Tuesday, February 18, 2025

CFPUA evaluating options after emergency 1,4-dioxane petition returned

Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is considering potential courses of action after the Department of Environmental Quality returned its petition for immediate regulation of a toxic chemical in the Cape Fear River. (Courtesy Port City Daily)

NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is considering potential courses of action after the Department of Environmental Quality returned its petition for immediate regulation of a toxic chemical in the Cape Fear River. 

READ MORE: EPA intervenes in NC 1,4-dioxane case, pollution surged after judge blocked regulation

ALSO: Judge rules against 1,4-dioxane limits, wife is chair of organization representing dischargers

In November, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Executive Director Kenneth Waldroup sent a formal request to Division of Water Resources Director Richard Rogers and Environmental Management Commission chair J.D. Solomon to begin emergency rulemaking to reduce pollution of a toxic chemical, 1,4-dioxane. 

“More than 200,000 residents and businesses and tens of thousands of commuters, travelers, and visitors depend on CFPUA for safe, reliable drinking water every day,” Waldroup wrote. “The Cape Fear River remains polluted with a likely carcinogen.”

The utility reported heightened 1,4-dioxane levels of 2.9 parts per billion in raw water on Dec. 9 and .81 ppb in finished water Dec. 10. The most recent tests fell to 1.2 pbb pre-treatment and .45 ppb post-treatment on Dec. 31. The Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water health advisory level for 1,4-dioxane is .35 parts per billion.

Waldroup stated Chief Administrative Law Judge Donald van der Vaart “effectively barred” 1,4-dioxane regulation with his September ruling in favor of the City of Asheboro in its lawsuit challenging DEQ’s permit limits, as previously reported on by PCD. Asheboro filed a petition with the Office of Administrative Hearings to contest its restrictions in September 2023, dropped the case in February 2024, and reopened it in March. Greensboro and Reidsville joined Asheboro’s petition in April 2024.

The Department of Environmental Quality identified the three municipalities’ wastewater facilities as some of the state’s top dischargers nearly a decade ago. The facilities receive the contaminant from industrial customers, including polyester plastic manufacturers such as Starpet in Asheboro, and landfills, which flow downstream into the tri-county region.

Waldroup argued upstream 1,4-dioxane pollution should be managed at the source rather than forcing downstream utilities to incur remediation costs. CFPUA, Brunswick County Utilities, and Fayetteville Public Works Commission raised similar arguments in briefs supporting the Department of Environmental Quality in its lawsuit against the three upstream municipalities.

He cited a NC Collaboratory study finding the wastewater plants successfully reduced 1,4-dioxane discharges from 2018-2023 by requiring industrial customers to pretreat waste and implement source control. The study found average discharges decreased by more than 97% from Greensboro, 80% from the Asheboro wastewater treatment plant, and 99% from the Reidsville wastewater treatment plant.

“It is important to note that our treatment facilities can only remove 50-60% of the 1,4-dioxane we receive from upstream pollution sources at current in-stream concentrations,” Waldroup wrote. “This means our community is more at risk at times when there are higher concentrations of 1,4-dioxane discharged upstream of our source intake.”

Waldroup noted the utility is particularly concerned about 1,4-dioxane discharges from Alpek Polyester’s Cedar Creek industrial site in Fayetteville, 60 miles upstream of CFPUA’s primary water intake. The utility found a strong correlation between the company’s discharges and raw water concentration levels at the Sweeney plant.

CFPUA’s existing granular activated carbon treatment technology effectively removes PFAS but is limited in its capacity to filter large intakes of 1,4-dioxane. The utility commissioned a cost estimate of implementing advanced oxidation processes for 1,4-dioxane reduction at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant; Contractor Black & Veatch projected construction costs alone would range from $13.6 to $23.9 million.

“The costs emphasize the importance of upstream control strategies as an integral part of a cost-effective, sustainable approach for managing 1,4-dioxane contamination at municipal treatment facilities,” Waldroup wrote.

CFPUA’s requested rule would apply to large direct dischargers whose 1,4-dioxane emissions result in downstream drinking water intake above .35 ppb. It would require them to submit a minimization plan to DEQ within 12 months and maintain 80% reduction for five consecutive years.

Division of Water Resources Director Richard Rogers returned CFPUA’s petition on Nov. 15, stating it did not include appropriate text for the proposed emergency rule. CFPUA spokesperson Cammie Bellamy told Port City Daily the utility is in the process of exploring options for its next steps on the issue.

Earlier this month, the EPA sent a letter to DEQ refuting Judge Van der Vaart’s decision. The agency directed the state to issue a revised permit to the municipality including 1,4-dioxane limits within 90 days or forfeit its enforcement authority to the federal government. Any individual may request a public hearing to object to EPA’s determination within the next three months.

“I’m grateful to CFPUA for saying we’re not going to raise rates again to build more treatment technology simply because Asheboro doesn’t have strong enough leadership to control their industries,” Clean Cape Fear co-founder Emily Donovan told Port City Daily.

Asheboro’s 1,4-dioxane emissions surged in the months following Van der Vaart’s ruling. A Meritech Inc. Environmental Laboratories test showed the city’s average 1,4-dioxane discharges increased to 813 parts per billion in December, vastly higher than DEQ’s proposed standard and the EPA’s lifetime cancer risk threshold of .35 ppb. 

UNCW biological oceanographer Larry Cahoon estimated Asheboro’s 1,4-dioxane discharges would take one to three weeks to reach New Hanover County, depending on river flow. He added Asheboro’s industrial customers likely increased their 1,4-dioxane releases after the September ruling.

“It’s going to scale in proportion — meaning that if they’re putting in more, we’re going to get more down here, assuming constant flow,” Cahoon said. “Its hard to imagine that they’re unaware of judge Van der Vaart’s decision about this. And felt like they had free rein to discharge without any limits. I mean, this is how you save money. The alternative would be for them to pretreat their discharge.”

Cahoon told Port City Daily it is plausible that Asheboro’s recent increased discharges contributed to 1,4-dioxane elevations at CFPUA’s Sweeney Water Treatment Plant. 

“They were given a free pass to discharge more stuff,” Cahoon said, “so you can’t rule it out.”

Port City Daily reached out to Brunswick and Pender Counties to ask for their most recent 1,4-dioxane testing and will update this article upon response.

In a November board meeting, CFPUA noted the ruling could limit the Department of Environmental Quality’s ability to use narrative standards — discharge limits for individual facilities in the absence of statewide numerical limits — and enforce any permits using them. Attorneys representing the dischargers made a similar point, describing 1,4-dioxane as “the tip of the iceberg” compared to PFAS in a memorandum last year.


Tips or comments? Email journalist Peter Castagno at peter@localdailymedia.com.

Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.

Related Articles