The Chemours Company plant in Wood County must comply with pollution limits for “forever chemicals” and spend millions of dollars for additional upgrades to reduce toxic discharges, under a settlement with the Trump administration.
Chemours will also pay a $22.5 million fine. The settlement will be subject to a public comment period, which has not yet been scheduled. It also needs approval from U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
But potential battles remain over a renewed water discharge permit for the plant and the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s moves to rewrite, and likely weaken, legal limits for these chemicals.
The company has been violating permitted water pollution limits for years, and the government settlement was prodded along by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, which filed its own lawsuit and won a federal court order that Chemours halt excessive discharges.
Jennie Smith, executive director of the Rivers Coalition, said her organization is “very happy” with the government’s settlement with Chemours.
“This settlement secures the infrastructure upgrades needed to safeguard our water resources for now and future generations,” Smith said.
The Washington Works facility outside Parkersburg, formerly owned by chemical giant DuPont, has been at the center of a decades-long controversy over emissions of a class of chemicals called PFAS. These chemicals, resistant to heat, water, oil and grease, have been used in making a wide variety of everyday products, from nonstick pans to waterproof clothing to fast food wrappers.
But exposure has been linked to serious health conditions, including cancer, liver and kidney damage, developmental problems and immune system disorders. And for years, DuPont knew about potential health issues, but did not tell the public.
Federal officials said the new settlement, which also covers operations in New Jersey and North Carolina, totals $450 million. Much of that is $280 million to supply clean drinking water to residents near the West Virginia and New Jersey plants. It also includes $90 million over 15 years to reduce PFAS emissions and an estimated $60 million to reduce water and air emissions specifically at the West Virginia plant.
“This landmark settlement shows the administration’s commitment to protecting the public from harmful water pollution,” said Adam Gustafson, principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division.
Chemours reached the settlement with the DOJ, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
In a statement, Chemours said the company “continues to focus on responsibly resolving outstanding environmental and regulatory matters with terms that improve site operating certainty and include payment and remediation commitments that are structured over time.”
Chemours also noted that the company had settled, for less than $1 million, litigation brought by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition that prompted U.S. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin’s order that excessive pollution at the plant be stopped. Earlier this month, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had overturned Goodwin’s ruling. And a federal government deal with Chemours would have created significant legal hurdles for the environmental group’s litigation.
During that case, Chemours had warned that a court order could force the Wood County plant to slow production and potentially cost the area much-needed jobs.
But Chemours managed to comply with Goodwin’s order, and stopped violations at two of its discharge points, said Jim Hecker, senior environmental attorney at Public Justice, which helped represent the Rivers Coalition.
Hecker said the government settlement “builds on that progress and demonstrates the power of citizens coming together to demand accountability through our legal system.”
An EPA press release quoted Gov. Patrick Morrisey saying the settlement, “is an encouraging first step, but it addresses only one piece of a much larger issue.”
“We remain actively engaged in discussions to reach a comprehensive resolution for the Washington Works facility that protects our citizens and ensures West Virginia’s communities have confidence that these issues are being addressed for the long term.”
One key matter unresolved is the exact language for pollution limits in a renewal of the plant’s WVDEP-issued water pollution discharge permit.
The industry-friendly Trump administration has also indicated plans to change drinking water standards and industrial plant discharge limits for forever chemicals.
The Rivers Coalition said it is closely monitoring these issues. In a statement, the group said, “Citizen enforcement can play an important role in protecting water quality and public health when regulatory processes move too slowly. Environmental compliance and economic stability are not mutually exclusive.”
