New rules on monitoring PFAS are up for public hearings this spring. Critics say the rules have no teeth, and urge the public to comment and demand that the rule change to include consequences for polluting.
The rules are coming out of the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission (EMC). A 2023 law aimed at weakening the Governor’s office gave more appointments to that commission to the top leadership in the legislature, and PFAS regulations have been slowed since then.
Reporter Adam Wagner described the newly remade commission’s interactions with staff and environmental experts, saying, “That relationship now is so much more hostile than it was, because the board was remade the it was remade with Republican appointees who simply do not agree with DEQ staff's readings of this science.”
Now, the rule is up for public comment. According to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), the proposed rules are for monitoring and minimizing three PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in wastewater discharged into North Carolina’s surface waters.
The hearings are part of a comment period that begins on March 16.
The rules apply to three PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, and GenX. PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment and can build up in humans and animals.
An estimated 3.5 million North Carolinians drink tap water that has PFAS levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency health-based standard scheduled to go into effect in the coming years.
According to NCDEQ, the rules are proposed to characterize the presence of PFOS, PFOA, and GenX in discharges from industrial National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) dischargers, publicly-owned treatment facilities that accept industrial waste from significant industrial users through pretreatment programs, as well as from significant industrial users, which are also known as indirect dischargers.
“The proposed rules would also require certain industrial direct dischargers and significant industrial users to develop minimization plans that identify approaches to reduce PFOS, PFOA, and GenX discharges directly or indirectly to surface waters," according to NCDEQ.
Critics argue the rules don’t go far enough: The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) sent a press release following the announcement of public hearings, calling for residents to speak out.
The advocacy organization described the draft policy as “polluter-written rules” that “do not require polluters to reduce their toxic discharges into drinking water supplies.” The organization added that the rules proposed by the EMC impose no consequences even if polluters increase their toxic pollution.
These new rules came in after the new iteration of the EMC rejected a NCDEQ PFAS water quality standard, according toa timeline laid out by SELC.
The Wilmington hearing is Thursday, April 23 at 6 p.m. at Wilmington City Hall (a.k.a. the Skyline Center). Full details from NCDEQ are below:
Public Hearing Details:
When: 6 p.m., April 23, 2026
Where: Wilmington City Hall at Skyline Center, 1st Floor Conference Center, 929 North Front St., Wilmington, 28401
Register: Sign-in and speaker registration will begin at 5 p.m.
Parking information: Attendees should park in the South lot, using the Brunswick Street entrance. Those requiring American with Disabilities Act access should use the visitor lot.
In addition to accepting comments at the hearings, written comments may also be submitted by email to publiccomments@deq.nc.gov with the subject title “PFAS minimization” from March 16 through June 15. Written comments may also be submitted by mail to: Karen Preston, DEQ-DWR NPDES Permitting Section, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1617.
Public comments will be accepted on these proposed rule adoptions and the regulatory impact analysis associated with these rule adoptions. The EMC is also accepting public comments on specific questions:
- whether it would be scientifically defensible and advisable to establish a screening threshold above the lowest reporting concentration for PFOS, PFOA and GenX that could serve as a trigger for ongoing monitoring and minimization requirements; and
- whether the applicability of the PFAS monitoring and minimization rule should be limited to industrial dischargers associated with a standard industry classification (SIC) or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes known to be linked to PFAS use or discharge.
The public is invited to attend the public hearings to provide written and verbal comments on the proposed rules, the associated regulatory impact analysis, and on the specific topics as requested by the EMC.
Speaking time may be limited based on attendance to allow everyone an opportunity to be heard. Written comments and copies of prepared remarks will be accepted at each hearing.
The proposed rules are available online.
