September 10, 2026
RALEIGH, NC — North Carolina has reached a $590 million settlement with DuPont and Chemours – the largest environmental damages recovery in state history – over decades of PFAS contamination that polluted drinking water for more than 500,000 people downstream of the Fayetteville Works plant.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson and DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson said the deal forces the companies to pay for widespread harm across the Cape Fear River basin and strengthens Chemours’ long‑term cleanup obligations under the 2019 consent order. With this agreement, North Carolina has now secured nearly $2 billion tied to PFAS cleanup.
Settlement Breakdown
The agreement sends $455 million to the state and 11 local governments, including Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, New Hanover, Robeson, and Sampson counties; Wrightsville Beach; Lumberton; Bald Head Island; and the Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority. Another $135 million from DuPont and Corteva will serve as a reserve fund if Chemours ever fails to meet its cleanup obligations.
While North Carolina’s lawsuit was underway, the EPA negotiated a separate $450 million settlement with Chemours without consulting state officials. Jackson, Stein, and Wilson opposed the federal deal, saying it offered “almost nothing” for North Carolina.
PFAS foam continues washing onto Oak Island beaches, and PFAS‑laced runoff bubbles in gutters in Leland. Contamination has been documented in drinking water, soil, crops, livestock, fish, and in blood samples from residents. A study of 119 New Hanover County residents found high levels of short‑chain PFAS in nearly every sample.
PFAS – also called “forever chemicals” accumulate in the body and have been linked to cancers, thyroid disease, immune suppression, liver and kidney damage, and low birth rates. Researchers say escaping exposure is “almost impossible” for people living in the Cape Fear River basin.
Under the consent order, Chemours has stopped discharging contaminated wastewater, built a mile‑long subsurface barrier wall, installed groundwater and stormwater treatment systems, added air controls eliminating 99.99% of PFAS emissions, sampled 27,500 wells, and offered clean water solutions to 10,500 households. Chemours has already spent $1.193 billion complying with the order and expects to spend another $320 million.
The settlement does not affect the ongoing lawsuit filed by Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, nor six additional PFAS cases involving AFFF contamination at military bases and airports.
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