sponsors include Democratic Reps. Frances Jackson, Charles Smith, and Mike Colvin.
The legislation also allows the DEQ to take legal action in Superior Court to enforce payment orders against PFAS manufacturers that don’t comply. In addition, it requires public water systems that previously used ratepayer funds for PFAS cleanup to reimburse customers if the utility is compensated by the responsible PFAS manufacturer. In order for the compensation to be triggered, the utility’s cost for PFAS removal must be at least $50 million.
The bill only applies to makers of PFAS, not other manufacturers that use the chemicals in production processes or discharge them as wastewater. It can be retroactively applied to costs incurred after 2017, when it was revealed that Chemours, formerly known as DuPont, had dumped GenX and other PFAS into the Cape Fear River for decades.
Proponents of the bill have praised its accountability measures. But they also acknowledged that it only applies to Chemours and the public water utilities in New Hanover County and Brunswick counties, which have built filtration systems to remove PFAS discharged by the Fayetteville Works plant into the Cape Fear River upstream. Brunswick County spent about $159 million for the construction of a reverse osmosis water treatment system, and the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in the Wilmington area spent $82.8 million, WUNC reported.
Impact on PWC’s planned PFAS filtration system
It is unclear if the bill, should it become law, would force Chemours to pay for the Fayetteville Public Works Commission’s planned PFAS filtration system, which is expected to be completed in 2028 and cost about $116 million.
PWC has detected levels of “forever chemicals” that exceed the EPA’s new maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOS and PFOA. The utility’s 2024 water quality report shows that all annual average samples for PFOA and PFOS taken at the points of entry for its two water treatment facilities were above the limit.
Because PWC’s intake point on the Cape Fear River is about 20 miles upstream of the Chemours plant, the contamination is not a result of direct waterway discharges from the plant. Still, “forever chemicals” manufactured by the Chemours plant — including GenX, a trademark chemical of Chemours — have been detected in PWC’s water supply, the utility notes.
“The reports of GenX being discharged into the Cape Fear River are below the PWC/Fayetteville water service area and more than 20 miles downstream of where we take water from the river to treat,” PWC states in its 2024 water quality report. “However, instances of GenX and other Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been found in our sampling.”
The bill’s language leaves the door open for other means of PFAS water contamination, such as pollutants that spread through the rain and wind. “The PFAS manufacturer discharged or released PFAS into the environment that has caused or contributed to the presence of PFAS in the public water system,” the bill states.
Air emissions from the Fayetteville Works plant have resulted in widespread contamination of groundwater and surface water in all directions of the plant, with wells upstream and produce gardens north of the plant found to contain PFAS manufactured by Chemours.
If Chemours does not pay for PWC’s filtration system, the cost will be passed on to PWC customers.
Government accountability reporter Evey Weisblat can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
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