Source: NCDEQ, 4/22/22 The North Carolina
Department of Environmental Quality is currently accepting public comments on a
draft discharge permit for a proposed groundwater treatment system at the
Chemours facility that would substantially reduce PFAS entering the Cape Fear
River via contaminated groundwater.Since 2017, Chemours has been
prohibited from discharging PFAS-contaminated wastewater from its plant
operations into the Cape Fear River. However, historic operations at the
facility have caused significant groundwater contamination at the site. Currently,
this heavily contaminated groundwater flows untreated to the Cape Fear
River. This groundwater may contribute over 60% of the PFAS flowing from
the facility to the river. Without intervention, this untreated
groundwater will continue to contaminate the river and downstream water
supplies for years to come. The Consent Order requires
Chemours to address this contamination by installing an underground barrier
wall that will run more than a mile alongside the Cape Fear River. This
wall will intercept contaminated groundwater from the facility before it
reaches the river and a series of extraction wells will pump the captured
groundwater to a treatment system. The draft permit requires that the
treatment system remove at least 99% of PFAS from the pumped groundwater
before it enters the river. Without this treatment system and
accompanying discharge permit, this heavily contaminated groundwater would
continue to flow to the river untreated.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has received a number of comments on the draft permit since it was released for comment. Some comments and recent reports have mischaracterized the draft permit as authorizing an “increase” in the PFAS discharge to the river. This is incorrect. Treating the contaminated groundwater currently
flowing untreated into the river will result in a
significant reduction of
PFAS contamination. When operational in Spring of 2023, the barrier wall,
extraction wells, and treatment system will intercept and substantially reduce
the largest current source of PFAS from the facility impacting the Cape Fear
River and downstream communities. The North Carolina Department
of Environmental Quality welcomes comments on the draft NPDES permit. All
comments received by May 2, 2022, will be considered before final action on the
draft permit. Send email comments to publiccomments@ncdenr.gov with 'CHEMOURS’ in the subject line. Or by mail to Wastewater Permitting, Attn: Chemours Permit, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699-1617. To download this information
sheet as a PDF click here.
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