Federal regulators heard emotional testimony Wednesday night about how North Carolina should handle toxic chemical releases from the City of Asheboro’s wastewater plant — pollution that eventually flows into the Cape Fear River Basin, a drinking-water source for more than 1 million people.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing at Randolph Community College in Asheboro to gather input before deciding whether to uphold its objection to the city’s state water-quality permit. The chemical in question, 1,4-dioxane, is a likely carcinogen that isn’t removed by conventional drinking-water treatment systems.
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Public calls for accountability
Dozens of residents and business owners from across the region urged the EPA to stand firm on its objection and strengthen pollution limits.
A local teacher said he worries about explaining to his students why adults failed to protect something as basic as clean water.
“They shouldn’t be condemned to drinking poisoned water just because their families can’t afford filtration systems,” he said. “I hope the EPA will act as the adults in the room for all of us.”
Alexandra, a construction worker from Chatham County, told regulators that contaminated water affects families like hers directly.
“I pay my taxes like everyone else, and I expect the water coming out of my tap to be safe,” she said. “Asheboro could stop this by making polluters treat their own waste instead of passing the problem downriver.”
“If you want to operate a business, you’re supposed to clean up after yourself,” a local farmer named Ross said. “Don’t pass that cost on to hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians downstream.”
Another speaker, Nick Coco, an engineer and former DEQ staff member, called the 2024 ruling that voided 1,4-dioxane limits “dangerous and inconsistent with science.”
“The argument that 1,4-dioxane isn’t a carcinogen is a disservice to the citizens of this state,” Coco said.
EPA officials said they will consider the testimony, along with written comments submitted through Oct. 31, before deciding whether to sustain their objection or allow the state to finalize the permit.
What's at issue
In January, the EPA objected to North Carolina’s permit for Asheboro’s wastewater plant, saying it lacked enforceable limits for 1,4-dioxane. The objection followed a September 2024 ruling by former Chief Administrative Law Judge Donald van der Vaart that blocked the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) from including those limits in the city’s permit.
That decision — challenged by DEQ and still under appeal—stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Asheboro, Greensboro and Reidsville, which argued the state’s restrictions were overly burdensome and unenforceable. Environmental groups contend the ruling weakened North Carolina’s ability to protect downstream communities from toxic chemicals such as 1,4-dioxane and PFAS.
EPA’s letter told DEQ to reinstate water-quality-based limits and warned that if the state fails to revise the permit to meet federal standards, the agency could take over permitting authority itself.
“This hearing is about whether North Carolina will use the tools it already has to stop toxic pollution at the source,” said Jean Zhuang, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “EPA’s objection gives the state a chance to strengthen its protections for families who depend on the Cape Fear River for drinking water.”
Downstream communities face contamination
Water released from Asheboro’s plant flows into the Deep River, which joins the Cape Fear River— the drinking-water source for a chain of downstream communities including Sanford, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Brunswick County, and Pender County.
Several towns in the Triangle region also buy treated water from Sanford, meaning residents in Pittsboro, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, and parts of Harnett County are connected to the same system. Altogether, the Cape Fear River Basin supplies drinking water to more than one million North Carolinians.
What is 1,4-dioxane and why is it so hard to remove?
1,4-dioxane is used in manufacturing products including plastics, adhesives, and cleaning products. The EPA has found it can cause cancer and liver or kidney damage after long-term exposure, and it is harmful at extremely low levels. Because the chemical does not break down easily and passes through most treatment systems, once it enters rivers and streams, it can reach household taps miles downstream.
North Carolina ranks among the states with the highest levels of 1,4-dioxane contamination in drinking-water systems. Testing by DEQ has found occasional spikes hundreds or even thousands of times above levels the EPA considers protective for lifetime exposure.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality says it agrees with EPA that limits on 1,4-dioxane are necessary and is continuing its appeal of the administrative ruling that removed those restrictions from Asheboro’s permit.
“DEQ has conducted sampling at municipal wastewater treatment plants and in surface waters across the Cape Fear River Basin to identify sources and notify potentially impacted drinking water systems downstream," the agency said in a statement to WRAL. "The department continues to assist municipalities in reducing 1,4-dioxane from industrial wastewater and is exploring other avenues to protect drinking water.”
The City of Asheboro declined to answer specific questions about the case, citing ongoing litigation.
“Asheboro is in compliance with our current, valid NPDES permit,” said Michael Rhoney, the city’s water resources director. “The legal process will determine what, if any, limits are lawful and enforceable. Asheboro intends to comply with the results from the legal decision.”
City officials have said the chemical originates from local industries that send waste to the city’s treatment system. Environmental experts say municipalities can require those industries to pre-treat waste before it enters the sewer network—an approach some downstream utilities argue is more cost-effective than adding advanced filtration to drinking-water plants.
Next steps and public input
EPA officials say they will use public feedback to help decide whether to sustain their objection or allow the state to finalize the permit.
Written comments can be submitted through October 31 by emailing R4NPDESComments@epa.gov.