Proposed permit allows Lear Corp. to discharge high levels of PFAS into NE Cape Fear

This story has been updated with a statement from Lear, which responded after deadline.

Lear Corporation, a global textile manufacturer with a factory in Duplin County, has knowingly discharged high levels of toxic PFAS into the Northeast Cape Fear River for the past five years, yet state regulators have not required the company to rein in those releases.

Now Lear, which makes seating and interior trim for cars and trucks, has asked the state Department of Environmental Quality to renew its discharge permit, but the company initially omitted PFAS from the list of chemicals it releases. 

In a statement, Lear said it is working with DEQ on a permit renewal “that adheres strictly to state regulatory guidelines and standards governing the use and disposal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.”

There are no state guidelines and standards for PFAS in rivers, lakes and streams, although DEQ is proposing surface and groundwater rules for PFAS to the Environmental Management Commission for approval. However, that process is expected to take at least a year.

“We conduct rigorous monitoring of our wastewater discharge to ensure compliance with the NCDEQ regulatory requirements and have reformulated the majority of our products to eliminate the use of PFAS,” Lear’s statement continued. “We are working to transition our remaining products to a PFAS-free solution as soon as reasonably practical. We are committed to continuing to work with NCDEQ and to take appropriate environmental stewardship actions. Our highest priorities are the health and safety of people, local communities, and the environment.”

DEQ knows about Lear’s contaminated discharge because it required the company to monitor for PFAS over three months in late 2019. That requirement was part of a survey of industries known to discharge PFAS in their wastewater, including textile manufacturers, paper and pulp mills and metal plating facilities.

From October through December of that year, Lear discharged 25 types of PFAS, state records show. Cumulative concentrations ranged from 802 ppt to 1,864 ppt.

Total levels of PFOA and PFOS, two types of main concern, ranged from 39.5 parts per trillion to 59.6 ppt. 

These high concentrations weren’t outliers. Subsequent testing in 2020, 2021 and 2022 showed similar results, according to state records.

Although the EPA has not yet established legally enforceable standards for the compounds in wastewater discharge or surface water, the agency has issued a health advisory goal of 4 parts per trillion in drinking water for PFOA and PFOS. Those two compounds are among the most toxic, according to the EPA.

There are roughly 15,000 types of PFAS — short for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances. This family of compounds has been proven to harm human health, including increasing the risk of testicular, kidney, liver and pancreatic cancers, low birth weight, reproductive disorders, depressed immune responses and high cholesterol. 

PFAS are widespread in the environment, where they don’t degrade, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals.” Traditional wastewater and water treatment systems can’t remove them.

Lear submitted its original permit renewal application in November 2022. The next month, the EPA required companies to disclose the presence of PFAS in their wastewater discharge. States also have responsibilities: They can’t issue discharge permits “unless an owner/operator submits a complete application that would allow the permitting authority to reasonably assess the discharges of the facility,” the EPA guidance reads.

The state Division of Water Resources did flag the omission in its initial review of the permit application, spokesperson Laura Oleniacz said in an email, and subsequently sent Lear a series of questions about PFAS data and analysis. 

“The first disclosure was not sufficient, so DWR requested additional information, and received a response,” Oleniacz said. 

However, under the draft permit, now out for public comment, DEQ does not limit the amount of PFAS that Lear can discharge, but only requires the company to monitor for them and report the data.

Oleniacz said the Division of Water Resources is requesting that industry “take measures such as best management practices, material substitutions and other PFAS reduction strategies that can be implemented to reduce or eliminate PFAS discharges to state waters.”

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and environmental advocates say merely requesting that industry reduce its discharges is insufficient. Instead, the advocates argue that limits should be incorporated into the permit, similar to requirements for Chemours, another major discharger of PFAS.

PFAS are entering the Northeast Cape Fear River, the main branch of the Cape Fear River, a drinking water supply for hundreds of thousands of people that is highly contaminated with several types of PFAS. 

Testing by the advocacy group Cape Fear River Watch found that in September 2022, samples taken five miles downstream of Lear showed levels of PFOA and PFOS similar to those detected in Lear’s discharge. 

Overall, the types of PFAS detected in the samples mirrored those released by Lear. 

“Lear, like Chemours, discharges high concentrations of PFAS and is not authorized to do so,” the SELC wrote to DEQ. The law firm represents Cape Fear River Watch, based in Wilmington. “The Department cannot continue to focus its enforcement efforts on Chemours and treat other industries that discharge toxic pollution into our waterways with leniency.”