SCE & G Settles With Environmental Group

In a joint press release, South Carolina Electric & Gas and the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation announced a settlement that guarantees the removal of the coal ash currently stored at SCE & G’s Wateree Station in Eastover.

The settlement was brought by the Southern Environmental Law Center and is an addition to the process and timetables established in an October 2011 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between SCE&G and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

A binding agreement in the settlement accelerates the commitment SCE&G made in the MOA for the complete removal of coal ash by Dec, 31, 2020.

240,000 tons of coal ash will be removed from the wet storage facility at Wateree Station in the first three. The station is located approximately one mile from the Wateree River (see map) and a short distance from Congaree National Park.

“This settlement is a great example of how industry, stakeholders and government agencies can work together to produce a proactive plan that is in the best interest of all,” said Jim Landreth, vice president for SCE&G Fossil and Hydro Operations. “From our voluntary agreement with DHEC a year ago to our affirmation of that agreement in our settlement with the Catawba Riverkeeper today, SCE&G continues to demonstrate its commitment to efficiently and effectively decommission wet ash storage facilities at all of our coal-fired stations.”
 

Frank Holleman, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center explained: “This is an historic agreement. SCE&G has bound itself to remove its coal ash from the impoundments near the Wateree River, has accelerated its schedule for removal, and has committed itself to improved handling and storage of coal ash.”
 

Rick Gaskins, of the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, stated: “This agreement and SCE&G’s commitments are a major step forward for the protection of the Catawba-Wateree Basin. Coal ash will be removed from unlined impoundments near the banks of the River and the ash pond will be closed. SCE&G’s binding commitments are in the best interests of the Wateree, the Congaree National Park, and SCE&G.”
 

For more on the Wateree Station facility click here.

For more on Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation click here.

For more on the Southern Environmental Law Center click here.