Pact would clean up toxic Stoller site

Three companies would pay the state $5.4 million toward the cleanup of the defunct Stoller fertilizer plant near Ravenel, one of the state's worst toxic waste sites, according to a proposed agreement.

For more than a decade, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control has been negotiating with companies thought to be responsible for the Stoller mess.

Stoller made fertilizer in a factory off U.S. Highway 17 until it was caught in 1992 selling fertilizer laced with lead and other toxic chemicals to Bangladesh and Australia.

The company later declared bankruptcy and three South Carolina businessmen and their companies pleaded guilty to illegally shipping hazardous waste.

Groundwater around the factory is contaminated with cadmium and other pollutants, which are slowly moving toward Caw Caw Swamp.

So far, DHEC has spent about $15 million to clean the site, said Lucas Berresford, a DHEC project manager.

Among other efforts, the agency installed equipment that pumps out contaminated groundwater, removes the chemicals and injects cleaner water back into the ground.

Workers also placed thousands of tons of contaminated soil and fertilizer in a clay-lined vault on the site.

This has reduced contamination levels in the worst hot spots, Berresford said. But to scrub the rest of the pollutants, DHEC needed to expand and upgrade its equipment.

In 2002, a group of companies agreed to shell out $7 million to help pay for the cleanup, but then questioned DHEC's groundwater pumping strategy, court documents show.

Last year, the agency decided to try a different and less expensive approach that uses bacteria to decontaminate groundwater.

Instead of pumping and treating water, the agency would dig a trench and place manure, hay, wood chips and other materials into it. This stimulates the natural growth of bacteria that break down the contaminates, said Gary Stewart, a DHEC remediation manager.

Because it's less expensive than pumping groundwater, DHEC and the companies renegotiated the terms of the 2002 cleanup deal, leading to the new $5.4 million settlement.

Berresford said using the bacteria will cut cleanup costs in half. He said it should take about 15 years for the bacteria to clean most of the groundwater near the plant.

Companies involved in the settlement include Trunox, Alcatel-Lucent Technologies and CP Chemicals. In brief statements, representatives from Trunox and Alcatel-Lucent confirmed they were part of the settlement and that they were committed to protecting the environment.

The companies and DHEC have signed off on the deal, but the public also has an opportunity to submit comments to DHEC before it's submitted to a judge, Stewart said. Comments are being accepted until Jan. 31.

Reach Tony Bartelme at 937-5554 or tbartelme@postand courier.com.