"Chemours made the motion to seal documents as part of its lawsuit with local water utilities and governments in the federal District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, including the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA), Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority, Brunswick County, and the Town of Wrightsville Beach. U.S. District Court Judge James C. Dever III released a decision Wednesday denying the motion to seal, stating that the public's First Amendment's right of access applies to the documents."
""This is one win in a long battle for our community to live free from harmful contamination of our air and water," said LeRon T. Montgomery, President of the NAACP New Hanover County Branch. "The importance of this decision goes far beyond who it will impact today. The pollution of the Cape Fear River will impact generations to come, but so will having access to this information.""
A federal judge blocked Chemours and DuPont from sealing documents related to releases of harmful substances into the Cape Fear River. Chemours filed the motion to seal as part of litigation with local water utilities and governments, including the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA), Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority, Brunswick County, and the Town of Wrightsville Beach. U.S. District Court Judge James C. Dever III denied the motion, invoking the public's First Amendment right of access. Multiple parties, including the NAACP New Hanover County Branch represented by SCSJ, opposed the sealing attempt; their interventions were rendered moot by the denial. The litigation centers on PFAS releases from a Bladen County facility affecting drinking water supplies for Wilmington and New Hanover County, and prior litigation produced a court-enforceable order and state-led well testing.
Read at SCSJ
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