Read the full article (WWAY News)
“WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — CFPUA has expressed concerns to state regulators ‘about the apparent ineffectiveness of measures Chemours has taken so far to reduce the mass loading of its PFAS into the Cape Fear River.’
In a letter submitted February 3 to Sheila Holman, Assistant Secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), CFPUA says they cited:
- Operational failures at treatment installed in fall 2020 intended to reduce PFAS entering the river from Old Outfall 002 at Chemours’ industrial site. Chemours was compelled to install the treatment as part of its obligations under a Consent Order with the state and Cape Fear River Watch. According to a Notice of Violation NCDEQ issued to Chemours on January 26, Chemours’ treatment system at old Outfall 002 ‘was not properly designed to meet the requirements of the Consent Order to capture dry weather flow and treat it to at least 99% removal efficiency for the indicator parameters, GenX and PFMOAA. This design failure is shown, for example, by the inability of the treatment system to properly manage sediment loading, resulting in multiple days where the system failed to capture dry weather flow and periods where the system was completely shut down.’
- Operational failures at treatment installed in mid-November that was supposed to reduce PFAS from Seep C, one of four seeps that leak groundwater with high levels of Chemours’ PFAS into the Cape Fear River. On three separate occasions since that installation, Chemours has notified regulators and downstream water users that high river levels had overwhelmed the Seep C treatment and impaired operation…”