North Carolina Secures $590 Million PFAS Deal and Boosts Tenant Protections
The state reached a $590 million settlement with DuPont and Chemours over PFAS contamination, while Asheville adopted a new ordinance allowing rent refunds for unsafe rentals and mail-in ballots began arriving for the upcoming election.
North Carolina officials disclosed a landmark $590 million settlement with DuPont and Chemours, the largest environmental damages recovery in the state's history, aimed at cleaning PFAS-tainted water and supporting local water programs for dozens of counties. The agreement also obligates Chemours to provide safe drinking water and remediate damage in the southeastern region. Separately, Asheville City Council unanimously passed a housing-code amendment, dubbed “No Rent for Slumlords,” which permits tenants to seek rent refunds after city inspectors deem a rental unsafe.
The ordinance lists 18 criteria, including lack of hot water and raw sewage, and is championed by the Asheville Area Tenants’ Union. Additionally, the North Carolina Board of Elections mailed out absentee ballots on Sept. 4, with a deadline of Oct. 20, and warned that ballots not received by Election Day will be discarded under a 2023 law change.
Why it matters
The settlement funds will finance clean-water initiatives, while new tenant protections and mail-in voting expand consumer rights and civic participation in North Carolina.
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