Shipping terminal faces opposition to expansion plans

At the Cooper River Marina in North Charleston, sailboat owners say that one side of their masts are white and other side dirty gray.

The cleaner half faces north, toward the old Navy base. The dirtier side faces south, toward the Kinder Morgan Energy Partners' shipping terminal, which off-loads more than 2.5 million tons of coal and other so-called dry-bulk commodities each year.

While the bulk of the coal is hauled away by trains to power plants throughout the Southeast, some of the tiniest particles are carried by wind to the marina, where they land on the more than 150 boats that dock there.

"It is so excessive that it grinds into the top layer of the fiberglass," said George Heinemann, a Summerville resident who keeps his boat in the marina. "The docks are filthy. Even if your boat is clean and your shoe is wet when you step on the boat, you can see a shoe imprint."

Heinemann said the amount of dust has decreased since he moved his boat to the marina three years ago, but he's worried that the drifts could get worse, given the big plans Kinder Morgan has for its terminal.

The company is planning to expand the 208-acre facility to keep up with soaring demand for imported coal. The changes would allow it to quadruple the amount of materials — to 10 million tons — that passes through the Milford Street property each year.

The proposed expansion would make the terminal one of the largest of its kind on the East Coast.

But the project is stirring community concerns.

Neighbors, such as Heinemann, worry that the influx of more coal would cause more dust particles to drift onto the marina and nearby residences. They're also concerned about health issues and the increased train traffic, which would almost triple and lead to more temporary public road blockages.

Ken Bonerigo, who lives on his 30-foot sailboat at the Cooper River Marina, said the coal dust burns his eyes.

Now, Bonerigo, Heinemann and others are taking their case to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, which is expected to make a decision on two key permit requests during the next few months.

"If permit goes through and they get it, it's just going to be a nightmare," Heinemann said.

Coal porter

Kinder Morgan, a Houston-based energy giant, owns or operates 26,000 miles of petroleum pipelines and 150 private shipping terminals. It purchased the Cooper River facility in 1998 and named it Shipyard River Terminal after the adjacent Shipyard Creek. In addition to coal, the facility also handles large amounts of cement, petroleum coke, salt, fertilizer and liquids.

The projected increase in coal shipments is raising the most concerns. The local operation moves the raw, black chunks onto trains, which in turn transport the fuel to power plants in the Carolinas and Georgia. Customers include South Carolina Electric & Gas and Santee Cooper.

With orders growing at a rapid pace, Kinder Morgan announced plans in 2005 to spend tens of millions of dollars to renovate and expand Shipyard Terminal.

"We're trying to meet the demands of this area," said Dean McInnis, director of the business development for the company.

The demand for imported coal marks a shift within the power industry. With coal sources slowly drying up in the Appalachian basin, energy companies have turned their attention to international suppliers in places such as Colombia, Venezuela and Indonesia, McInnis said.

International coal is cheaper and is needed to help satisfy the growing hunger for power, said Michael Cumming, an analyst with Chicago-based Morningstar Inc.

"Worldwide there's a boom in demand for power, so there are more power plants being built worldwide, and they're in need of fuel stock," he said.

The plans for the Cooper River site include building another bulk-cargo terminal and moving the coal pile farther inland.

The company has applied for several DHEC permits through the agency's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and the Bureau of Air Quality.

The applications have sparked dozens of letters from groups and residents who are calling on the agency to block the expansion. A public meeting at DHEC's North Charleston offices Tuesday at times turned into a heated confrontation between Kinder Morgan officials and nearby residents.

Some groups and individuals said they are worried most about the effects on air quality, and not just as a result of Kinder Morgan's plans. They also have concerns about the extra air emissions that would be generated by a $600 million shipping terminal that the State Ports Authority wants to build nearby on the south end of the old Navy base.

As for coal dust, researchers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classify it as a pollutant called "particulate matter." They are still testing the effects on the respiratory system and for more serious implications such as premature births, according to the EPA's Web site.

Kinder Morgan officials said that the type of imported coal the expanded facility would handle contains less sulfur and more moisture, making it less prone to drifting.

Train delays

The impact on traffic is another top concern.

Freight trains entering and exiting the Kinder Morgan facility must cross public roads, including upper Meeting Street. Right now, that forces traffic to stop about twice a day, officials said.

If the expansion goes through, that would bring traffic to a standstill five times a day on average for about eight minutes each time, according to the permit application.

On another front, opponents are pointing to past environmental infractions. In 2002, for instance, DHEC fined Kinder Morgan $32,400 for air and water quality violations.

Also, some boat owners said at last week's public meeting they have witnessed instances when company crane operators don't use the water spray systems designed to settle the coal dust. Others said the operators don't lower the coal spouts all the way into the chute before they dump their loads.

"I don't think there's any way that DHEC can deny that there's a problem," said Wade Mullins, an attorney for the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, which operates the marina.

Company officials defended the facility's environmental stewardship.

At the meeting, they cited the results of a December test that showed the terminal was operating within acceptable limits. The test measured the highest respiratory dust concentration at 0.24 milligrams per cubic meter. Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards allow for 10 times that amount.

Neighbors were skeptical because the study was not done independently.

McInnis said that results show that the terminal is in compliance and that Kinder Morgan deserves an opportunity to expand its business in Charleston.

"I am sympathetic to their issues," he said of the project's opponents. "But when we're meeting and exceeding ... requirements, what else can you do?"

DHEC air officials said they hope to make a final decision on the permit within two months. Their decision won't take into consideration the proposed SPA expansion, and they also take traffic concerns into account. OCRM officials hope to make a decision on its permit request from Kinder Morgan within the month, said Bill Eiser, project manager.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.