The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a settlement with chemical manufacturer Chemours Co. over years-long, illegal discharges of PFAS chemicals, commonly called “forever chemicals,” from facilities in three states.
The agreement, filed in federal court in West Virginia, is the first federal enforcement settlement against a major manufacturer of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Justice Department said.
Under the consent decree, Chemours will pay a $22.5 million civil penalty for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act. The company will spend $90 million over 15 years to mitigate PFAS discharges at its facilities in West Virginia, North Carolina, and New Jersey. It also agreed to install pollution controls for wastewater, stormwater, groundwater, and air emissions at its Washington Works plant in West Virginia, at an estimated cost of $60 million, and to supply clean drinking water to communities near its West Virginia and New Jersey sites, at an estimated cost of $280 million.
Combined, the penalties and relief programs are estimated to cost at least $450 million, the Justice Department said.
Adam Gustafson, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, said the settlement allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS for commercial and military applications while preventing future contamination. “The Trump administration recognizes the important role of Chemours for its commercial and military obligations. The settlement protects public health while preserving that important balance,” Gustafson said.
Jeffrey Hall, assistant EPA administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance, said the agreement “delivers on the Trump administration’s promise to make polluters pay and stop Pfas contamination at the source.” Hall said the settlement will greatly reduce PFAS contamination of water, land, and air and begin to mitigate past harm. “This settlement brings Chemours into compliance with the law and holds it fully accountable,” he said.
Chemours spokesperson Jess Loizeaux said in a statement the company had already begun planning operational improvements at its facilities and would take steps to mitigate future emissions. “This settlement provides Chemours with greater clarity on future compliance requirements and actions to support long-term responsible manufacturing,” Loizeaux said.
The settlement determined that Chemours facilities in West Virginia, North Carolina, and New Jersey discharged PFAS into the Ohio River, Cape Fear River, and Delaware River, respectively, in violation of permits required by the Clean Water Act and state laws. The company also violated the federal Toxic Substances Control Act at all three facilities, officials said. The violations continued for more than a decade, the Justice Department said.
People living near the facilities were exposed to illegal PFAS, officials said. Scientific studies have linked exposure to some PFAS to harmful health effects in humans and animals, including certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and low birth weight.
The facilities were previously owned by DuPont for many decades before Chemours was spun off. The settlement does not resolve DuPont’s liability for past PFAS violations, officials said.
A federal judge last year ordered Chemours to stop discharging unlawful levels of cancer-causing chemicals into the Ohio River from the Washington Works plant. U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin wrote in an August 2025 order that the pollutants endanger the environment, aquatic life, and human health. The West Virginia Rivers Coalition had asked him to require immediate compliance with permit limits that the company had violated for more than five years.
DuPont, Chemours, and another company, Corteva, agreed last year to pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle state environmental claims stemming from PFAS. The federal settlement does not affect that state case.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, sharply criticized the deal. “This settlement is an insult to the people of eastern North Carolina,” Jackson said in a statement. He called his state “ground zero for GenX contamination,” referring to a trade name for a synthetic chemical developed as an alternative to PFAS but which has raised significant health and environmental concerns. “Chemours made this mess, and Chemours should clean it up,” Jackson said.
The consent decree calls for 14 specific treatment systems to reduce PFAS in wastewater, stormwater, and groundwater from the West Virginia plant. Chemours will test drinking water near its West Virginia and New Jersey sites and provide treated or alternative clean water.
The settlement comes as the Trump administration is expected to propose softening Biden-era limits on PFAS in drinking water while delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types of the substance. The proposal would begin the formal process of rolling back parts of the first-ever limits on PFAS in drinking water finalized during the Biden administration. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency is committed to addressing PFAS in drinking water “while following the law and ensuring that regulatory compliance is achievable for drinking water systems.”