North Carolina AG sues Dupont, Chemours for dumping into state's water

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein filed a lawsuit against DuPont and Chemours, for their role in the discharge and release of toxic PFAS, including GenX into the drinking water and air.

Stein said in a tweet: “BREAKING: Today, I sued DuPont & Chemours for dumping PFAS into NC’s drinking water even as they knew these forever chemicals damage human health & our natural resources. These companies put their profits ahead of the people of NC. That's wrong, and I intend to make them pay.”

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The 58-page lawsuit is seeking to hold Chemours and DuPont accountable for damaging North Carolina’s drinking water supplies, fisheries and other natural resources.

“From the beginning of their operations at Fayetteville Works,” the defendants “knowingly concealed the true nature of the PFAS being manufactured and discharged,” the complaint reads. “… To make matters worse, Defendants used unconventional and ineffective procedures that caused the release and discharge of PFAS that they knew posed substantial risk of harm to human health and the environment, all while concealing their actions.”

Stein said DuPont’s actions “were driven by an overarching intent to maximize its profits and minimize its liabilities at the expense of the people and natural resources of North Carolina.”

Chemours was spun off from DuPont, the Wilmington, Del.-based company,  in 2015.

The companies have a history of settling lawsuits related to their chemical actions.

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Chemours released the following statement.

“We are currently reviewing the filing in detail. Chemours has operated as an independent company since July 1, 2015. Since that time, Chemours has taken definitive action to address active emissions and historic deposition at our Fayetteville site, and continues to do so. Chemours has cooperated with the State of North Carolina to address PFAS concerns, and has agreed to a court approved Consent Order and its addendum, which was entered by the court yesterday. Our investment in emissions control technology has significantly decreased GenX emissions by 99% and our thermal oxidizer continues to destroy PFAS with greater than 99.99% efficiency. We continue to decrease PFAS loading to the Cape Fear River and began operation on September 30, 2020 of a capture and treatment system for one pathway at the site. Under the CO Addendum, Chemours will take a number of measures to address PFAS loadings from other pathways, including onsite groundwater to the Cape Fear River.”