The EPA has ordered chemical company Chemours to take corrective measures to address pollution from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in stormwater and effluent discharges from the Washington Works facility near Parkersburg, West Virginia. The order on consent also directs Chemours to characterize the extent of PFAS contamination from discharges.

 

This action marks the first time the EPA has used the Clean Water Act (CWA) to hold polluters accountable for discharging PFAS into the environment. PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” because of their inability to break down over time in the environment, are a group of man-made chemicals that have been manufactured and used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s. There are thousands of different PFAS?chemicals, some of which have been more widely used and studied than others.?

According to the EPA order, PFAS levels in the discharges from the facility exceed levels that are set in the facility’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

“Administrator Regan has directed EPA staff to use every enforcement tool at our disposal to compel manufacturers of PFAS to characterize, control and clean up ongoing and past PFAS contamination,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in an Agency news release. “Through this order, EPA is taking action to address PFAS violations and better protect the resources and people of West Virginia.”

Last year, Chemours sued the EPA “after it issued warnings indicating some toxic chemicals … [such as] PFAS, pose health risks in drinking water even at levels so low they are not detectable,” according to Reuters. “The EPA says its drinking water health advisories are unenforceable scientific and technical guidance for municipal water systems, but Chemours claimed they nevertheless affected the company’s legal rights and obligations.”

“Chemours has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to vacate a 10 parts per trillion (10 ppt) health advisory that the EPA set last year for the PFAS, hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) dimer acid, and its ammonium salt,” Bloomberg Law says. “The [EPA’s] response is due June 26, but the agency has already told the court the case should be dismissed because health advisories are not regulations, not final actions and not subject to judicial review.”

Any entity discharging pollutants is required to obtain an NPDES permit, issued by the EPA or a state. Each permit sets pollution discharge limits, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other conditions designed to protect water quality.

Although EPA health advisories aren’t legally enforceable, many states use limits mentioned in health advisories to set limits on state-issued NPDES permits.

“Chemours operates several manufacturing units at the Washington Works facility, which produce fluorinated organic chemical products including fluoropolymers,” adds the EPA press release. “The facility discharges industrial process water and stormwater to the Ohio River and its tributaries, under the terms of a NPDES permit issued in 2018 by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company was the NPDES permit holder at Washington Works until 2015. In 2015, the permit was transferred to Chemours.”

In the administrative compliance order on consent (AOC), the EPA’s position is that the Chemours facility exceeded permit effluent limits for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and HFPO dimer acid on various dates from September 2018 through March 2023 and that Chemours failed to properly operate and maintain all facilities and systems required for permit compliance.

The EPA also noted the facility had damaged equipment that appeared to be leaking PFAS onto the ground, according to The Guardian.

“As an initial step in characterizing PFAS in surface water discharges, EPA’s order requires Chemours to implement an EPA-approved sampling plan to analyze PFAS and conduct analysis to further understand the presence of PFAS in stormwater and effluent discharged from the facility. Also, Chemours will submit and implement a plan to treat or minimize the discharge of PFAS to ensure compliance with numeric effluent limits of PFOA and HFPO Dimer Acid.”

In addition, to identify best practices to reduce PFAS discharges from the site, Chemours is required to submit its existing standard operating procedures relating to the management of wastewater for various systems and its revised stormwater pollution prevention plan.