NC Regulatory Watch

Public Comment — Open Now

Bogue Banks Reverse-Osmosis Plant Wastewater Discharge Permit

Hearing: October 20, 2026, 6 p.m. — N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office, Morehead City. Written comments due: 5 p.m., November 4, 2026, to [email protected] (subject: "Bogue Banks RO WTP II") or by mail to NPDES Wastewater Permitting, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1617.

The Division of Water Resources will take comment on a draft NPDES permit for the Bogue Banks Water Corporation RO WTP II facility in Emerald Isle (Carteret County), which proposes discharging treated wastewater into Bogue Sound, including the intracoastal waterway in the White Oak River Basin.

Why it matters

New reverse-osmosis plant discharges into sensitive coastal waters are exactly where PFAS and emerging-contaminant limits get set — or don't — before a plant is built. Source: DEQ public notices.

Regulatory Actions

EPA Corrects Claim That PFOA Manufacture and Import Were Phased Out

Response dated September 18, 2026 (publicly reported September 24). After an Information Quality Act correction request from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, EPA removed the categorical website statement that PFOA manufacture and import had been phased out in the United States and replaced it with language acknowledging that quantities of PFOA may still be produced, imported, and used by companies.

Why it matters

Federal progress claims shape what the public and water systems believe about exposure risk. This correction is to agency wording, not a finding about any specific facility — and it is a reminder that detection data measures occurrence, not production origin. Source: PEER.

EPA Office of Water Rescinds 2022 PFAS NPDES Guidance

Memorandum dated August 11, 2026 (publicly reported September 22). EPA withdrew the 2022 memorandum on addressing PFAS discharges through NPDES permits, pretreatment, and monitoring — the guidance that encouraged states and wastewater utilities to use existing Clean Water Act authorities to monitor and control industrial PFAS before it reaches waterways and drinking-water supplies.

Why it matters

This is a withdrawal of permitting and source-control guidance, not a repeal of the 4 ppt PFOA/PFOS drinking-water standards. It shifts the burden of industrial PFAS control toward state action — measure at the tap, control at the source. Sources: SELC, Public Radio East.

EMC Closes Comment on PFAS & 1,4-Dioxane Monitoring Rules

Comment period: March 16 – June 15, 2026 (closed); hearings held April–May in Hickory, Fayetteville, and Jamestown. The Environmental Management Commission's proposed monitoring and minimization rules (15A NCAC 02B .0512, 02H .0923) would require industrial dischargers and municipal treatment plants to begin baseline PFAS sampling within 60 days, test quarterly for a year, and develop minimization plans. The package advanced 10–3 in January.

Why it matters

This is North Carolina's first attempt at statewide PFAS discharge monitoring — but critics, including the Southern Environmental Law Center, call it "an empty promise" because it sets no enforceable discharge limits. Awaiting the hearing-officer's report and EMC action. Source: DEQ — EMC Proposed Rules.

Groundwater PFAS Standards Advance While Surface-Water Rule Pauses

September 2026. DEQ told its Science Advisory Board it will rework proposed surface-water PFAS standards after the EMC declined to advance that package, asking instead for more federal input and a source-reduction approach. Groundwater standards for PFOA, PFOS, and GenX (15A NCAC 02L .0202) continue through rulemaking, with interim limits in place for eight PFAS. DEQ estimates roughly 20% of NC public water systems could exceed PFAS levels — about 3.5 million North Carolinians.

Why it matters

The split defines NC's entire PFAS posture right now: standards coming for aquifers, but still no enforceable surface-water limits for the rivers people drink from.

DEQ Releases First Statewide PFAS-in-Biosolids Data

January 12, 2026. The Division of Water Resources released its first preliminary study of PFAS concentrations in biosolids, finding PFAS present in soil, wastewater, and biosolids — the treated material often land-applied as fertilizer.

Why it matters

Biosolids land application is a major pathway for PFAS to reach farmland and groundwater. This dataset is the baseline for any future NC biosolids regulation. Source: DEQ press releases.

Energy & Infrastructure

Duke Energy Carolinas Slashes Rate-Hike Request After Affordability Backlash

June 23, 2026. In a rare move, Duke Energy Carolinas cut its pending two-year rate increase from 14.3% to 9.3% for 2027–2028 (residential: 18% down to 11.6%), lowering its revenue ask from $564 million to $264 million — including cutting return on equity from 10.95% to 10.48%.

