U.S. Reaches Consent Decree With Chemours Requiring Over $450 Million for PFAS Cleanup

The U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday they reached a federal consent-decree settlement with Chemours that they described as the first comprehensive federal resolution of pollution-enforcement claims against a manufacturer of PFAS, the chemicals often called “forever chemicals.” The agreement, announced June 24, requires more than $450 million in penalties and cleanup and control spending tied to alleged PFAS releases from four Chemours facilities in West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey.

That total is not a $450 million fine. Under the settlement, The Chemours Company will pay a $22.5 million civil penalty and fund a multi-year $90 million program to mitigate PFAS discharges, according to DOJ. The department said Chemours also must install PFAS controls for surface-water discharges and air emissions at its West Virginia facility at an estimated $60 million cost, provide clean drinking water for more than a decade to communities around its West Virginia and New Jersey facilities at an estimated $280 million cost, and evaluate and implement controls to reduce PFAS and other toxic releases at its North Carolina facility. DOJ said the four facilities discharge PFAS to the Ohio River, Cape Fear River and Delaware River.

The consent decree’s mitigation and control programs are set to last 15 years. DOJ said Chemours must complete 14 specified projects at its West Virginia plant to reduce PFAS in wastewater, stormwater and groundwater, including treatment systems using granular activated carbon, a common filtration material. The company also must control releases of GenX, also known as HFPO-DA, from each facility at at least 99% efficiency, implement enhanced leak-detection and repair programs to cut PFAS emissions, and certify compliance related to hazardous-waste storage.

The settlement resolves alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which governs hazardous waste, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act. DOJ said the alleged violations continued for more than a decade and exposed people living near the facilities to illegal PFAS releases. Government attorneys lodged the consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, and it will be subject to a public comment period before any final approval.

PFAS are a class of synthetic chemicals used to make products resistant to water, grease and stains, and they also have industrial and military uses. They are often called “forever chemicals” because they can persist in the environment for long periods. Chemours and related companies have previously been involved in major PFAS settlements, including a 2023 $1.185 billion agreement over drinking-water claims by U.S. public water systems and a 2025 New Jersey state environmental settlement. DOJ said this case is different because it is a federal enforcement settlement aimed at alleged pollution by a PFAS manufacturer.

In the DOJ announcement, Adam Gustafson, who leads the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, called the deal a “landmark settlement” and said, “This landmark settlement shows the Administration’s commitment to protecting the public from harmful pollution.”