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DEQ expands private‑well PFAS testing around fire stations, finds MCL exceedances
Summary
DEQ told the Secretary of Science Advisory Board it is enlarging the Bernard Allen private‑well testing program to include PFAS and step‑out sampling around prioritized fire stations; DEQ said some homeowners have already been placed on relief plans and the program will scale with state and EPA funding.
Deputy Deputy Secretary Sushma Maisemore of the Department of Environmental Quality outlined an expansion of the Bernard Allen private‑well testing program, saying the state is sampling wells around fire stations identified by the North Carolina Collaboratory.
"We are sampling, in a step out program of all the private wells that exist around each of these fire stations," Maisemore said, describing the program as "one of the largest ones we've done thus far." She said the program has increased PFAS testing and that exceedances trigger relief plans—often bottled water first, then filtration or municipal connections.
Maisemore told the board that DEQ and collaborators have found exceedances both inside and outside the Chemours consent‑order area. She cited large testing volumes in the state’s Chemours assessment area—DEQ noted figures ranging from roughly 15,000 to 22,000 wells tested overall—and said about 10,000 wells are currently being managed under the consent order. Outside the consent order, DEQ reported several hundred wells with MCL exceedances tied to Bernard Allen sampling and said that number could grow as the program expands.
Board members asked about public access to results and how quickly homeowners are informed. Maisemore said homeowners are contacted immediately when a private‑well sample exceeds levels under the drinking‑water standards and that weekly or monthly tabulated summaries and mapping are posted on DEQ’s website. She said the Water Safety Act and new EPA funds are helping to staff up mapping and data systems.
