PFAS News Tracker

Small North Carolina water systems warn they cannot afford PFAS treatment

A new study finds that small water utilities in North Carolina are facing rising costs to comply with PFAS limits, and some say they cannot pay for treatment without raising rates sharply. Operators worry that the 2031 federal deadline is too short for systems that serve a few thousand customers. State lawmakers are weighing whether to help with grants from the 3M settlement funds.

Saint-Gobain agrees to fund PFAS project in Londonderry, but the town faces long-term costs

Residents near the former Saint-Gobain Merrimack plant welcomed news that about 350 homes in Londonderry will finally get clean public water. But town officials warned that the $1.71 million payment only covers construction of the water main. Londonderry will pay to operate and maintain the system for decades to come.

See the Merrimack, NH report →

Fayetteville utility approves $133.7 million contract to filter PFAS from drinking water

The Fayetteville Public Works Commission approved a $133.7 million contract to install granular activated carbon filters at its two drinking water plants. The filters are designed to remove PFAS compounds that have reached residents downstream of the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant. Construction is expected to finish by 2029, before the federal compliance deadline.

Proposed location for ICE facility in Merrimack sits within PFAS contamination zone

A proposed federal immigration detention center in Merrimack would be built on land inside the groundwater contamination zone from the old Saint-Gobain plant. Local activists say the site's history of PFAS pollution raises questions about drinking water for future detainees and staff. State regulators have not said how the facility would be served with clean water.

See the Merrimack, NH report →

PFAS, microplastics and what comes next for North Carolina's water

North Carolina water regulators are weighing new limits on PFAS and 1,4-dioxane discharges into rivers that feed downstream utilities. State officials said the plan is a response to a decade of PFAS pollution from the Chemours plant in Fayetteville. Environmental groups say the draft lacks real enforcement teeth.