As part of a settlement signed today with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ), Chemours has agreed to further limit GenX emissions, conduct additional testing and pay the penalty assessed last year by DAQ.
The agreement will require Chemours to reduce GenX emissions from the Carbon Adsorber Unit in the Vinyl Ethers North manufacturing area to no more than an average of 1.0 pound per month between May and September 2022. Fugitive emissions from the Vinyl Ethers North area are primarily controlled by the Carbon Adsorber Unit which is a separate system from the onsite Thermal Oxidizer. Chemours’ facility-wide emissions are limited to 23.027 pounds per year under the current air permit.
In addition, Chemours is required to take additional actions this year aimed at reducing emissions, including installing new process and emission control equipment. It must also follow a rigorous schedule of stack tests to measure how well the Carbon Adsorber Unit at Vinyl Ethers North is controlling emissions.
Chemours will also pay in full the $305,000 penalty, which DAQ assessed last year after finding Chemours was in violation of the stringent GenX emission requirements of its air permit. That permit requires Chemours to limit its total GenX emissions to 23.027 pounds per year, using a rolling 12-month calculation. This limit equates to a 99% reduction from GenX emissions in 2017.
Excess GenX emissions in March 2021 resulted in noncompliance with the rolling 12-month limits for the seven months from March through September of 2021. In October 2021, DAQ issued a written Notice of Violation and Notice of Recommendation for Enforcement to Chemours. DAQ noted the Carbon Adsorber Unit was not properly operated or maintained for 26 days following its March 9, 2021, stack test.
Chemours filed a Petition for a Contested Case Hearing in response to DAQ’s civil assessment. Today’s settlement resolves DAQ’s civil penalty and Chemours’ petition.
A copy of the settlement is available online.
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