Attorney General Jeff Jackson Secures Injunction to Stop Water Contamination at Brenntag Facility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 4, 2026
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RALEIGH- Brenntag Mid-South has agreed to a preliminary injunction with Attorney General Jeff Jackson's office to take immediate steps to stop discharging contaminated water from its Durham facility and pay for warning signs along Third Fork Creek.

The injunction is enforceable by the court and takes effect as soon as it is entered. The Attorney General's Office and the Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) will closely monitor implementation of the court order to ensure the violations at the site are fully addressed.

In June, Attorney General Jackson took legal action on behalf of NCDEQ to stop Brenntag from continuing to illegally discharge contaminants into North Carolina waters and to require the company to clean up the damage it's caused. The lawsuit alleges that the company violated the state's water quality laws and endangered a tributary of Third Fork Creek, which ultimately flows into Jordan Lake.

"We now have a court order to stop the contamination of this water in Durham, and we're going to make sure it is followed to the letter," said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. "I appreciate that Brenntag came to the table to work with us, and I'm grateful for the city of Durham's years-long work on this issue."

"Protecting the health of our community and the integrity of Durham's waterways is one of our top priorities," said City of Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams. "City staff have been diligently working for several years to address contamination linked to the Brenntag site, and we will continue taking action to safeguard our waterways. We appreciate the strong collaboration with NCDEQ and Attorney General Jeff Jackson's office in moving this work forward, and we expect every company operating in Durham to meet environmental standards. Third Fork Creek and our surrounding watershed deserve careful stewardship, and we will remain closely engaged throughout this process to ensure the necessary protections are in place and that remediation progresses responsibly."

Brenntag has agreed to the terms of the injunction and will:

• Submit a site assessment report to NCDEQ's Division of Water Resources (DWR). The report must identify the source of the contamination, estimate how much is being discharged, and evaluate the risk the contamination poses to the environment and human health.

• Submit to DWR a plan to stop surface water discharges from its Durham facility.

• Continue implementing a surface water monitoring plan approved by DWR.

• Coordinate with the City of Durham to replace the temporary construction fencing along Third Fork Creek and maintain and replace that fencing as needed.

• Reimburse the City of Durham for the cost of signs warning the public against wading, swimming, or fishing in the affected areas of Third Fork Creek.

Brenntag's Durham facility stores wet and dry chemicals, including petroleum-based lubricants, solvents, acids, and bases. In April 2025, NCDEQ received an anonymous complaint about chemical leaks, chemical dumping, and poor housekeeping at the site. NCDEQ visited the site and found Brenntag was storing chemicals in drums and tanks, some of which were leaking or otherwise compromised. The Department also found evidence that contaminated groundwater was building up in areas around the site and that contaminants were flowing into the unnamed tributary. Water samples from the facility and downstream confirmed the company was violating surface water standards.

NCDEQ gave Brenntag notice of the violations and required the company to immediately identify the source of the contamination and stop further discharges. Brenntag did not meet the deadlines to do so, and a follow-up inspection found that it was still violating water quality standards.

The state's lawsuit asked the court to require Brenntag to submit a plan to eliminate surface water discharge and clean up past contamination within 30 days.

A copy of the preliminary injunction is available here.

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