November 26, 2007

Secretary William G. Ross
North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1601

Dear Secretary William G. Ross,

Cape Fear River Watch, Inc. is one of the public interest not-for-profit organizations that has been participating as a partner in a group that formed out of concerns about the production and monitoring of Ammonium perfluorooctanoate acid (APFO) or C8 at the DuPont Fayetteville Works production facility. As the newly appointed Cape Fear Riverkeeper I have several questions about North Carolina’s role in monitoring the production of APFO and in assuring public health and safety. Cape Fear River Watch has determined that the production of C8 in the Cape Fear Watershed is a substantial threat to the Cape Fear River given that this is the only production facility in the United States, DuPont’s history with respect to C8 discharges to ground and surface water in Ohio and West Virginia, the Environmental Protection Agency’s finding that C8 is a likely carcinogen, and their Global Stewardship Program which has called for the elimination of public exposure to C8 the year 2015.

My first question is about the discharge of C8 into the ground water that was reported to the State in 2005. It is my understanding that this discharge was investigated by DuPont and that the results of this investigation were reviewed by both NCDENR and the EPA. What are the results of this investigation? Was the source of the discharge determined? If so has that been remediated and are there safeguards in place to assure that future discharges can be quickly identified, reported and corrected?

The second question is in regards to the EPA Global Stewardship Program. Through this program companies to reduce PFOA releases and its presence in products by 95% no later than 2010, and to eliminate PFOA as a source of exposure by 2015.

The EPA asked the following of the companies volunteering to participate:

• Provide their commitment by March 1st, 2006.
• To submit their year 2000 baseline numbers for emissions and product content by October 31st, 2006.
• To submit annual public reports on their progress toward the goals due in October of each successive year. .
• To ensure comparable reporting of reductions, participating companies must commit to work with EPA and others to develop and agree upon analytical standards and laboratory methods.

Is the State of North Carolina through NCDENR involved with and monitoring the companies who have volunteered to participate in the Global Stewardship Program? Is the DuPont Company participating? If so have they submitted their year 2000 base line numbers and their first annual report? Are copies of these now available to the public?

My third question has to do with the Interim C8 Ground Water Standard that has been established by NCDENR. Establishment of an Interim Ground Water Standard for C8 at 2 parts per billion came as a surprise to water quality advocacy groups. Why did NCDENR determine it is in the best interest of North Carolina citizens to set an interim ground water standard for C8? What is the current status of this interim standard? How long will this interim standard be in effect? What are the requirements for North Carolina to establish a permanent legal ground water standard for Ammonium perfluorooctanoate acid, C8 and are there opportunities for public review and comments built into the process for establishing ground water standards.

My final question is about the amount of sediment carried into the Cape Fear River along with the discharge water from the DuPont Fayetteville Works plant. I understand that this an issue that was brought up through public comments made as part of the process of reviewing and renewing the North Carolina Discharge Permit for the DuPont Fayetteville facility. In response to these comments NCDENR stated that DuPont was presenting options to reduce the amount of sediment delivered to the Cape Fear River along with their discharge water. At that time NCDENR stated that it was not able to share these alternatives with the public. Dupont has indicated to me that they presented an alternative for handling its discharge water and the ball is in your hands for evaluation and modeling? If so can they now be shared with the public and will there be provisions for public review and comments on the alternatives presented and the NCDENR evaluation of these alternatives?

I appreciate the time and staff effort that will be required to respond to my questions. The responses to these questions will help me guide and direct Cape Fear River Watch’s efforts to work with NCDENR to improve the quality and vitality of the Cape Fear River. A thorough and accurate understanding of everything the North Carolina is doing to protect this valuable river and the people who live, work, and play on the river is critical to determining how Cape Fear River Watch’s advocacy can be applied to complement and augment the State of North Carolina’s work to secure the future of this valuable natural resource.

Sincerely yours,


Douglas Springer
Riverkeeper
Cape Fear River Watch, Inc.