Related — DEQ takes further action against Chemours

“RALEIGH, N.C. — The state Department of Environmental Quality stepped up its enforcement effort against Chemours again Monday, asking a judge to make the chemical company cut its GenX emissions 97 percent by the end of August.

That would speed up the facility’s timetable significantly. Company officials have said they’re installing equipment that will lower air emissions at their Bladen County facility by 70 percent by October. They promise to capture 99 percent of the compound within 24 months but also say that GenX, which hasn’t been fully studied, isn’t harmful in the amounts often found in area drinking water.

It’s unclear whether the company can meet the state’s new timetable without shutting down its production line. DEQ spokeswoman Bridget Munger said it’s the company’s responsibility to determine how to achieve the goal…

The requested mandate becomes part of DEQ’s case against the company, and the department said it will ask for a hearing to have a judge enforce it. It comes about one year after GenX releases at the plant, and the difficulty in removing the chemical from drinking water supplies downstream, became widespread public knowledge…

That plan will cost about $100 million to implement, the company has said. DEQ said Monday that, while that technology is implemented, ‘accelerated measures’ are called for…

DEQ’s new mandate is along the lines of what the Southern Environmental Law Center has pressured DEQ to do at facility. In early May, attorneys there called on DEQ to beef up its enforcement, shutting down the line if needed. The group threatened its own federal lawsuit if emissions continued beyond 60 days, a timetable due to expire in June.

DEQ also issued a notice of violation to Chemours Monday for 18 additional compounds found at the plant, which were detailed in a Jan. 31 report by the company. Groundwater data showed levels of the compounds above allowed concentrations, and DEQ ‘is exploring all legal options, including civil penalties, for the violations,’ the department said.”

Read the full article by Travis Fain