Chemours to Pay $450 Million Settlement Over PFAS Pollution in US Rivers

Chemours agreed to a $450 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. The settlement resolves alleged releases of per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, the Delaware River in New Jersey and the Ohio River in West Virginia from its four facilities in those states.

Under the agreement, Chemours will pay a $22.5 million civil penalty, spend $60 million to supply clean drinking water to nearby communities for more than a decade, invest $60 million in a PFAS pollution‑control system at its West Virginia plant, and fund a $90 million multi‑year mitigation program. Additional injunctive relief amounts to over $337 million, including $280 million for alternative drinking‑water provisions and $60 million for compliance upgrades. The company must install treatment systems, achieve at least 99 % control of GenX emissions, and conduct leak‑detection and hazardous‑waste storage improvements while it continues to manufacture PFAS for commercial and military uses.