politics
Administration reaches settlement with Chemours over PFAS discharges
The federal government finalized a multi-state agreement requiring Chemours Co. to pay a $22.5 million civil penalty and spend about $90 million on pollution controls. Officials estimate the total value of penalties and cleanup at roughly $450 million.
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The federal government finalized a multi-state settlement with Chemours Co. over alleged years of illegal discharges of synthetic PFAS chemicals from facilities in West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey. The agreement requires the company to pay a $22.5 million civil penalty and spend an estimated $90 million over 15 years on pollution-control systems, wastewater treatment and drinking-water protections.
Officials value the combined penalties and cleanup commitments at roughly $450 million.
Settlement requirements Chemours must install 14 treatment systems at its West Virginia plant, reduce PFAS releases from its North Carolina operations and supply treated or alternative drinking water where contamination is found near its sites in West Virginia and New Jersey.
The company will also test drinking water around its facilities and implement measures to limit PFAS in stormwater and groundwater.
Background and context The settlement resolves federal enforcement claims under the Clean Water Act and related state regulations but leaves potential liability for DuPont over earlier PFAS violations unresolved. It arrives as the Environmental Protection Agency prepares revisions to some Biden-era PFAS drinking-water limits while keeping restrictions on two common compounds.
A federal judge had previously ordered Chemours to halt unlawful discharges from its West Virginia facility. The company separately reached a settlement last year with New Jersey worth up to $2 billion over PFAS claims.
