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North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality has issued a permit for a water treatment system at the Chemours Fayetteville Works site to remove so-called forever chemicals from a contaminated stream.

The department said in a press release on Friday that the stream flows into the Cape Fear River.

The system is required to remove at least 99% of PFAS from the stream and be operational by September 30.

PFAS are used to make many consumer and industrial products. They’re known as “forever chemicals” because they are slow to break down. Researchers say they’re a threat to human health.

“The treatment system will immediately reduce the amount of PFAS contamination reaching downstream communities,” Assistant Secretary for the Environment Sheila Holman said in a news release.

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