Court Weighs Scope of ‘Irreparable Harm’ in PFAS Permit Suit

ByPFAS Primer Team

The Southern District of West Virginia is weighing whether ongoing violations of water-quality-based permit limits for PFAS discharge—specifically hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA)—are sufficient to warrant a preliminary injunction against The Chemours Company. In briefs filed after a May injunction hearing, the West Virginia Rivers Coalition argued Chemours’s allegedly continuing permit violations constitute irreparable harm to the Ohio River and downstream drinking-water sources. Chemours conceded exceeding discharge limits but argued that the plaintiffs must show personal, not just environmental, harm. In a May 27, 2025 order, the court asked the parties to brief whether incremental harm to human health qualifies as irreparable harm for injunctive relief and Article III standing.

May 30, 2025 | West Virginia Rivers Coalition Inc. v. The Chemours Company, No. 2:24-cv-00701 (S.D. W. Va.).

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