On June 24, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP) announced “the first comprehensive federal settlement with a major PFAS manufacturer, Chemours.” Under the $450 million settlement agreement, Chemours will spend more than $337 million on injunctive relief, including an estimated $280 million to provide alternative drinking water, $60 million to ensure compliance with the law at its West Virginia facility, and additional funds to ensure compliance at its other facilities. Additionally, Chemours will conduct projects under a multi-year, government-supervised $90 million per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mitigation program. EPA states that the settlement “further advances EPA’s ‘polluter pays’ commitment, holding accountable those who have significantly contributed to the release of these ‘forever chemicals.’”
According to EPA, the settlement addresses alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) and West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act violations, including unauthorized discharges and permit violations. EPA states that the settlement also addresses Chemours’ alleged violations of requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) associated with environmental release restrictions for multiple PFAS, including restrictions on releases to air and water at four facilities in West Virginia, North Carolina, and New Jersey. Finally, the settlement addresses alleged Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations of accepting shipments of hazardous waste in violation of its RCRA permit and unauthorized storage of hazardous waste. EPA notes that in addition to addressing PFAS contamination, the settlement also resolves other environmental violations.
Under the settlement, Chemours will:
- Bring its facilities back into compliance with the law;
- Complete 14 treatment system projects to reduce PFAS in wastewater, stormwater, and groundwater at its West Virginia facility;
- Control releases of GenX (a type of PFAS) from each facility at an efficiency of at least 99 percent;
- Test drinking water and provide treated or alternative water to communities near its plants in West Virginia and New Jersey;
- Implement controls at its North Carolina facility based on recommendations from an independent engineering firm;
- Start enhanced leak detection programs and conduct engineering reviews to assess and reduce additional PFAS releases;
- Certify that it is properly storing hazardous waste; and
- Undertake projects under a multi-year, government-supervised $90 million mitigation program.
Pursuant to EPA policy, EPA assessed Chemours a $22.5 million civil penalty based on ability to pay. EPA notes that this amount was set after EPA and DOJ reviewed Chemours’ financial records. According to EPA, the settlement “allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS for critical commercial and military applications, including those where substitutes are not readily available, while preventing future contamination and protecting communities from that contamination.” The proposed consent decree was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Comments are due to DOJ by July 29, 2026.
Commentary
EPA’s settlement with Chemours — coming on the heels of several other recent and significant EPA enforcement-related announcements that Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. discuss in our June 3, 2026, and June 12, 2026, memoranda — is yet another example of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) taking a tough-on-polluters approach. Jeffrey Hall, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for OECA, framed the action as delivering on “the Trump Administration’s promise to make polluters pay and stop PFAS contamination at the source.” The fact that this was the first settlement to resolve federal enforcement claims against a company that manufactures PFAS chemicals is a genuine milestone in EPA’s yearslong effort to more broadly address PFAS concerns.
Some states and public health advocates have been critical of the deal, which explicitly allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, for example, described the settlement as a “backroom deal” and an “insult” to the people of the state. Other groups, like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), raised concerns that the penalty amount — $22.5 million — was far lower than EPA’s headline, and inadequate to address the harms and discourage future pollution. The public comments on the proposed settlement and how the court will consider those proposed terms will be worth keeping an eye on.
Objectively speaking, though, an eight-figure enforcement penalty is nothing to trifle with. As we have discussed previously, EPA’s enforcement actions appear to be taking front stage over new regulatory efforts, including in the PFAS space. One explanation for this may be that EPA is trying to thread the needle between the political pressure to take strong action on chemicals and pesticides on the one hand, and the need to implement an overarching deregulatory mandate on the other.
For example, with respect to PFAS, just a little over a month before the Chemours settlement was announced, EPA unveiled a “comprehensive, lifecycle-based strategy” to address PFAS, including nearly $1 billion in new funding to states to address emerging contaminants in drinking water. EPA referenced the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement several times, touting efforts to advance the MAHA agenda. That same announcement, however, was paired with proposals to undo four of the six drinking water standards for PFAS and push out compliance timeframes for the remaining two. Although the public comment period for those proposals remains open through July 20, 2026, MAHA advocates have already voiced their opposition.
In any event, it would be a mistake for companies to assume that EPA’s regulatory rollbacks will be matched on the compliance oversight and enforcement front. The Chemours settlement only further underscores the fact that the Trump EPA is willing to use its authorities under the CWA, RCRA, and TSCA to aggressively target chemical companies who do not comply with existing requirements. Companies in the chemical space should strongly consider compliance audits as a near-term priority to avoid paying costly penalties down the road.