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The Trump administration on Wednesday reached a multi-state settlement with chemical giant Chemours Co. over years-long, illegal discharges of synthetic \u201cforever chemicals\u201d used to make products resistant to water, grease and stains. The settlement is the first by the federal government to resolve enforcement claims against a manufacturer of harmful chemicals known as\u00a0PFAS.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, filed in federal court in West Virginia, Chemours will pay a civil penalty of $22.5 million for alleged violations and spend $90 million over 15 years to mitigate PFAS discharges in three states: West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Chemours, a spin-off of chemical maker DuPont, also agreed to install PFAS pollution controls for and surface water discharges and air emissions at a West Virginia facility at an estimated cost of $60 million, supply clean drinking water to communities near its West Virginia and New Jersey sites at an estimated cost of $280 million; and implement controls to reduce releases of PFAS and other toxic chemicals from its facility in North Carolina, based on a pending independent assessment.<\/p>\n
Combined, the penalties and relief programs are estimated to cost at least $450 million, the Justice Department said.<\/p>\n
The settlement allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS for commercial and military applications while preventing future contamination and protecting communities from existing pollution, said Adam Gustafson, principal deputy assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Trump administration recognizes the important role of Chemours for it commercial and military obligations,\u201d Gustafson said in an interview. \u201cThe settlement protects public health while preserving that important balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The settlement against a major PFAS manufacturer \u201cdelivers on the Trump administration\u2019s promise to make polluters pay and stop PFAS contamination at the source,\u201d said Jeffrey Hall, assistant EPA administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance.<\/p>\n
The agreement will greatly reduce PFAS contamination of water, land and air and even begin to mitigate past harm, Hall said. \u201cThis settlement brings Chemours into compliance with the law and holds it fully accountable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a statement Wednesday, Chemours said it has already begun planning and implementing operational improvements at its facilities and will take steps to mitigate future emissions and enhance existing programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis settlement provides Chemours with greater clarity on future compliance requirements and actions to support long-term responsible manufacturing,\u201d spokeswoman Jess Loizeaux said.<\/p>\n
The settlement comes as the Trump administration is expected to propose\u00a0softening Biden-era limits\u00a0on \u201cforever chemicals\u201d in drinking water, while delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types of the substance.<\/p>\n
The proposal will start the formal process of rolling back parts of the first-ever\u00a0limits on PFAS in drinking water\u00a0finalized during former President Joe Biden\u2019s administration. Officials at the time found they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight.<\/p>\n
The agency is committed to addressing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water while following the law and\u00a0ensuring that regulatory compliance is achievable\u00a0for drinking water systems, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.<\/p>\n
The settlement determined that facilities Chemours operates in the three states have discharged PFAS into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River and Delaware River, respectively, in violation of permits required by the Clean Water Act and state laws. Chemours also violated legal requirements under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act at all three facilities.<\/p>\n
As a result of the alleged violations, people living near the facilities were exposed to illegal PFAS, officials said.\u00a0PFAS\u00a0are widely used and found around the world, with scientific studies showing that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.<\/p>\n
The violations continued for over a decade, the Justice Department said. The facilities were previously owned for many decades by DuPont. The settlement announced Wednesday does not resolve DuPont\u2019s liability for past PFAS violations, officials said.<\/p>\n
A federal judge last year\u00a0ordered Chemours\u00a0to stop discharging unlawful levels of cancer-causing chemicals into the Ohio River from the company\u2019s Washington Works plant in West Virginia. The pollutants endanger the environment, aquatic life and human health, U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin wrote in the August 2025 order.<\/p>\n
The West Virginia Rivers Coalition had asked Goodwin to require the company to immediately comply with its permit limits after violating them for more than five years.<\/p>\n
DuPont, Chemours and another company, Corteva,\u00a0agreed to pay New Jersey\u00a0up to $2 billion last year to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS. The federal settlement does not affect the state case.<\/p>\n
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson called the settlement \u201can insult to the people of eastern North Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n
His state is \u201cground zero for GenX contamination, but this deal does practically nothing to clean up our water,\u201d said Jackson, a Democrat. GenX is a trade name for a synthetic chemical developed by Chemours as an alternative to PFAS but which has raised significant health and environmental concerns in its own right.<\/p>\n
\u201cChemours made this mess, and Chemours should clean it up,\u201d Jackson said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The federal consent decree calls for 14 specific treatment systems to reduce PFAS in wastewater, stormwater and groundwater from the West Virginia plant. Chemours will test drinking water near the West Virginia and New Jersey sites and provide treated or alternative clean water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#chemical #maker #Chemours #pay #450M #settle #chemicals #case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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