RALEIGH — After a recent but unreported spill of fluorinated chemicals at the Fayetteville Works plant used by Chemours, DuPont and Kuraray America, the state Department of Environmental Quality has announced it will move to pull Chemours’ permit and revoke it permanently.
The most recent in a series of issues between the state’s regulatory bodies and Chemours was a spill of dimer acid fluoride, a chemical which breaks down into a substance similar to GenX. The spill occurred on Friday, October 6, but was not reported by Chemours. DEQ issued a notice of violation to Chemours earlier this week.
In a letter sent from the DEQ to Chemours on Thursday, Michael S. Regan, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, wrote “We’re taking action to suspend Chemours’ wastewater permit and moving to permanently revoke it because the company has repeatedly failed to follow the law.”
The complete letter can be read at the end of this article.
Bridget Munger, division spokeswoman for water resources, confirmed the agency will suspend the permit following Chemours failure to report the spill; the suspension will be effective at the end of the month. There is no current timeline for a permanent revocation.
Chemours has technically been operating with a lapsed permit since October of 2016. Regan stated in June that under Chemours could legally operate – even with a lapsed permit – while a renewal was under review.
In July, Governor Cooper said he would not allow Chemours’ permit to be renewed without new considerations, but stopped short of pulling their temporary permission during the review process. In September, DEQ again threatened Chemours with revoking their permit, but ultimately backed down after Chemours made some public concessions. However, Chemours privately attacked the DEQ and defied several of its requests.
Letter November 11-16-17 by Ben Schachtman on Scribd
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