Cape Fear Public Utility Authority
State budget includes money for PFAS, higher fees for electric cars, DEQ bonuses for speed
More than $55 million is included in the state budget to address PFAS contamination in drinking water, but given the vast scope of the problem in North Carolina, the money won’t go that far. The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in Wilmington would receive $35 million: Roughly half is allocated for public water extensions to private […]
EPA: GenX far more toxic that originally thought, could prompt NC to significantly reduce health advisory goal
GenX, a chemical compound found in the drinking water of more than 1 million North Carolinians, is far more toxic that scientists originally believed, according to the EPA. The agency yesterday released a final toxicology assessment for the compound, showing that even lower levels of GenX in drinking water could harm human health, particularly the liver.
PW exclusive: PFAS levels spiking in monitoring wells in New Hanover County
Concentration of toxic compounds up 260% in one well, compared with last year Levels of perfluorinated compounds, also known as PFAS, have surged in several monitoring wells in New Hanover County recent data show, prompting state regulators to investigate potential sources.
Sediment from PFAS-contaminated Chemours site heading down the Cape Fear River
An “apparent increase” in dirt and sediment potentially contaminated with perfluorinated compounds — PFAS — is headed from the Chemours plant down the Cape Fear River. In an email sent at 7:32 p.m. yesterday, Christel Compton, Chemours Fayetteville Works environmental manager notified the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority of the sediment release. The sediment spilled […]
Because of PFAS contamination, Gray’s Creek Elementary to remain on bottled water
Students at Gray’s Creek Elementary School will remain on bottled water for at least another six months after recent tests showed drinking water wells contained perfluorinated compounds — PFAS — and GenX. Chemours tested the drinking water well in late October at the request of the Cumberland County School system. Samples results show GenX levels of […]
PW exclusive: Investigation shows NC pension funds hold stock in GenX polluter, Chemours
Despite concerns, Treasurer Dale Folwell maintains state investments in much-criticized company that polluted the Cape Fear All winter long, it seemed, there was a spill. A leak. An “accident.” Throughout 2017 and 2018, the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant discharged and emitted GenX, a toxic compound, into the air, the Cape Fear River, and the groundwater, polluting the drinking water supply for hundreds of thousands of people.
Monday numbers: A closer look at 1,4-Dioxane levels in the Cape Fear
Levels of 1,4-Dioxane, which the EPA has linked to cancer, increased for a fourth straight month in raw water entering the Cape Fear River Authority’s Sweeney plant in Wilmington, according to the utility.
Sampling shows PFAS, GenX in groundwater wells in New Hanover County; contaminants not detected in drinking water
State environmental regulators are sampling groundwater from monitoring wells in northern New Hanover County after perfluorinated compounds, including GenX, were detected in six of 25 wells that supply the Richardson water treatment plant. However, the compounds were not detected in finished drinking water. The plant, operated by the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, provides drinking […]
Levels of 1,4 dioxane spike in the Cape Fear River, source of contamination uncertain
Levels of 1,4 dioxane, an emerging contaminant that can cause cancer, doubled in raw water entering the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s Sweeney plant in Wilmington, according to testing conducted by the utility earlier this year. The utility draws its water from the Cape Fear River. Raw river water had concentrations of 1,4 dioxane at […]
Fayetteville, Wilmington newspaper editorials differ on GenX settlement
It’s not a huge disagreement, but it seems worth noting that the editorial pages of two sibling newspapers differ somewhat on the recent settlement negotiated with Chemours by state environmental regulators over the company’s GenX water and air pollution. The Fayetteville Observer praised the agreement and the parties who drove and negotiated it yesterday afternoon […]
New Year’s resolution: Comment today on DEQ’s draft consent order for Chemours
The fine is historic — a $12 million penalty, plus $1 million in investigation costs — but no amount of money can repair the environmental damage — and possibly the harm to human health — inflicted by Chemours. A draft consent order issued by the state Department of Environmental Quality is intended to lay to […]
Editorial: “Enough is enough”; It’s time to shut down Chemours factory that makes GenX
In its lead editorial this morning, the Wilmington Star News calls on state leaders to shut down the Chemours chemical operation that sits at the heart of the state’s GenX water pollution crisis. Here are some excerpts: “As much as we’ve wailed and gnashed teeth over the industrial chemical GenX in our drinking water, we […]