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U.S. Reaches $450 Million Consent Decree With Chemours Over PFAS Discharges

The settlement requires long-term cleanup, testing and drinking-water programs while permitting controlled PFAS production under enforceable limits.

FILE - Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin, testifies to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Interior, Environment and related agencies, on Capitol Hill, May 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
FILE - The Chemours Company's PPA facility at the Fayetteville Works plant near Fayetteville, N.C., June 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
FILE - The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - A sign is displayed at the entrance of Chemours Company, Fayetteville Works in White Oak, N.C., Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Overview

  • The Justice Department announced June 24, 2026 that it lodged a multi-state consent decree with Chemours to resolve decades-long PFAS discharge claims at facilities in West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey.
  • Under the agreement Chemours will pay a $22.5 million civil penalty and carry out roughly $90 million in mitigation projects over 15 years, with total penalties and relief programs estimated to cost about $450 million.
  • The decree mandates 14 specified treatment projects at the Washington Works plant in West Virginia, testing of local drinking water and provision of treated or alternative water for nearby communities in West Virginia and New Jersey.
  • The settlement allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS for commercial and military uses provided it installs pollution controls, achieves strict emission and GenX removal targets, and certifies hazardous-waste storage compliance.
  • The deal is the first comprehensive federal enforcement resolution targeting a PFAS manufacturer and does not resolve DuPont’s separate liabilities; the consent decree is open for public comment as the administration moves to revise federal PFAS drinking-water rules.