PFAS update: Locals respond to Chemours action plan

While the coronavirus pandemic has been the focus of news coverage and social media feeds in recent weeks, another important topic for Southeastern North Carolina continues to progress. Locals are still working on understanding and mitigating the PFAS contamination of drinking water in the area.

For one, comments are accepted through Monday for a proposed corrective action plan for Chemours’ Fayetteville Works plant, which was found to have been discharging so-called “forever chemicals” into the Cape Fear River in 2017. Facing legal action, Chemours agreed to a consent order and a mandate to remedy the problem. Here is the latest on that and other PFAS efforts.

Locals criticize Chemours action plan

Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, Clean Cape Fear and Cape Fear River Watch are among those organizations that have come out against the plan put forth by Chemours.

“What they are proposing will not clean the groundwater,” said Kemp Burdette, the Cape Fear Riverkeeper. That, in turn, will mean that PFAS would still contaminate surface water and local drinking water. “It’s not what they agreed to. And it’s not right.”

Residents can still review the information and submit comments through April 6 via email at publiccomments@ncdenr.gov.

Impacts to air quality

Although the presence of PFAS in drinking water has been the focus of concern, there are also implications of PFAS in air. Local researcher Larry Cahoon, a biologist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, said he’s been reviewing Chemours air emission reports, which are a part of the public record. In 2017, the company emitted 3,600 pounds of PFAS and volatile organic compounds. They include precursor compounds, of which well-known PFAS such as PFOA and GenX are likely byproducts

For Cahoon, it raises important questions about the scope of the issue.

“We have a much bigger problem than we think,” he said. “We can’t clean up the mess unless we understand the full extent of it.”

Bids for Brunswick RO treatment

In March, the county got two bids for a project to bring a low-pressure reverse osmosis water treatment system to the Northwest Water Treatment Plant. Oscar Renda and Ulliman Shutte were the two contractors who submitted the proposals. Now, the county’s public utilities staff will review the bids and make a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.

It was originally scheduled for April or May, although the coronavirus restriction may alter that plan. The earliest projected date that customers could start receiving reverse osmosis-treated water is November 2022 and the latest estimated date is May 2023.

COVID-19 hasn’t delayed CFPUA

The coronavirus pandemic hasn't stopped or delayed construction on the additional granular activated carbon filters at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant, which are meant to reduce PFAS in drinking water, according to CFPUA. So far, crews have finished excavating for the foundation of the filter beds, and are in the process of placing piles. They also continue to work on rerouting plumbing drain lines and installing process piping.

PFAS on military bases

In March, the Department of Defense released new data showing that more than 600 military sites and surrounding communities could be contaminated with PFAS. The previous estimate was around 400. The Environmental Working Group has updated its map of military sites with such confirmed or suspected contamination, including two suspected sites in Southeastern North Carolina.