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The Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency, and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection announced a multi-state settlement with The Chemours Company under the Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Toxic Substance Control Act, and West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act. The settlement covers four Chemours facilities - located in West Virginia, North Carolina, and New Jersey - that use or produce PFAS, which are synthetic "forever chemicals" used to make products resistant to water, grease, and stains. Chemours also manufactures PFAS for various industrial and military applications, including those where substitutes are not readily available. This is the first comprehensive settlement by the federal government to resolve enforcement claims over pollution by a manufacturer of forever chemicals. Under the agreement, Chemours will pay a civil penalty of $22.5M for alleged violations and conduct a multi-year, $90M program to mitigate PFAS discharges. Chemours will also install PFAS pollution controls for surface water discharges and air emissions at its facility in West Virginia, at an estimated cost of $60M, supply clean drinking water for more than a decade to communities that surround its facilities in West Virginia and New Jersey at an estimated cost of $280M, and evaluate options and implement corresponding controls to reduce releases of PFAS and other toxic chemicals from its facility in North Carolina. Combined, the cost of the penalty and injunctive relief programs are estimated to exceed $450M. The settlement allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS for critical commercial and military applications while preventing future contamination and protecting communities from that contamination. "This landmark settlement shows the Administration's commitment to protecting the public from harmful pollution," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Chemours announced a settlement to resolve claims asserted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency relating to PFAS discharges and other alleged non-compliance actions, primarily at the company's Washington Works, Fayetteville Works, and Chambers Works facilities. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is also a party to the settlement and joins in these releases. "The settlement agreement is the latest progress delivered under the Strengthening the Long Term pillar of Chemours' Pathway to Thrive strategy, which includes the Company's sustained efforts to address legacy PFAS and other environmental claims. The settlement also recognizes the significant work already completed or underway across Chemours' sites to reduce emissions and strengthen processes. Under the settlement, Chemours has agreed to pay EPA and WVDEP a $22.5M civil penalty, of which $15M was previously accrued. This civil penalty is expected to be paid in three annual installments in 2026, 2027 and 2028, beginning within 30 days of the court's approval of the Consent Decree containing the settlement. In addition, over the next 15 years, Chemours will fund $90M in additional mitigation projects to further reduce PFAS emissions from the operating sites or drinking water projects. Such projects support Chemours responsible manufacturing practices and will help advance the Company's Corporate Responsibility Commitment goal to reduce process emissions of fluorinated organic chemicals by 99% or more by 2030. Further, the Company has also agreed to perform certain program and site-related actions as part of the settlement. This includes an expansion of the Company's existing off-site drinking water programs in West Virginia, Ohio, and New Jersey to incorporate learnings from Chemours' other off-site programs. The Company expects the expansion of the off-site drinking water programs will result in an increase to its existing environmental reserves," Chemours stated.

President Trump will announce Thursday that his administration is easing restrictions on the potent planet-warming chemicals used in air-conditioners and refrigerators - restrictions put in place because of a bipartisan law Trump signed during his first term in office, The New York Times' Lisa Friedman reports. The move would slow plans to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, synthetic substances sometimes referred to as "super pollutants" because of their enormous effect in driving climate change, the author notes. Shares of Chemours are trading down over 6% at $20.86 in morning trading.