A federal consent decree covering West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey adds pollution controls, drinking water commitments and other relief that the Justice Department said could cost at least $450 million.
Chemours has reached a federal settlement over years of alleged illegal PFAS discharges from facilities in West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey, agreeing to pay a $22.5 million civil penalty and spend $90 million over 15 years on mitigation measures. The consent decree, filed in federal court in West Virginia, is described by the Justice Department as the first federal settlement resolving enforcement claims against a PFAS manufacturer and is estimated to cost the company at least $450 million when pollution controls, drinking water programs and other relief are included. The agreement covers Chemours facilities that authorities said discharged PFAS into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River and Delaware River in violation of permits required by the Clean Water Act and state laws, while also violating the Toxic Substances Control Act at all three sites. Chemours, a DuPont spin-off, agreed to install controls for surface water discharges and air emissions at its Washington Works site in West Virginia, provide clean drinking water to communities near its West Virginia and New Jersey locations, and implement additional controls in North Carolina based on a pending independent assessment. The Justice Department said the violations continued for more than a decade and exposed nearby communities to unlawful PFAS contamination. Federal officials said the settlement is intended to allow Chemours to continue making PFAS for commercial and military uses while reducing future contamination and addressing existing pollution. Chemours said it has already begun operational improvements and that the agreement gives it more clarity on future compliance requirements. The settlement does not resolve DuPont's potential liability for past PFAS violations and does not affect a separate New Jersey settlement last year under which DuPont, Chemours and Corteva agreed to pay the state up to $2 billion. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson criticized the federal deal as inadequate for eastern North Carolina, while the Trump administration is also moving to revisit parts of the Biden-era drinking water limits for PFAS.