Chemours Reaches $450 Million Settlement Over PFAS Discharges at Three Facilities

The Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency announced on June 24, 2026, that Chemours Co. will pay a $22.5 million civil penalty and spend at least $427.5 million on pollution controls and clean-water measures under a proposed consent decree filed in federal court in West Virginia.

The agreement covers three Chemours facilities that released per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River and Delaware River.

According to the Justice Department, the violations involved unlawful discharges under Clean Water Act permits and state laws at sites previously owned by DuPont and occurred for more than a decade. The settlement requires Chemours to spend $90 million over 15 years on mitigation projects across the three states.

It also requires installation of controls for surface-water and air emissions at the company's Washington Works plant in West Virginia at an estimated cost of $60 million, and provision of clean drinking water to affected communities in West Virginia and New Jersey at an estimated cost of $280 million.

The company will implement additional controls at its North Carolina facility based on a pending independent assessment. The settlement does not resolve DuPont's separate liability for past violations. In 2025, DuPont, Chemours and Corteva agreed to pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle state environmental claims.

Adam Gustafson, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, said the settlement "allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS for commercial and military uses while addressing contamination." Jeffrey Hall, assistant EPA administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance, said the agreement "brings the company into compliance and holds it accountable."

" A federal judge in August 2025 ordered Chemours to stop unlawful discharges from its Washington Works plant.