Local environmental advocates say they're closely watching the Trump administration's actions related to the regulation of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Some are voicing concern after a recent executive order caused the rollback of a proposed rule that aimed to set PFAS discharge and monitoring standards for manufacturers. The rule, proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, had been moving through the regulatory process when Trump came into office last week, but it was withdrawn following an executive order that withdrew pending rules for further review by the incoming administration.

PFAS are chemicals that have polluted the area's drinking water supply in the Cape Fear River. The presence of PFAS is a problem across the country, and studies are still being done to determine how PFAS impacts human health through prolonged exposure.

Emily Donovan, co-founder of the advocacy group Clean Cape Fear, said the move wasn’t necessarily a surprise.

“We pushed really hard late fall and early December within the Biden administration to try and get these released from (the Office of Management and Budget) because we were concerned that with the incoming administration, they would not get finalized,” she said, “and, unfortunately, that didn't work.”

Executive Director of Cape Fear River Watch Dana Sargent called the recent move a "backstep" and said the proposed federal rule would have helped to reinforce state-level PFAS limits in permits. 

“It would give the (N.C. Department of Environmental Quality or DEQ), power behind putting limits at the source in their permits. That said, the DEQ has this authority,” Sargent said. “From Cape River Watch’s perspective, the DEQ needs to use this authority that it already has to set effluent limitations to require polluters to stop the pollution at the source.”

Upriver from Wilmington, Fayetteville is the site of the Fayetteville Works plant, which is the epicenter of the contamination of the Cape Fear River basin, according to Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA). The Cape Fear River supplies drinking water for 1 million people in the Wilmington region.

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against The Chemours Co. and DuPont, including suits from Brunswick and New Hanover counties. CFPUA filed a suit in 2017 against the companies to regain funds used to install the $43 million granular activated carbon filters in the local utility's Sweeney Water Treatment Plant.

Jean Zhuang, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the group's focus will be putting pressure on state leaders and the DEQ to use available tools to control all industrial sources of PFAS pollution.

“We don't know what this administration is going to do on PFAS,” she said, “and, regardless, we really hope that … the state of North Carolina – where we've had some of the worst PFAS contamination in the whole country – that it does what it needs to do to make sure that communities are protected, regardless of what's happening in D.C.”

In a statement, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said he and other city leaders would continue to fight for “strong protections that ensure the quality of our water.”

“We will continue to advocate strongly for regulations and protections that we believe are absolutely essential for the health and safety of our region and future generations,” he wrote, “and we will not stop bringing that message to Raleigh and Washington D.C. until this fight is finally won.”

Zhuang said that moving forward, she’ll be keeping an eye on what happens to the drinking water standards for PFAS, which were finalized during the Biden administration, regulations around superfund designations and state-level PFAS permit limits, among other issues.

Donovan said Clean Cape Fear, too, will closely watch the status of the drinking water standards and who takes top EPA positions. Sargent said Cape Fear River Watch will continue pushing for additional PFAS regulation at the state and federal level.

"We'll have to remain hopeful and have to remain diligent," Sargent said, "and keep on pushing the same way that we have been pushing."