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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Rep. Deb Butler Pushes Bill To Ban PFAS In State

StarNews
June, 2017 front page of the StarNews.

Next weekend marks the third anniversary of the other big story in the region. PFAS, GenX...and Chemours. It was on June 7, 2017 when that story broke in the StarNews. And it hasn’t gone anywhere. Tests are still being done, lawsuits are flying, and legislators continue to wrestle with it.

PFAS and GenX may have taken a backseat to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’re still in the Cape Fear River. 

That means in Raleigh, plenty of work remains to be done. 

“So we filed two bills.”

That’s Rep. Deb Butler of Wilmington. She and her colleague Rep. Pricey Harrison have two bills under consideration on PFAS contamination. 

“One is just an outright ban on PFAS in this state for the manufacturer to discharge in any shape. The other bill does a couple of things. It seeks to make those who have discharge permits be more forthcoming with what's in those discharge waters. And so we're trying to approach the precautionary principle. In other words we're trying to make sure that permittees in this state first do no harm by disclosing everything in their affluent. And they’ve got to prove its safe.”

Both bills have been sent on to committee. Vince Winkel, WHQR News. 

Tune in on Friday, June 5, for a special PFAS/GenX report on Morning Edition, and All Things Considered.