{"id":485,"date":"2026-06-17T21:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=485"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:05:53","slug":"groups-sue-robeson-county-over-pfas-in-county-drinking-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=485","title":{"rendered":"Groups sue Robeson County over PFAS in county drinking water"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit against Robeson County to stop a landfill from contaminating drinking water with pollutants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Robeson County Landfill is infiltrating the county\u2019s public water system with PFAS, or forever chemicals, according to the <\/span> filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has allowed the landfill to expand over the years, so it now takes up 537 acres near the town of St. Pauls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Across the street from the landfill, the Rocco Water Treatment Plant sources its water exclusively from four groundwater wells \u2014 all of which are located within 4,500 feet of the landfill, the lawsuit reads.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 67,000 people across the county rely on the water system.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of St. Pauls Community Association for Progress, a grassroots organization based in Robeson County, for endangering the health and wellbeing of community members.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe county\u2019s decision not to address this problem \u2014\u00a0which they have known about for years \u2014 risks residents\u2019 health and safety and leaves us no choice but to take it to court,\u201d SELC senior attorney Jamie Whitlock said in a statement. \u201cPeople in Robeson County deserve to have safe, clean water when they turn on their taps.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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EPA \u2018strategy\u2019 proposes to strike enforceable PFAS standards<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n