Nearly all who spoke Tuesday during a public hearing in Fayetteville criticized the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission’s proposed industrial discharge rules fail to protect the drinking water supply of people who live farther down the Cape Fear River.
GenX
EPA adds microplastics, pharmaceuticals to contaminant list
In a first, the Environmental Protection Agency has included microplastics and pharmaceuticals on its draft list of substances in public drinking water that are unregulated but merit further scientific scrutiny.
Public hearings set on proposed wastewater discharge rules
Six public hearings scheduled for next month through May will cover proposed PFAS and 1,4-dixoane monitoring and minimization rules governing wastewater discharges into North Carolina’s surface waters.
GenX study update to be shared at monthly seminar Saturday
Cape Fear River Watch’s first Saturday seminar series will feature Dr. Jane Hoppin, principal investigator of an ongoing study of human health effects of GenX.
Stein, Wilson tour Cape Fear Utility water treatment plant
Gov. Josh Stein and NCDEQ Secretary Reid Wilson this week visited Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s Sweeney Water Treatment Plant in Wilmington, where they announced a $17.8 million grant from the state to support the replacement and capacity upgrade of one of the utility’s reclamation facilities.
First state study of PFAS in biosolids finds presence statewide
A N.C. Division of Water Resources study evaluating PFAS concentrations in wastewater and biosolids from 37 municipal, industrial and domestic wastewater treatment plants across the state is being called a “first step” to understanding the breadth of PFAS contamination in the state.
EMC to vote on opening comment period for discharge rules
The state Environmental Management Commission is set to vote Thursday on whether to put proposed “monitoring and minimization” rules for some PFAS and 1,4-dioxane out for public comment.
Chemours cannot keep documents sealed, federal judge rules
Chemours and its predecessor company DuPont had sought to seal records including regulatory compliance monitoring reports and internal corporate communications about chemical production.
EPA seeks reporting rollback as new study finds hidden PFAS
The EPA says the change will cut red tape, but new research suggests regulators may already be missing major sources of contamination.
EMC committee may move proposed PFAS surface water rules
The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission’s Water Quality Committee will consider proposed monitoring and minimization rules
Chemours is doubling down on its toxic history: NRDC
Chemours is not a company that can be trusted to expand its operations responsibly, and it’s an example of the national PFAS pollution crisis, writes Drew Ball of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Attorneys allege Chemours hid emission data from public
The company “improperly withheld vital emission data from the public” in its Aug. 14 application to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality, according to a letter to regulators from Southern Environmental Law Center attorneys.
EMC moves groundwater standards, wetlands rules ahead
The N.C. Environmental Management Commission voted Thursday to send a groundwater standard rule for PFAS to the Rules Review Commission and a rule that defines wetlands in the state to the Office of Administrative Hearings.
DEQ requires Chemours to expand PFAS well water testing
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality announced Thursday that it is requiring Chemours expand sampling eligibility of PFAS contamination to about 14,000 additional residences in the lower Cape Fear region.
Environmental commission to consider wetlands, PFAS rules
The Environmental Management Commission is to vote during its Sept. 11 meeting on a legally mandated change to the state’s regulatory definition of wetlands and on groundwater quality standards for PFOA, PFOS and GenX.
North Carolinians condemn EPA’s PFAS regulation delay
Advocates push state legislation as EPA scales back GenX and PFAS regulations.
