(Sept. 10, 2026, Wilmington, N.C.) North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson announced a $590 million deal between the state of North Carolina, 11 local governments, and DuPont/Chemours over PFAS contamination in North Carolina, the largest total environmental damages recovery in the state’s history.
Chemours has already spent nearly $1.2 billion to comply with a 2019 consent order to stop discharging contaminants from its Fayetteville Works facility into the Cape Fear River and air. In all, state and local governments have recovered nearly $2 billion in value to North Carolina and its residents.
The agreement guarantees $455 million to the state and to 11 local governments that joined the deal, to be paid over the next 10 to 15 years. Of that amount, $75 million will be allocated to the state with roughly $55 million going to an Emergent Contaminant Mitigation Fund recently created by the North Carolina General Assembly. The fund supports efforts by local governments to detect and reduce contaminants in drinking water.
The remaining $380 million will be divided among the following local governments that were affected by Fayetteville Works’ pollution and previously sued Chemours and Dupont:
Bladen County
Brunswick County
Columbus County
Cumberland County
New Hanover County
Robeson County
Sampson County
Town of Wrightsville Beach
City of Lumberton
Village of Bald Head Island
Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority
The deal also establishes a $135 million reserve fund from DuPont and sister company Corteva to guarantee the work that Chemours must continue to complete for decades in the future under the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s 2019 consent order.