RALEIGH — A meeting has been scheduled March 12 and the comment period for a corrective action plan has been extended.
Both actions are tied to GenX and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known by its acronym PFAS. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality made the announcements Thursday.
The meeting next week is for 6 p.m. at Hope Mills Middle School, 4975 Cameron Road in Hope Mills. This is an information session, a release says, where DEQ staff “will provide updates on the status of current actions to prevent and remediate PFAS contamination from the Chemours Fayetteville Works Facility, including the testing of private wells and public water feasibility determinations. There will also be an opportunity for public comment.”
The release says this meeting is for residents on the upper Cape Fear River, and a meeting for those in the lower Cape Fear River areas will be announced later in the month.
The extended comment period is for the proposed groundwater corrective action plan submitted by Chemours to address PFAS in groundwater at the facility. The release notes that Chemours is “equired to reduce PFAS loading to surface water by at least 75 percent in accordance with the 2019 Consent Order. DEQ staff are currently reviewing the proposed plan and may require additional information and actions.”
Public comments are accepted through April 6 and can be made by emailing to publiccomments@ncdenr.gov. The plan, the consent order and related documents are available on the DEQ website.
PFAS and GenX has become a part of the regional lexicon through Chemours, the chemical company on the Bladen and Cumberland county line that was cited in June 2017 as the source of contamination to the Cape Fear River through release of GenX.
GenX is a trade name for C3 dimer acid, a compound used in the manufacture of products such as food packaging and nonstick coatings. It’s also a byproduct of certain manufacturing processes. HFPO-DA, an acronym for hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid, is another name for this PFAS.
The effects of GenX on humans isn’t fully known. State regulation has been evolving.
The reference to the consent order is the one signed by Judge Douglas Sasser a year ago between Chemours, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and Cape Fear River Watch.
Sasser’s order is the settlement between the parties that commits the company to speeding up plans to reduce chemicals reaching downstream public water utilities on top of paying $13 million in penalties and costs. The deal doesn’t affect lawsuits against Chemours or DuPont by residents and Wilmington’s water utility 100 miles downstream.
DuPont is the company which spun off Chemours in 2015.
Chemours has met its obligations thus far, including a Dec. 31 date to have up and running a thermal oxidizer that removes contaminants from the air.