Chemours agrees to $450 million PFAS settlement over polluted water

Chemours agreed to a $450 million federal settlement over PFAS pollution affecting drinking water for tens of thousands of people near its plants in North Carolina, New Jersey and West Virginia. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection announced the deal on June 24, 2026, and it is the first comprehensive federal settlement with a major PFAS manufacturer.

The agreement covers Chambers Works in Deepwater, New Jersey, Fayetteville Works in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Washington Works near Parkersburg, West Virginia. PFAS releases reached the Cape Fear River, the Delaware River and the Ohio River, in some cases without required permits and in other cases in violation of permits. The settlement resolves claims under the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act.

Under the deal, Chemours will pay a $22.5 million civil penalty and carry out a multi-year $90 million PFAS mitigation program. The company also must install PFAS pollution controls for surface water discharges at its West Virginia facility, supply clean drinking water to communities near its facilities in West Virginia and New Jersey, and evaluate and implement controls to reduce PFAS and other toxic releases from its North Carolina site. EPA estimates the combined cost of penalties and injunctive relief will exceed $450 million.

The proposed consent decree was lodged in the Southern District of West Virginia and still needs a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The case ties to earlier enforcement at Washington Works, where the permit moved from DuPont to Chemours in 2015. Chemours exceeded permit limits for PFOA and HFPO Dimer Acid, also known as GenX, from September 2018 through March 2023, and on December 20, 2023, Chemours agreed under a RCRA 3013 order to sample soil, surface water, sediment, groundwater and waste streams around the site to better define the contamination.