With new 'forever chemical' standards set, how will NC utilities clean up their water?

In a historic announcement earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its first-ever drinking water standards to protect people against toxic "forever chemicals."

Michael Regan, EPA administrator and North Carolina's former top environmental regulator, traveled to Fayetteville to unveil the new regulations for six manmade per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including GenX.

The chemicals are used in many household and everyday items, and they "have a place and are important for certain industries and certain practices," Regan said.

But decades of uncontrolled dumping of the chemical compounds into the environment, including into waterways and groundwater that serve as drinking sources for millions, and their widespread use, including in fire-fighting foam, has seen PFAS contamination and health concerns proliferate across the country. The substances are often called forever chemicals because they do not easily break down in nature or the human body.

The choice of Fayetteville for the announcement was not by accident. Seven years ago, the StarNews broke the story that water in the Cape Fear River downstream of Chemours' Fayetteville Works Plant contained high levels of previously unknown chemicals. In the years since, PFAS have been found throughout the United States and worries about the environmental, financial and health impacts of this national contamination have seen a raft of moves to protect people, punish the PFAS polluters, and learn more about the true health impacts of the compounds that have already been linked to several types of cancer.

While officials, environmentalists and grassroots activists said this month's announcement is a welcome first step to help protect people and the environment from the still largely unknown impacts from the widespread contamination, it's only the beginning.

"It's absolutely fantastic to now have these baseline standards for our public water systems," said Jean Zhuang, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). "But we need further steps to stop PFAS from getting into the environment in the first place, and that means going after the polluters who are profiting from producing these chemicals."

She added that existing legal tools, like the federal Clean Water Act, already give federal and state regulators the ammunition to go after these industries.

But enforcement and seeing actual steps on the ground is a slow process. It took six years after Chemours, and its former parent DuPont, were found to have been dumping GenX and other forever chemicals into the Cape Fear River for decades from Fayetteville Works before a barrier wall and groundwater capture and treatment project were in place to stop more than 90% of PFAS-contaminated water from reaching the river.

Then there's the sheer volume of PFAS out there. According to the EPA, there are nearly 15,000 synthetic chemicals and little is known about the potential health impacts of most of them.

“We’re starting with this six,” Regan said at the Fayetteville event. “With this six, we have the best science and data to design these health standards.”

In a statement, Chemours said it was proud of its actions using the best-available technologies to eliminate almost all PFAS discharges from Fayetteville Works. "We know of no other company in North Carolina that has made such a significant investment to address emissions and legacy remediation," company spokesperson Cassie Olszewski wrote.

But Chemours did express some reservations over the EPA's new PFAS limits in drinking water.

"While we will review the final regulation, we have serious concerns with the underlying science used and the process EPA followed in developing the (maximum contaminant levels), including as commented to EPA by various parties," the company said. "Chemours supports government regulation that is grounded in the best available science and follows the law."

PHOTOS: Chemours Fayetteville Works plant

Multi billion-dollar bill

Announcing new standards to limit the amount of toxins coming out of people's taps might have been the easy part.

According to the EPA, the new rule's requirements will be phased in over the next five years, with initial PFAS monitoring required to be finished within three years and then two additional years for capital improvements if the numbers come in too high.

According to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, more than 300 water systems in the state − including 42 large municipal utilities serving a combined three million residents − have PFAS levels that will exceed the new federal standards.

While some larger municipal systems like the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) that serves New Hanover County and H2GO that serves Brunswick County have the financial pockets to fund the monitoring and installation of PFAS filtration systems on their own before receiving any money from potential settlements with polluters, many do not. That could leave water customers footing the bill if other sources of funding can't be secured.

Recognizing this, Regan said the federal government is making billions in funding available for PFAS testing and future capital improvements to water systems to filter out toxins. North Carolina also has made funding available to help utilities deal with PFAS contaminants.

But the Denver-based American Water Works Association (AWWA) fears officials are seriously underestimating the true cost to utilities of meeting the new − and future − PFAS drinking water standards.

TOXIC LEGACY: Remember GenX and PFAS contaminants? Why they're back in the news and what it means for NC

Chris Moody, AWAA's regulatory technical manager, said a recent study found the cost of PFAS treatment nationally to be three times higher than the EPA's estimates, potentially requiring an investment of up to $40 billion.

Then there is the EPA's aggressive five-year timeline to have all of the improvements in place, which will leave water systems competing against each other for limited resources and manpower amid a stretched supply chain.

"There is a possibility that even by water systems’ best efforts many will take longer than five years to complete construction and start-up of the new facilities," Moody said.

Which brings us back to getting industry to pony up the costs of PFAS testing and system improvements. Already some major chemical producers have announced settlements topping $11 billion with states and public water providers. That list includes 3M, DuPont, Chemours, Corteva and Johnson Controls.

But many cases are continuing to work their way through the courts, and not all states and utilities have agreed to settle with the companies over their PFAS dumping.

Zhuang, the SELC attorney, said it was not only important to go after polluters for the PFAS contamination they've already caused, but use regulatory steps to stop any more toxins from entering the environment.

"We are very excited about this announcement and these new drinking water standards, but there's always more work that needs to be done," she said.

More information

Details about the EPA's new PFAS drinking water standards:

• For PFOA and PFOS, EPA is setting a maximum contaminant level (MCL) goal, a non-enforceable health-based goal, at zero. This reflects the latest science showing that there is no level of exposure to these contaminants without risk of health impacts, including certain cancers.

• EPA is setting enforceable MCL at 4.0 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, individually. This standard will reduce exposure from these PFAS in our drinking water to the lowest levels that are feasible for effective implementation.

• For PFNA, PFHxS, and “GenX Chemicals,” EPA is setting the MCLGs and MCLs at 10 parts per trillion.

• Because PFAS can often be found together in mixtures, and research shows these mixtures may have combined health impacts, EPA is setting a limit for any mixture of two or more of the following PFAS: PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and “GenX Chemicals.”

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: New 'forever chemical' water rules carry big price tag for NC utilities