On May 17, North Carolina House Democrats and House and Senate Republicans filed separate legislation to address the emerging contaminant GenX. The proposals differ in funding allocated to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
House Bill 968 offers the NCDEQ over $14 million, while Senate Bill 724 proposes more than $1.3 million for the agency. Both bills would address the department’s permitting backlogs.
GenX is a fluorinated chemical compound used by companies like Chemours (a subsidiary of DuPont) to manufacture products such as food packaging, cleaning products, GoreTex fabric and non-stick pans.
On May 9, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board approved new water treatment methods for its Sweeney plant in Wilmington, N.C., to prevent chemicals like the potentially cancer-causing GenX from infiltrating municipal water supplies.
Upgrading the plant to the new granular activated carbon treatment system would take about two years and require customers to pay a 7 percent increase in total water and sewer bills — costs that the utility hopes to recoup through litigation against Chemours, the manufacturing plant tied to GenX contamination around Wilmington.
Between August 2011 and February 2018, similar filters were installed at drinking water wells in West Virginia and Ohio near a Chemours facility; sampling has shown the filters to be effective at removing GenX-related chemicals from the water. In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the compound was found in wells near the Petersburg, W.Va., Chemours facility. — By Hannah Gillespie
Related Articles
Latest News
More Stories
English Language Learning in Appalachia
Learning English is always difficult. But current aggressive approaches to immigration policy are creating more barriers for learners and the programs that serve them than ever before in Appalachia and beyond.
Landfill Drama
Many residents of Pike County, Kentucky, are breathing a sigh of relief since county commissioners finalized their decision to rescind a contract with an out-of-state waste management company.
Overdrive: Fossil Fuels in Appalachia
Electricity demand is on the rise. Here, we share snapshots of energy trends in the region and how methane gas, coal and data centers are affecting our communities — and how people are pushing back.
Less Support for Communities with Mine Problems
The Trump administration issued a regulation to weaken the Ten Day Notice process that helps community members call in federal enforcement when state regulators don’t do a good job policing environmental problems at coal mines
Chaos at the Tennessee Valley Authority, Cuts to Public Input
The past year has brought turmoil and uncertainty to the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public power provider, and its more than 10 million customers across the Tennessee Valley.
Landmark Coal Ash Protections Under Attack
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning to eviscerate important, hard-won regulations on coal ash, a toxic waste left after burning coal for energy.
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Leave a Comment