Border Belt Independent
By Evey Weisblat
This story was originally published by CityView.
Bills aimed at addressing water contamination in the Cape Fear River Basin have been filed in the North Carolina General Assembly. The bills contain ambitious proposals to halt PFAS contamination in the state, including banning production of so-called “forever chemicals” and forcing polluters to pay for removing them from public water supplies.
In a rare display of bipartisanship, the bills are sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats, including some in the Border Belt.
Here’s an overview of the bills:
Senate Bill 666
- Name: 2025 Water Safety Act
- Filed: March 25
- Status: Passed first reading; referred to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee
- Sen. Danny Britt, a Republican who represents Hoke, Robeson and Scotland counties, is a primary sponsor of the bill
Key provisions:
- Appropriates $14 million in recurring funds for 2025-26 to the UNC North Carolina Collaboratory to support scientific research on PFAS
- Establishes a PFAS Mitigation Fund within the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) with $56 million for 2025-26. The fund would, among other things, provide grants to local public water and wastewater systems for PFAS sampling, monitoring, treatment upgrades and removal
- Enacts Maximum Contaminant Levels for several types of PFAS in public drinking water systems and mandates the creation of a compliance schedule
- Requires DEQ to develop science-based PFAS concentration limits for wastewater discharged by industrial manufacturers into North Carolina’s surface waters
House Bill 569
- Name: PFAS Pollution and Polluter Liability
- Filed: March 27
- Status: Passed first reading; passed reading by the House Committee on Agriculture and Environment; referred to the House Appropriations Committee
- Rep. Garland Pierce, a Democrat who represents Scotland and Hoke counties, and Rep. Jarod Lowery, a Robeson County Republican, are among several sponsors of the bill
Key provisions:
- Allows the DEQ secretary to order PFAS manufacturers who contributed to PFAS contamination in water supplies used by public water systems to pay for the costs of removing the PFAS. This applies to any PFAS discharges after January 2017
- Allows the DEQ secretary to take legal action in superior court to enforce payment orders against manufacturers if they don’t comply
- Requires public water systems that previously used ratepayer funds for PFAS cleanup to reimburse those ratepayers if they are later compensated by the responsible PFAS manufacturer
- Appropriates $300,000 for 2025-26 to DEQ to implement the law
House Bill 881
- Name: PFAS Free NC
- Filed: April 9, 2025
- Status: Passed first reading; referred to the Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee
Key provisions:
- Makes it illegal to knowingly manufacture, use, process or distribute PFAS. This excludes the use and distribution of products specifically authorized or required to contain PFAS by federal law
- Allows the DEQ secretary to fine companies for the illicit distribution or manufacturing of PFAS, ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for each penalty. If penalties are not paid within 30 days, the law requires the DEQ secretary to bring a civil suit against the non-compliant manufacturer
- Requires entities that receive new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits or renewed permits to disclose PFAS and 1,4-dioxane that is present above certain limits in their wastewater discharges. Facilities that receive industrial waste would also be required to remove PFAS and 1,4-dioxane before discharging them into the state’s waters
- Directs DEQ to start setting technology-based limits in NPDES permits by June 2026, aiming to reduce detectable PFAS to non-detect levels
- Funds and establishes a framework for a wide range of science, technology and health research on PFAS contamination and exposure impacts, allocating $600,000
- Allocates $92 million in non-recurring funds for 2025-2026 primarily for grants to upgrade public water system PFAS treatments ($80 million), along with funding for contaminated well treatments, expanded water monitoring, developing a PFAS action plan, and studying destruction technologies
