Lawmakers investigate GenX discharge, hold public hearing

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — GenX has been the big story all summer and it’s getting attention from state lawmakers.

The State Environmental Review Commission will meet in Wilmington to discuss its investigation into GenX.

Public officials along with the secretaries of the State Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Health and Human services are invited. It was held at the New Hanover County Government Center.

“I felt like, and all of my citizens felt like we were at the battle of Dunkirk. Y’all seen that movie? It’s a popular.. It’s out this summer. History teaches us that for whatever reasons military apparatus left in place left hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the beaches.. Waiting to be devoured by an invading force. That’s what Mayor Saffo and I felt like,” New Hanover County Commissioner Woody White said.

“It is 2.5 million dollars in a 23 billion dollar budget that is a rainy day fund, well it is raining in Wilmington,” Local Democratic Representative Deb Butler said.

Prior to the hearing, the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant invited state representatives and public officials to come tour the plant.

During the tour, representatives and senators got to see what updates the plant has and is making to continue testing for chemical compounds in the water.

Some of them say the fight for clean water is turning into a partisan issue.

Pender County’s Chris Millis says it is not for him.

So how did we get here with the GenX story? Let’s take a look at the past couple of months.

On June 7, the StarNews broke the story of Chemours dumping GenX into the Cape Fear River prompting confusion, concern, and protests all around the Cape Fear.

Chemours met with local leaders June 15 to talk about water testing and holding a news conference.

On June 22, the DEQ collected testing samples from the river.

On June 28, WWAY, the StarNews, and WHQR hosted a forum for you to voice concerns and to have your questions answered by experts and officials. More than 400 people filled UNCW’s Kenan Auditorium that night.

Governor Roy Cooper came to the Cape Fear July 24 to talk about preventing Chemours from dumping more of the chemical in the river.