Chemours has agreed to pay $450 million to resolve federal and state allegations tied to its production and release of “forever chemicals,” a class of toxic substances used in a wide range of consumer, industrial and military products.
The deal marks the first federal enforcement settlement involving a manufacturer of polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. Chemours, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, was spun off from DuPont and produces PFAS chemicals for industrial and defense-related uses.
“This first comprehensive federal settlement against a major PFAS manufacturer delivers on the Trump Administration’s promise to make polluters pay and stop PFAS contamination at the source,” Jeffrey A. Hall, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement. “By appropriately employing the full suite of existing legal authorities, we can greatly reduce PFAS contamination of water, land and air and even begin to mitigate past harm.”
PFAS exposure has been associated with a range of serious health risks, including cancer, liver and kidney damage, developmental issues and immune system disorders. The chemicals are valued for their resistance to heat, water, oil and grease, and have been used in products such as nonstick cookware.
As part of the multistate agreement, Chemours will pay a $22.5 million civil penalty over alleged violations and invest $90 million over 15 years to reduce PFAS discharges in New Jersey, North Carolina and West Virginia.
The company also committed to installing measures aimed at preventing PFAS releases from its West Virginia facility and to supplying clean drinking water to nearby communities in West Virginia and New Jersey. Those efforts are expected to cost about $280 million. In North Carolina, Chemours may be required to add controls to limit PFAS and other chemical releases at one of its facilities, depending on the results of an independent review.
The settlement does not bar Chemours from continuing to manufacture PFAS for commercial and military purposes.
In its own statement, Chemours said the agreement acknowledges steps the company says it has already begun taking at its facilities to stop PFAS emissions.
Settlement draws fire
In 2025, a federal judge ordered Chemours to stop discharging illegal levels of toxic chemicals, including PFAS, into the Ohio River from the company’s Washington Works plant in West Virginia.
DuPont, Chemours and another company, Corteva, agreed last year to pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS. The federal settlement does not affect the state case.
The U.S. and states alleged that three Chemours plants released PFAS into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River and Delaware River, violating the Clean Water Act and local rules. The violations continued for over a decade, according to the Justice Department.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson criticized the settlement, saying it does little to ensure the drinking water in affected communities is safe. “This deal is an insult to the people of eastern North Carolina,” he said in a statement.
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“Our state is ground zero for GenX contamination, but this deal does practically nothing to clean up our water,” Jackson added, referring to a synthetic PFAS compound that the state has found in the Cape Fear River. “Chemours made this mess, and Chemours should clean it up. The EPA will be hearing from my office.”
Chemours produces GenX at its facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina, according to state environmental and public health investigators.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein also blasted the settlement. “This EPA, which has already weakened protections against chemicals like GenX, is now allowing polluters to pick and choose how and where they’ll fix their contamination — leaving North Carolina with no guarantees,” he said in a statement.
Aimee Picchi
contributed to this report.
