Watchdog update: More contamination found at SCE&G Wateree coal plant

Consultants have found new evidence that arsenic is seeping from SCE&G's coal ash pond along the Wateree River, not far from Congaree National Park.

The State newspaper reported Sunday that consultants had found arsenic-tainted runoff from streams coming off the ash pond, which is next to SCE&G's Wateree coal plant.

The revelations come as the state Department of Health and Environmental Control mulls over SCE&G's application to build a larger ash dump at the facility.

Tests for a farmer who owns property near the plant, Heath Hill, and SCE&G showed arsenic contamination five times the state limit, The State reported.

Last year, the Watchdog series "Toxic Ash" documented how consultants have found arsenic in groundwater a few steps from the Wateree River hundreds of times higher than federal pollution limits.

State regulators have known about the problem for years. In 2001, SCE&G acknowledged that it had violated the state Pollution Control Act and other clean water regulations by discharging arsenic into the environment without a permit.

In response, DHEC allowed SCE&G to create a "mixing zone" where the utility would be allowed to pollute groundwater at levels much higher than federal limits, as long as it didn't "impact the Wateree River," according to the agreement.

Contamination is often measured in the parts per billion, reflecting the toxic nature of arsenic, mercury and other contaminants. The federal drinking water limit for arsenic is 10 parts per billion.

But in its mixing zone deal for the Wateree plant, DHEC set the arsenic contamination bar much higher - 3,000 parts per billion in some wells, or 300 times higher than the federal limit.

Neither SCE&G nor DHEC have calculated how much arsenic is getting into the river, citing the technical challenges of pinpointing arsenic in the groundwater and how it might interact with the river.

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