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Fayetteville, Cumberland County

Fayetteville: DEQ tells Chemours its PFAS plan falls short

On Nov. 9, DEQ said Chemours' PFAS compliance at Fayetteville Works has significant deficiencies under the 2019 consent order. The company has not answered the newspaper.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Alexandru Stanciu · Published

The Market House on Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville

File photo: Epicjeff (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • On Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality said it had identified significant deficiencies in Chemours' compliance with ongoing duties to address PFAS contamination in groundwater across southeastern North Carolina. Comments sent that day, the department said, laid out problems in the company's On and Offsite Assessment and Corrective Action Plan and what compliance with the 2019 Consent Order and state law requires. The release is datelined Raleigh and concerns the Fayetteville Works plant.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Nov. 9, 2026
  • The release says DEQ directed Chemours to fully assess contaminated soil and groundwater throughout the Lower Cape Fear region and any related risks to human health and the environment; to revise the corrective action plan so contaminated groundwater is restored in line with state law; to expand the assessment and corrective action plan to all PFAS tied to the facility, not a limited subset; and to evaluate how remaining emissions from the plant affect groundwater and write a plan for those effects. The release says those directions are among other items.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Nov. 9, 2026
  • The release says Chemours has spent approximately $1.2 billion on Consent Order compliance and still has not finished assessing how far the PFAS contamination extends or produced an adequate plan to address it.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Nov. 9, 2026
  • In that release, DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson said: "Today's direction to the company makes clear that DEQ expects Chemours to clean up all the areas they have polluted." He also said: "DEQ will hold Chemours accountable no matter how long it takes." Those two sentences are quoted from the department release. The News & Observer and WECT printed the same wording. This file does not treat the outlets as a separate quotation.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Nov. 9, 2026
  • The release says that since the consent order, Chemours has stopped discharging highly contaminated wastewater from Fayetteville Works; built a subsurface barrier wall more than a mile long and a treatment system meant to keep PFAS from moving into the Cape Fear River; installed systems to treat contaminated groundwater and stormwater; installed controls to cut PFAS in air emissions; sampled approximately 27,500 household wells in southeastern North Carolina; and offered filtration to approximately 10,500 families whose wells are polluted, while agreeing to connect more homesites to municipal water. It says those steps were aimed at stopping new contamination and supplying drinking water, and that the long-term cleanup plan has stalled.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Nov. 9, 2026
  • The release calls the Nov. 9 comments a step in a process set out in a September 2026 settlement among Chemours, North Carolina and 10 counties and municipal water systems. It says that process was meant to end the delay in Chemours' long-term consent-order work. WECT described the settlement as involving Chemours, the state and 11 counties and municipal water systems. This file uses the department's 10.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Nov. 9, 2026; WECT for the 11 that is not used
  • The release says DEQ's Division of Air Quality sent a separate letter the same day about data collection, lab analysis and transparency on air emissions from Fayetteville Works, with a list of actions required immediately. The release does not reprint that list.Confirmed by N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Nov. 9, 2026
  • The News & Observer, by Lily Carey, originally published at 12:01 p.m. Nov. 10, 2026, and updated at 2:32 p.m. that day, reported that Chemours did not immediately answer several questions about the comments. Citing the department's comments, the paper said Chemours has argued that cleaning PFAS to the extent state law requires would be "technologically and economically infeasible." The paper also wrote that Chemours has 60 days to reply and to say how it will handle each item the state listed. The department release read here does not print a 60-day deadline.Confirmed by The News & Observer, Lily Carey, updated Nov. 10, 2026
  • The News & Observer reported nearly 40 specific ways DEQ said the plan should be expanded or strengthened. The department release lists four directions and says they sit among other things. This file does not turn "nearly 40" into the department's own count.Confirmed by The News & Observer; N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release for the four listed directions
  • The News & Observer reported a September settlement with Chemours, DuPont and Corteva that, in that story, requires the companies to spend a combined $590 million on cleanup and says DuPont and Corteva would keep paying for the work if Chemours goes bankrupt. The department release describes a September 2026 settlement among Chemours, North Carolina and 10 counties and municipal water systems, and it does not print a dollar figure or name DuPont and Corteva in that paragraph. The two accounts are not merged here.Confirmed by The News & Observer; N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release
  • WECT, by Jada Harris, published at 8:36 a.m. Eastern Nov. 11, 2026, restated the department's directions on soil, groundwater, health and environmental risks, all PFAS from Fayetteville Works, remaining emissions, and a revised plan to restore groundwater. The WECT story read here does not include a statement from Chemours.Confirmed by WECT, Jada Harris, Nov. 11, 2026

