Read the full article by Matthew Prensky (Wilmington Star News)
“Chemours is expanding its private well sampling program to the lower Cape Fear region and has released plans of what that will look like for residents.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality ordered Chemours to expand its well testing program back in November.
In a letter to Chemours on Nov. 3, state officials told the chemical maker it had determined the company was responsible for contamination of groundwater drinking wells in New Hanover County and potentially other counties in the lower portion of the Cape Fear River.
Since early 2019, DEQ has been testing groundwater wells and water supply wells in New Hanover County to determine if Chemours’ activities at its Fayetteville Works manufacturing plant contaminated the drinking water of residents who live off wells in the region, according to the Nov. 3 letter from DEQ.
‘The results of this sampling have established that multiple wells in New Hanover County are contaminated with PFAS compounds that originated at the facility,’ according to the letter.
Therefore, DEQ required Chemours to expand the assistance its mandated to offer under a 2019 court order. In addition to private well testing in Cumberland, Robeson, Bladen and Sampson counties, Chemours is now required to test private wells in Pender, New Hanover, Brunswick and Columbus counties for PFAS contamination.
But Chemours seems to have taken issue with the testing data DEQ is basing its decision off of, and as a result, the chemical maker’s plans in and around Wilmington are a fraction of the size of what it’s doing upriver.
…Chemours believes the contamination DEQ detected from its New Hanover County isn’t from the Fayetteville Works facility, but ‘… rather from the migration of PFAS from the Cape Fear River to groundwater, including from ‘leaking potable water distribution pipes and sanitary sewers that convey water from the Cape Fear River,” according to Chemours’ Feb. 1 response.”…
gave no contact information to direct questions about private well water. I live in New Hanover County within two miles of the Cape Fear river with private well for drinking and all other uses. I previously lived in WV and know the background of the Parkersburg Dupont Plant water pollution. I don’t have confidence in either the public or private sector to base decisions on.
Hi John, thanks for your comment and we hear your concerns. We only posted the first portion of the article here, but when looking at the full article that’s linked, it looks like “Private well owners are eligible for testing if their well is the primary source of drinking water on the property, they are located within a half mile of the Cape Fear River and/or their well is within a public water service area and/or sanitary sewer network, according to Chemours’ plan.” Interested private well owners can request testing through the Chemours call center (link: https://www.chemours.com/en/about-chemours/global-reach/fayetteville-works), and hopefully they would be able to answer other questions there as well. Hope this helps!