Environmentalists ask judge to stop toxic discharges into Cape Fear River
An environmental advocacy group filed suit in federal court on Wednesday to stop the Chemours company from continuing to pollute the Cape Fear River near Fayetteville.
The lawsuit, filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center for Cape Fear River Watch, contends Chemours is contaminating the water and air with toxic compounds including GenX, an unregulated chemical discovered in the river last year.
State environmental regulators say their investigation has led the company to no longer discharge GenX into the Cape Fear, and that water quality is now within state health standards. But the environmental group says pollution is still occurring through smoke-stack emissions, leaking pipes, unlined pits, wastewater ditches and contaminated equipment.
The company emailed a response to the lawsuit: “Chemours is reviewing the complaint and strongly disagrees with allegations that we are in violation of the laws cited. Chemours intends to defend itself vigorously against the claims.”
A class-action lawsuit was filed last year against the Delaware-based Chemours, which is a spinoff of DuPont. It is seeking money for the harm caused by what plaintiffs say was a dangerous and deceptive effort to pollute the waterways.
The new lawsuit, filed under two federal environmental protection laws, asks a judge to stop the pollution at its source.
“Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians get their drinking water downstream from Chemorus’ toxic discharge,” Kemp Burdette, the Cape Fear riverkeeper, said in a statement. “This illegal contamination can’t stop soon enough for them and Chemours and DuPont must be held accountable for their reckless behavior.”
GenX is a chemical used to make non-stick cookware and other products. State regulators issued notices of violations and have asked a judge to impose stronger measures to eliminate or reduce air and water pollution. The Southern Environmental Law Center has also claimed in another lawsuit that the Department of Environmental Quality could take that action without going to court.
GenX replaced a chemical that DuPont used for years that caused cancer, birth defects and other health problems. Beginning in 1999, thousands of civil lawsuits were filed against DuPont, which settled a class-action lawsuit over that chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in West Virginia last year, according to court records.
DuPont began making GenX as a replacement at the Fayetteville Works Facility without informing state regulators that it had similar health effects as PFOA, according to the lawsuit.
In North Carolina, leading university science researchers have begun the task of trying to determine how pervasive GenX is in the state. Over the next year, every municipality in the state will have its water tested at the point where the water enters the public system. Also, each municipality will pick one well that supplies public drinking water to test.
The state Department of Environmental Quality says lab studies on animals exposed to GenX show cancer of the liver, pancreas and testicles, but the impact on human health is unknown.
The environmental groups, in court filings, contend that DuPont and Chemours have knowingly polluted the area around the Fayetteville plant and the Cape Fear River for nearly four decades.
This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 5:15 PM.