Nearly a decade after residents in southeastern North Carolina learned a little-known chemical called GenX had contaminated their drinking water, environmental advocates say a new Environmental Protection Agency decision could undermine some of the protections they spent years fighting to secure.
The EPA announced last week it plans to rescind drinking water standards for GenX and several other PFAS compounds while maintaining standards for two of the most studied chemicals in the group, PFOA and PFOS.
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The move is drawing criticism in North Carolina, where contamination from Chemours' Fayetteville Works plant helped transform PFAS, often called "forever chemicals," from an obscure environmental issue into a national public health concern.
"We are ground zero for the discovery of GenX in drinking water," said Emily Donovan, co-founder of Clean Cape Fear, a Wilmington-based advocacy group formed after PFAS contamination was discovered in the Cape Fear River.
Chemours' Fayetteville Works plant discharged PFAS into the Cape Fear River for decades, contaminating drinking water supplies for hundreds of thousands of residents in southeastern North Carolina.
Under the proposal, standards for GenX, PFHxS, PFNA and a hazard index covering several PFAS compounds would be rescinded and reconsidered — a move Donovan said could delay protections that communities spent years fighting to secure.
The EPA has said it plans to move forward with national drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, while reopening the regulatory process for GenX and several other PFAS compounds.
The decision comes after utilities in New Hanover and Brunswick counties spent millions of dollars on treatment systems designed to remove PFAS from drinking water.
State officials say the underlying contamination problem has not changed.
"3.5 million people in our state drink tap water that has levels above what the EPA standard will be," said North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson. "So that's one in three people drinking unhealthy water with these forever chemicals."
Wilson said DEQ continues to support stronger controls on PFAS discharges before the chemicals enter waterways and drinking water supplies.
"The best way to protect people's health is to clamp down on the pollution at the source before it gets into waterways and before it gets into our drinking water," Wilson said.
North Carolina currently does not have enforceable state-level drinking water standards for PFAS. That has become a growing concern for advocates who fear federal uncertainty could leave communities with fewer protections.
Donovan said the proposal could leave communities vulnerable because North Carolina still lacks enforceable state drinking water standards for PFAS.
Advocates say the decision could also weaken ongoing legal efforts to force Chemours and other PFAS manufacturers to help pay for cleanup costs and drinking water treatment upgrades.
Water utilities in Wilmington and Brunswick County have spent tens of millions of dollars on treatment systems to address PFAS contamination. Donovan argued that enforceable federal standards strengthen the position of utilities and communities pursuing legal claims against chemical manufacturers.
"By rescinding the GenX drinking water standard, we're possibly making these lawsuits that much harder to close," she said.
The debate comes as new survey data suggests PFAS remains a concern for many North Carolinians.
According to a survey conducted by researchers at UNC Wilmington, 71.2% of North Carolinians said they were concerned about the EPA delaying or canceling PFAS limits, while 82.3% said safe drinking water should be prioritized even if it increases costs.
Donovan said the findings demonstrate that concerns about drinking water safety cross political and economic lines.
"This is a bipartisan kitchen-table conversation," she said. "Everyone that we meet, no one wants these contaminants in their tap water."
For Wilson, the EPA's decision also renews attention on a separate debate unfolding in North Carolina.
The Environmental Management Commission is considering PFAS rules that would require monitoring and reduction plans for certain dischargers. Wilson has argued those proposals should go further and require actual reductions in PFAS pollution.
He noted that utilities such as Wilmington's have spent more than $50 million on treatment infrastructure while contamination continues upstream.
"A lot of reasons I really hope the Environmental Management Commission sees its way, after reviewing thousands of public comments, to put more teeth into their proposal," Wilson said.
The commission is currently reviewing proposed PFAS rules that would require monitoring and reduction plans for certain dischargers but stop short of requiring enforceable reductions in pollution.
Written comments can also be submitted through June 15 by email to publiccomments@deq.nc.gov with the subject line “PFAS minimization.”
