CFPUA says nearly $100M spent addressing PFAS as Chemours lawsuit continues
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Cape Fear Public Utility Authority says it has spent nearly $100 million addressing PFAS contamination and continues to spend millions each year as its lawsuit against Chemours and DuPont approaches its ninth year.
CFPUA Executive Director Ken Waldroup spoke with WWAY following a settlement announced last week involving Chemours and several other parties affected by PFAS contamination in southeastern North Carolina.
While Waldroup said CFPUA is pleased to see other cases resolved, he emphasized that the utility’s federal lawsuit remains unresolved.
“CFPUA is very happy for the 11-plus litigants who have settled with Chemours,” Waldroup said. “We would remind Chemours that the case that started it all has not been resolved.”
CFPUA filed its federal lawsuit against Chemours and DuPont in October 2017 after GenX and other PFAS compounds were detected in the Cape Fear River.
The utility alleges the compounds resulted from decades of releases from a chemical plant operated by Chemours and previously by DuPont on the Bladen-Cumberland county line, about 100 miles upriver from Wilmington.
Waldroup said CFPUA has now spent nearly $100 million addressing the contamination and is spending between $4 million and $5 million annually to remove the compounds from its water supply.
“We’ve spent nearly $100 million in addressing Chemours pollution, and we have tens of millions more to spend,” Waldroup said.
Waldroup also said the financial impact has extended beyond the utility’s PFAS treatment costs.
“We’ve deferred over $80 million worth of capital projects replacing aging infrastructure to balance our budgets over the last couple of years,” Waldroup said.
CFPUA previously said its PFAS-related expenses include $43 million for eight granular activated carbon filters at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant. The facility draws water from the Cape Fear River and provides drinking water to about 80% of CFPUA customers.
The comments follow a settlement announced Sept. 10 involving the state, local governments and Chemours, DuPont and Corteva. The settlement resolved litigation involving several communities affected by PFAS contamination, including the Town of Wrightsville Beach.
CFPUA was not part of that settlement, and its separate lawsuit continues.
“Our message to our customers is we continue the fight on behalf of all of our ratepayers,” Waldroup said.
Waldroup called on Chemours to resolve the utility’s case and address the costs CFPUA says its customers have shouldered since the contamination came to public attention.
“Make it right with CFPUA,” Waldroup said. “Address the issues that they have imposed upon our customers by helping fill the budget hole they dug for us more than eight years ago.”
CFPUA has previously said the earliest expected trial date under the most recent court scheduling order is in 2027.