Still unknown

  • Chemours' reply. The News & Observer said the company had not immediately answered its questions and that a written response to DEQ was still ahead. No company statement was in the WECT story read here
  • How many local governments are in the September 2026 settlement. DEQ's release says 10 counties and municipal water systems. WECT wrote 11. This file uses 10
  • Whether the consent order required spending of $1.2 billion, or the company has spent about that much. DEQ says Chemours has spent approximately $1.2 billion on compliance. The News & Observer wrote that the 2019 agreement required the company to spend $1.2 billion. Those are not treated as the same fact. This file uses the release
  • The dollar size of the September settlement. The News & Observer reported a combined $590 million and named DuPont and Corteva. DEQ's release does not print that figure and describes the parties as Chemours, the state and 10 counties and municipal water systems
  • The full list of deficiencies. The News & Observer reported nearly 40 items. The release summarizes four directions and says there are others. The itemized comments were not reprinted in the release text read here

What this means for you

Public safety
This page is not a drinking-water notice and not a health advisory. DEQ's release describes wells already sampled, filtration already offered, and a cleanup plan the department says is still short of what the consent order requires. Triangle Local is not an emergency service. If someone is in danger, call 911.

Instructions from N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Nov. 9, 2026

Triangle Local is not the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and not Chemours. The Nov. 9 release is the department's account of what it told the company to fix. For a well, a filter, or a water-system question, use the department or the local utility, not this page.

What happened

In Fayetteville, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality told Chemours on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, that the company's plan for PFAS at Fayetteville Works still does not meet the 2019 Consent Order.

The department's release says it found significant deficiencies in Chemours' compliance with duties to address the contamination in groundwater across southeastern North Carolina. Comments sent that day, it says, spelled out problems in the On and Offsite Assessment and Corrective Action Plan. The release is datelined Raleigh. The plant it describes is Fayetteville Works, in Cumberland County.

This is separate from other Fayetteville government coverage on this site, including the data-center zoning file. Cumberland County stories are on the county page. More local government coverage is in the government section.

What the state told the company to do

DEQ said the comments direct Chemours to do four things, and that the list is not the whole letter.

The company is to assess contaminated soil and groundwater through the Lower Cape Fear region, and the risks to people and the environment that go with that contamination. It is to revise the corrective action plan so groundwater is restored as state law requires. The plan is supposed to cover all PFAS associated with the plant, not a smaller set of chemicals. And Chemours is to study how emissions that are still coming off the site affect groundwater, then write a plan for those effects.

The release says Chemours has spent approximately $1.2 billion complying with the consent order, and that the extent of the contamination is still not fully mapped and the cleanup plan is still not adequate. The News & Observer wrote that the 2019 agreement required the company to spend $1.2 billion. That is a different sentence from the one in the release. This file uses the department's line, about money spent.

Secretary Reid Wilson, in the release, said: "Today's direction to the company makes clear that DEQ expects Chemours to clean up all the areas they have polluted." He also said: "DEQ will hold Chemours accountable no matter how long it takes." The News & Observer and WECT printed those sentences. The quotation here is the department's.

The river, the wells, and the September settlement

The release says Chemours has already stopped sending highly contaminated wastewater out of Fayetteville Works. It says the company built a barrier wall more than a mile long, plus a treatment system, to keep PFAS from migrating into the Cape Fear River. It lists added treatment for groundwater and stormwater, and controls meant to cut PFAS in air emissions.

It also says about 27,500 household wells in southeastern North Carolina have been sampled, that filtration has been offered to about 10,500 families with polluted wells, and that more homesites are to be connected to municipal water. Those steps, the department wrote, were about stopping new pollution and getting people drinking water. The long-term cleanup, it wrote, has stalled.

The letter covers people who use the Cape Fear River and households on the wells the department describes. The release calls the Nov. 9 comments a step in a process from a September 2026 settlement among Chemours, North Carolina, and 10 counties and municipal water systems. It says the settlement was meant to stop the delay on the long-term consent-order work.

WECT described that settlement as Chemours, the state, and 11 counties and municipal water systems. Eleven is not the number in the release, so it is not used here.

The News & Observer reported a September deal that also names DuPont and Corteva, puts the companies' combined cleanup spending at $590 million, and says DuPont and Corteva would keep funding the work if Chemours goes bankrupt. The department's paragraph does not print that dollar figure and does not name those two companies. The accounts are left side by side. They are not combined into one price or one list of parties.

What Chemours has said, in the reporting

The News & Observer said Chemours did not immediately answer several questions about the comments. Citing the department's written comments, the paper reported that Chemours has argued a cleanup as strict as state law requires would be "technologically and economically infeasible." The paper wrote that the company has 60 days to reply and to explain how it will handle each item the state flagged. A 60-day clock is not in the release text read here.

