North Carolina officials oppose proposed EPA-Chemours PFAS settlement
State officials say the proposed federal agreement offers North Carolina no monetary commitment or meaningful relief beyond an existing state consent order.
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s governor, attorney general and environmental secretary are opposing a proposed federal settlement with Chemours over PFAS contamination, arguing that the agreement would offer the state no clear monetary or environmental relief.
Gov. Josh Stein, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson submitted joint comments concerning a proposed consent decree between Chemours and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a July 30 announcement from the governor’s office.
The proposed federal agreement would settle claims involving PFAS contamination in three states, including North Carolina. State officials said the agreement does not include a monetary commitment for North Carolina or meaningfully expand on relief previously secured through a state consent order.
In a separate legal action, Stein and DEQ filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Jackson v. E.I. Du Pont de Nemours. The brief supports the attorney general’s authority to pursue Chemours and related companies for alleged damage to North Carolina’s natural resources.
DEQ sued Chemours in 2017 over PFAS discharges from the company’s Fayetteville Works facility. The resulting consent order required the company to reduce PFAS discharges and emissions, address contamination and provide alternative drinking water to qualifying private-well owners.
The Department of Justice later filed claims that were not part of the original DEQ case, including claims involving natural-resource damages, fraud and fraudulent transfer. A trial court denied Chemours’ motion to dismiss that case in August 2025, according to the governor’s office.
“Now is the time for the EPA and the state Supreme Court to do right by our people and our water and truly hold Chemours accountable,” Stein said in the state announcement.
The governor’s office also pointed to PFAS provisions in the recently enacted state budget. Those provisions include $45 million for an Emerging Contaminants Mitigation Fund and $10 million for the Bernard Allen Emergency Drinking Water Fund.
The state said the first fund will support PFAS prevention, testing and treatment. The second provides assistance for private-well testing, treatment and alternative drinking-water supplies.
Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