Why it matters

The same Utilities Commission oversees water utilities. These affordability fights preview the battle over who pays for PFAS treatment costs — ratepayers or shareholders. Source: Public Radio East.

AG Accuses Duke Energy Progress of Understating Residential Hike; Refuses Settlement

August 13, 2026. The NC Department of Justice said Duke Energy Progress testified residential customers would pay 6.8% more over two years, while independent math puts it at 9.3%. Attorney General Jeff Jackson declined to join the settlement as too costly for families. The NCUC hearing is ongoing; new rates effective January 1, 2027.

Why it matters

With PFAS treatment costs looming for water systems statewide, this is the template for the coming fight over cleanup cost recovery. Source: Public Radio East.

Litigation & Enforcement

North Carolina Secures Historic $590 Million PFAS Settlement with DuPont and Chemours

September 10, 2026. State leaders announced a $590 million settlement over PFAS contamination from the Fayetteville Works plant — the largest environmental damages recovery in state history. Of $455 million in guaranteed payments, $75 million goes to the state and $380 million to 11 local governments (Cumberland County: $161.5 million). Combined with the 2019 consent order (~$1.2 billion in Chemours spending), total recovery approaches $2 billion. AG Jeff Jackson said NC acted independently after federal regulators "failed."

Why it matters

This is the money that funds drinking-water replacement and remediation for the Cape Fear basin — and it sets the national benchmark for state-led PFAS enforcement. Source: Public Radio East.

Counterparty-risk update (October 1–2, 2026): Fifteen state attorneys general and the territory of Guam sued Corteva and Vylor in Indiana state court, alleging the spinoff of Corteva's seed business into Vylor fraudulently moved nearly $40 billion in assets beyond the reach of legacy DuPont PFAS creditors. The courts declined to block the separation (a freeze order was reversed September 30) and the spinoff completed October 1. North Carolina is not a plaintiff, but the settlement's guarantors are the defendants: DuPont and Corteva/EIDP guarantee Chemours' payments on a 71/29 basis and backstop the $135 million consent-order reserve fund. If the guarantors' balance sheets are impaired, NC's $590 million recovery structure is the downstream exposure. Sources: Reuters, EIDP 8-K filing.

TRO update (October 9–13, 2026): Per Corteva's and Vylor's October 13 SEC filings, a temporary restraining order was granted October 9 barring asset dispositions outside the ordinary course and dividends or buybacks without court approval — then stayed October 10 pending an emergency stay motion before the Seventh Circuit, so the TRO is not currently in effect. The separation itself is unaffected.

Environmental Groups Allege Chemours Violating Consent Order as PFAS Bypasses Barrier Wall

September 23, 2026. The Southern Environmental Law Center, for Cape Fear River Watch, notified Chemours that groundwater is flowing around the southern end of the subsurface barrier wall, with seeps discharging high PFAS into the Cape Fear River — total PFAS above 130,000 ppt at the Lock and Dam Seep (GenX ~7,500 ppt); N.C. State scientists found TFA above 197,000 ppt there in March. The groups also allege a required groundwater mitigation plan was never completed.

Why it matters

If the barrier wall — the centerpiece of the consent-order remedy — is being bypassed, PFAS loading to the Cape Fear continues, directly affecting downstream drinking-water intakes. Source: Public Radio East.

Denial (September 28, 2026): Chemours publicly rejected the allegations, maintaining it has not violated the Consent Order; its spokesperson disputed the claims and declined to address specifics. NC DEQ declined to comment. The allegations remain unadjudicated.

Open question (LexBlog, September 29): North Carolina filed strong opposition to the weaker EPA/West Virginia/Chemours federal consent decree for Fayetteville Works on July 29, 2026 — then reached its own separate $590 million settlement September 9. The state has not said whether it now withdraws its opposition to the federal deal. Source: LexBlog.

EPA Proposes Rescinding GenX, PFNA, PFHxS Drinking-Water Standards; Extends PFOA/PFOS Deadline

Proposed May 20, 2026 (comment closed July 20, 2026; awaiting final rules). EPA published two proposals scaling back the 2024 PFAS drinking-water rule: rescinding MCLs for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and the Hazard Index mixture on procedural grounds, and letting qualifying systems extend PFOA/PFOS compliance from April 2029 to April 2031. The 4 ppt PFOA/PFOS limits stand, and standards remain in force during litigation.