The newspaper also reported nearly 40 specific changes. The release itself names four directions and says there are more. Nearly 40 is the paper's count, not a figure this file assigns to DEQ.

WECT's Nov. 11 story repeats the department's directions on the Lower Cape Fear, on all PFAS from Fayetteville Works, and on remaining emissions. It does not carry a comment from the company.

The same DEQ release says the Division of Air Quality sent its own letter that day, raising concerns about how emissions data from Fayetteville Works are collected, how the lab work is done, and how open the company has been. The release says the letter includes actions required right away. It does not print the list, and this file does not guess at it.

Triangle Local is not DEQ and not Chemours. This page is not a drinking-water notice. If someone is in danger, call 911.

Related coverage

Photos

Text-only. No agency or outlet photographs are used here.

Why it matters

Fayetteville Works sits in Cumberland County, and the state's letter covers PFAS in groundwater across the Lower Cape Fear, including contamination DEQ says a barrier wall and treatment system were built to keep out of the Cape Fear River. People who use that river, and households on the wells in the release, are the neighbors this order is about.

Updates

  1. Nov 14, 2026, 9:50 AM

    First file from the DEQ release, The News & Observer and WECT. Wilson's sentences are quoted only from the release. The $1.2 billion line used here is money DEQ says has been spent, not a required-spend figure from the newspaper. The settlement headcount used here is the release's 10, not WECT's 11. Chemours' only reported response in these sources is that it had not yet answered the newspaper. No outlet photos. lead is false. onTikTok is false.

Sources

  1. NCDEQ directs Chemours to address deficiencies in its plans to clean up PFAS contamination (N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, Raleigh: significant deficiencies in Chemours' compliance on PFAS in groundwater across southeastern North Carolina; comments that day on the On and Offsite Assessment and Corrective Action Plan; 2019 Consent Order; directions to assess soil and groundwater in the Lower Cape Fear region and related risks, revise the plan to restore groundwater under state law, cover all PFAS from the facility rather than a subset, and evaluate remaining emissions' effect on groundwater; approximately $1.2 billion spent on consent-order compliance; Wilson quoted that DEQ expects Chemours to clean up all the areas it has polluted and will hold the company accountable no matter how long it takes; wastewater discharges from Fayetteville Works stopped; barrier wall more than a mile long and treatment aimed at the Cape Fear River; groundwater and stormwater treatment; air controls; about 27,500 wells sampled; filtration offered to about 10,500 families; more municipal connections agreed; long-term plan stalled; September 2026 settlement among Chemours, North Carolina and 10 counties and municipal water systems; separate Division of Air Quality letter on data, lab work and transparency. Text-only. No DEQ graphics used as a story photo.)

    Official sourcePublished by N.C. Department of Environmental Quality · Checked Nov 14, 2026, 9:50 AM

  2. Chemours' plan to clean up forever chemicals in NC is 'deficient,' state DEQ says (The News & Observer, Lily Carey, originally published Nov. 10, 2026, at 12:01 p.m., updated 2:32 p.m.: Chemours did not immediately answer questions; 60 days to reply, a deadline not in the DEQ release text read here; nearly 40 items, the paper's count; Chemours has argued, according to the paper's reading of DEQ's comments, that the legally required cleanup would be "technologically and economically infeasible"; a September settlement figure of a combined $590 million naming DuPont and Corteva, which the DEQ release paragraph does not print; the paper also wrote that the 2019 agreement required $1.2 billion in spending, which this file does not use in place of DEQ's "has spent approximately $1.2 billion." The page's key-takeaway box is labeled as an AI-generated summary the newsroom reviewed. The response, the 60 days and the infeasible quotation are in the body. Text-only. No News & Observer photos used.)

    Third-party sourcePublished by The News & Observer · Checked Nov 14, 2026, 9:50 AM

  3. North Carolina regulators tell Chemours to expand PFAS cleanup plan (WECT, Jada Harris, published 8:36 a.m. Eastern Nov. 11, 2026: DEQ says the plan falls short of the 2019 consent order and state law; directions on Lower Cape Fear soil and groundwater, health and environmental risks, all PFAS from Fayetteville Works, remaining emissions, and a revised restoration plan; about $1.2 billion spent; about 27,500 wells and about 10,500 families, attributed to DEQ; Wilson's two sentences, which this file quotes from the DEQ release rather than from WECT; September 2026 settlement described as Chemours, the state and 11 counties and municipal water systems, a count this file does not use; a separate air-quality letter. No Chemours statement in the story. Text-only. No WECT photos used.)

    Third-party sourcePublished by WECT · Checked Nov 14, 2026, 9:50 AM

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