Chemours, Brunswick County reach $95 million settlement agreement related to PFAS contamination
Chemours, Brunswick County reach $95 million settlement agreement related to PFAS contamination and damages
Brunswick County joins the State of North Carolina and 10 other local entities in the state in a $590 million group settlement agreement.
MEDIA RELEASE
BOLIVIA, N.C. – Brunswick County announced today that The Chemours Company, along with DuPont and Corteva, have officially entered into a $95 million settlement agreement, marking a major milestone in the County’s efforts to receive compensation for major capital investments necessary to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the County’s main source of drinking water.
Brunswick County’s settlement is part of a $590 million group settlement agreement, Brunswick County v. DowDuPont, Inc. et. al. (Chemours), which includes the State of North Carolina and 10 other local entities in the state.
“It’s been a long time coming, but we are proud to stand up for our County and demand what is due for our community,” Brunswick County Chairman Mike Forte said. “We commend all our staff, legal counsel, local leaders, and partner agencies for their tremendous work over the years to ensure that Brunswick County received recognition and compensation for the costly infrastructure improvements we have had to make to combat the PFAS issue in the Cape Fear River.”
Of the total $590 million of the settlement, $380 million will go to local entities and $75 million to the State. The remaining $135 million will go to a reserve fund connected to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s 2019 Consent Order to ensure that Chemours or DuPont will continue mandated PFAS cleanup efforts in the Cape Fear River.
The finalization of the agreement marks the end of nearly nine years of litigation against Chemours and DuPont. Brunswick County will receive payments over the course of the next eight years. The settlement is front loaded with the County receiving slightly over $24 million in each of the first three years.
“Baron and Budd is privileged to have represented Brunswick County in this important litigation,” said Attorney Stephen Johnston. “Since it first learned of the contamination, the County has diligently fought to ensure its citizens have clean drinking water free of PFAS. We are proud to have fought alongside them and to have secured a settlement that will shift the costs of removing PFAS from innocent ratepayers to those responsible for the contamination.”
Over the coming months, Brunswick County will consider options for how proceeds from this litigation will be used for the benefit of the water utility system and its customers.
The other parties joining Brunswick County in the settlement agreement include the State of North Carolina (by and through the North Carolina Attorney General), Town of Wrightsville Beach, City of Lumberton, Village of Bald Head Island, Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority, and the following counties: Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, New Hanover, Robeson, and Sampson.
Brunswick County has actively sought a solution to remove PFAS from drinking water after the discovery of PFAS substances in the Cape Fear River in June 2017. That same year, Brunswick County joined other utilities in the region to sue DuPont and Chemours. The County sought monetary damages from Chemours to hold it responsible for the millions of dollars it is spending to install a new Low-Pressure Reverse Osmosis treatment system at its Northwest Water Treatment Plant to remove PFAS contaminants from drinking water sourced from the Cape Fear River.
The cost to install the new advanced water treatment infrastructure is around $111.1 million. The total cost of the project, which includes the new treatment system, concentrate pipeline, and water capacity expansion to anticipate future growth in the system is $167.3 million.
The project to install the new treatment system is currently under construction, with the project’s surety and contractor expecting the reverse osmosis system to be operational by the end of calendar year 2026. Find more information about the project on our Northwest Water Treatment Plant webpage.
The State of North Carolina has also taken several steps to address the PFAS issue and hold Chemours responsible. In February 2019, the Consent Order between the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Cape Fear River Watch represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, and Chemours was entered in Bladen County Superior Court.
The court-enforceable order requires Chemours to address PFAS sources and contamination at the facility to prevent further impacts to air, soil, groundwater and surface waters, including the sampling of private wells for PFAS and providing replacement drinking water to impacted residents, implementing remedial strategies to reduce Chemours’ PFAS discharges into the Cape Fear River, and other compliance measures to reduce PFAS pollution leaving the Fayetteville Works site. Find more information about the Chemours Consent Order on DEQ’s website.
-30-
Media Inquiries
For media inquiries, contact Communications Director Meagan Kascsak.
Stay Informed
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