Why it matters

GenX is North Carolina's signature PFAS. Rescinding its federal MCL removes the regulatory backstop for the Cape Fear basin and shifts the burden entirely to state action. Source: Jones Day.

Status check (October 14, 2026): EPA's September 2026 target for the final rule passed with no final rule issued — the rescission remains at the proposal stage (Pace Analytical's October 2026 roundup: the final rule is still "expected soon"; the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument September 18 and declined partial vacatur). The 2024 federal MCLs stay in force during litigation, which extends the window in which state action carries the load.

AFFF MDL Notices Four Proposed Public-Water-System Settlements Totaling Over $149 Million

Notice announced October 1, 2026 (Simpluris, court-appointed notice administrator). Four proposed class settlements in the AFFF Products Liability MDL (D.S.C. No. 2:18-mn-2873) resolve certain PFAS drinking-water claims against Carrier ($129.2 million plus applicable insurance proceeds), Archroma ($14 million), Amerex ($4 million), and Nation Ford Chemical ($1.875 million). The settling defendants deny liability; litigation continues against the other defendants.

Why it matters

Eligible public water systems nationwide — including NC utilities with UCMR-5 detections — face real deadlines: objections due November 23, 2026; opt-outs due December 22, 2026; final fairness hearing January 15, 2027. This is a parallel recovery track to the state settlement for systems outside the Cape Fear basin. Source: Simpluris notice (PRNewswire).

EPA Conditionally Approves Chemours Resuming GenX Wastewater Imports from the Netherlands

September 2026. EPA gave conditional consent for Chemours' Fayetteville Works — the only U.S. site producing HFPO — to resume importing HFPO (GenX-family) wastewater from its Dordrecht, Netherlands facility for recycling, halted since 2019. EPA said neither consent order prohibits the imports.

Why it matters

More GenX-chemistry waste shipped into Bladen County for processing means more potential PFAS loading at the exact site NC just extracted $590 million over. Source: Bloomberg Law.

EPA Tentatively Approves Illinois PFAS Drinking-Water Primacy

Public notice September 30, 2026 (EPA Region 5). EPA issued a tentative decision approving Illinois' revised public water system supervision program, finding the state adopted the federal six-PFAS rule with provisions no less stringent than the national standard. Comments and hearing requests due October 30, 2026.

Why it matters

A comparative-state datapoint: Illinois is moving to federal-alignment enforcement while NC's own drinking-water rule (15A NCAC 18C .1540) still sits in the legislative package. It shows what "no less stringent" state implementation looks like when a state commits to carrying primacy. Source: EPA public notice.

NC Ports Authority Asks Army Corps to Suspend Wilmington Harbor Deepening Over PFAS in Sediment

Letter dated September 18, 2026 (reported October 5–7). NC State Ports Authority Executive Director Brian Clark asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to suspend further consideration of the Wilmington Harbor Navigation Expansion Project — a $1.35 billion deepening of the Cape Fear River shipping channel from 42 to 47 feet over roughly 26 miles — and its Section 403 Letter Report activities, citing questions about PFAS contamination in harbor sediment. A record of decision is pending; the Corps routed the request to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and next steps rest with OASA(CW) and Congress.

Why it matters

The Cape Fear is the same river system carrying the Chemours PFAS load — dredging decisions now have to reckon with contaminated sediment, not just navigation economics. Source: WilmingtonBiz.

Comment Period Closes on EPA's Draft Biosolids PFOA/PFOS Guidance

Comment period closed October 5, 2026 (Docket EPA-HQ-OW-2026-2509). EPA's draft guidance for reducing risk from PFOA and PFOS in biosolids, released July 1, 2026, is voluntary. SELC's comments argue EPA replaced its January 2025 draft risk assessment with voluntary measures and urge Clean Water Act pretreatment and source control plus enforceable sludge limits. EPA is reviewing comments before next steps.

Why it matters

Land-applied biosolids are a direct PFAS pathway onto NC farmland — DEQ released its first statewide PFAS-in-biosolids data in January 2026. Whether the federal floor is voluntary guidance or enforceable limits decides how much of that pathway NC has to close itself. Sources: EPA, SELC.