More than a month after the Fayetteville Public Works Commission reported that $60 million in federal funding for a PFAS filtration system was under review, the money remains in limbo.
The project is intended to remove harmful “forever chemicals” from the city’s drinking water and help the utility meet new federal safety standards. It was scheduled for completion in 2028, but the ongoing freeze has raised concerns about who will cover the cost if federal support falls through.
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“These funds are needed to construct the granular activated carbon filtration system that we’re working on,” said Chris Davis, chair of the PWC Board, during a recent Fayetteville City Council meeting. “If the federal funding support goes away, it's apparent that PWC’s only option is to look at rates.”
The utility has already approved a nearly 11% rate increase over the next two years, starting with a 5.5% hike on May 1. Another 5.4% increase is scheduled for 2026. Additional hikes are possible if the funding is not restored.
The funding was originally awarded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and includes a low-interest loan with partial principal forgiveness from the North Carolina Division of Water Infrastructure. PWC officials say they are continuing to appeal to lawmakers for support.
“The frozen funds are not impacting PWC operations,” said Tim Bryant, CEO of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, in a statement to WRAL News. “The funds, or lack thereof, will have a direct impact on future rates as costs not offset by federal and/or state funding must be borne by ratepayers.”
The funding freeze follows Executive Order 14154, issued in March by President Donald Trump. The order pauses disbursement of funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act while agencies review whether the programs align with the administration’s energy and economic policy goals.
According to testing data published in the Environmental Working Group’s national PFAS database, Fayetteville’s drinking water contains levels of PFOA that are more than twice the new federal limit, and levels of PFOS that are more than five times higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency now considers safe.
Those standards, finalized in 2024, are not yet in effect, but utilities will be required to comply within the next few years. Most systems are expected to meet the new limits by 2029.
“These are a class of compounds that persist,” said Dr. Ralph Mead, a PFAS researcher at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. “They don’t break down. They build up in your body over time. And the ones we know the most about, there are known health effects.”
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals used in products like nonstick cookware, fast food wrappers and waterproof clothing. They have been linked to cancer, liver damage, immune system harm and developmental issues.
Fayetteville is one of several communities in North Carolina dealing with high levels of PFAS contamination, partly due to discharges from the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant into the Cape Fear River.
“This is absolutely an environmental justice issue,” said Jean Zhuang, a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “The burden of removing these pollutants shouldn’t be put on people who have already suffered from drinking contaminated water for years. It should be on the industries upstream that caused the contamination.”
Zhuang also raised concerns about the legality of the executive order that halted the funds, warning that the delay could jeopardize public health and put utilities at risk of noncompliance with federal drinking water laws.
Other PWC projects are also affected by the freeze, including a $22.7 million Department of Energy grant to improve grid resilience, a $1.3 million award for electric system cybersecurity upgrades and $2.5 million for identifying and replacing lead service lines.
While PWC officials say current operations have not been impacted, the long-term consequences of the funding freeze remain uncertain.