A farmer named Heath Hill in Eastover, South Carolina has been fighting with his neighbor for years. The farmer thinks the neighbor is trying to poison his well, his crops, and even the fish in the nearby river.
Mr. Hill has a right to worry. His neighbor is a South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) coal-fired power plant with leaky coal ash ponds. SGE&G wants to expand its coal ash storage on the site and increase discharges into the Wateree River a few miles upstream from the Congaree National Park.
What passes for environmental regulation in South Carolina
The legal battle between Heath Hill and SCE&G has been documented in detail by local reporter Sammy Fretwell in a series of articles (October 4, 2009; October 7, 2009; October 9, 2009; January 23, 2010). What Mr. Hill has been fighting is arsenic contamination from coal ash impoundments at the SCG&E site and the application of the utility to build a massive landfill for coal ash near the plant. Water samples taken from outside the containment pond have found arsenic levels ranging from 476 to 1900 parts per billion (ppb). These levels far exceed federal standards for arsenic levels in surface water and endanger drinking water drawn from nearby wells.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of arsenic contamination, the judge ruled in favor of SCE&G. The deciding factor was an agreement the utility had reached with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environment Control (DHEC) in 2001 in response to numerous complaints of arsenic contamination dating back to 1995.
Rather than fine SCE&G over the arsenic pollution, DHEC in 2001 signed an agreement allowing the power company to continue to exceed a federal safe drinking water limit for arsenic found in the mid-90s, records show. The federal limit is 10 parts per billion, but SCE&G can continue to allow ground water beneath the coal pond to reach 3,000 parts per billion, the agreement says. In return, SCE&G must work to limit the arsenic source.
The State, October 7, 2009
By the terms of that consent agreement, SCE&G was in compliance with the absurd standard for arsenic set by DHEC at 3,000 ppb. Because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not classified coal ash as hazardous waste, state agencies like DHEC have complete control over regulating coal ash. While lax regulation by states has been the norm for coal ash waste, the agreement between DHEC and SCE&G goes beyond the pale to shocking.
There is even some question of whether SCE&G has been able to stay within the 3000 ppb limit. In 2007, a sample from an impoundment area at the Wateree site showed arsenic levels at 4000 ppb.
After SCE&G officials learned about the 4,000 reading, they asked their consultant to take another sample. This time, the sample had an arsenic concentration of 242 parts per billion, still 24 times higher than the drinking water limit but below the 3,000 parts per billion limit in the company's mixing zone deal. SCE&G later dismissed the 4,000 parts per billion sample as a false reading.
Tony Bartleme, The Post and Courier, October 27, 2008
Whether the reading of 4000 ppb was an error or something the company took quick action to remedy by pumping out leachate or pumping in fresh water is uncertain.
The DHEC failure to regulate toxic contamination at the SCE&G plant site on the Wateree River is not an isolated problem. The agency has engaged in similar reckless endangerment in regulating the SCE&G Canadys plant on the Edisto River.
In 1974, SCE&G started dumping ash into a holding pond next to its plant along the Edisto River, and since 1982, scientists have found arsenic and nickel in groundwater, which eventually spread beyond SCE&G's land, according to an EPA report.
SCE&G asked DHEC for permission to create a mixing zone below the pond, and DHEC agreed. The power company then built a second ash pond, but arsenic from this new pond also made it into groundwater.
So SCE&G sought DHEC's approval to expand the original mixing zone to cover the new polluting pond, and DHEC once again gave a thumbs up, documents show.
Now, tests show arsenic and selenium in groundwater at the very edge of this larger mixing zone. Some areas are just short walk from the Edisto and have arsenic levels four times the federal drinking water limit.
The "mixing zone" approach applied to the SCE&G Canadys plant failed to contain contamination. SCE&G abused mixing zone variance to expand waste storage rather than stop or drastically slow the flow of contaminated waste (as required by DHEC and EPA standards). Despite the failure of expanded storage with ever larger mixing pools to contain arsenic and other heavy metals at the Canadys plant, DHEC approved the same basic approach at the Wateree River plant with much the same results. Heath Hill sued to stop DHEC from granting SCE&G permits to further expand coal ash storage at the Wateree plant and discharge more contaminated water into the river. The people of South Carolina lost.
Significant arsenic contamination has also been found at least four other coal ash sites under the "watchful" eye of the DHEC.
--Near Moncks Corner, in the quiet Whitesville community, arsenic-laced water from a coal ash landfill is leaking into a nearby pond.
--On the Savannah River, SCE&G's Urquhart plant has groundwater tainted with arsenic eight times above the federal standard.
-- Arsenic levels at Santee Cooper's Grainger coal plant in Conway measured more than 900 parts per billion, 90 times higher than the federal drinking water limit.
--Significant contamination also has been found in coal ash ponds at the Santee Cooper Savannah River Site.
Tony Bartleme, The Post and Courier, October 26, 2008
With so many contaminated sites, some with obscene levels of arsenic in the groundwater, the DHEC has never fined violators. When it comes to coal ash regulation, the DHEC prefers to lower standards to keep polluters in compliance.
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A little context on arsenic
The toxicity of arsenic is well established and it is a known carcinogen. For the state agency entrusted to protect the health and environment of the people of South Carolina, the DHEC decision to allow groundwater contamination with dangerous levels of arsenic is incomprehensible.
After extensive sampling studies and discussion with states, the EPA announced the decision to lower the acceptable limit of arsenic in drinking water from 50 to 10 ppb on January 22, 2001, with the rule going into effect on January 23, 2006. Lowering exposure was necessary because of evidence that prolonged consumption of water with 50 ppb of arsenic results in a lifetime risk for cancer of 1 case per 100 exposed. Skin, lung, and bladder cancer rates have been found to exceed 15% in areas of Taiwan, Chile, and Argentina with arsenic in groundwater wells greater than 150 ppb (range: 50 to 2000 ppb in samples). In these cases arsenic in the groundwater was primarily due to naturally occurring concentrations in the rock sediment. More recently, mining activities have been linked to arsenic contamination in drinking water.
Also mining activities have been found to contribute to arsenic contamination in Latin American groundwater (Smedley and Kinniburgh, 2002). Mining activities may cause the oxidation of sulphide minerals resulting in the release of arsenic into groundwater. Smedley and Kinniburgh (2002) listed cases of arsenic contamination caused by mining activities in Canada, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, UK, USA and Zimbabwe. In the past years, more and more countries have found their waters to be affected by arsenic contamination due to mining wastes, e.g., Poland, Korea and Brazil (Marszałek and Wasik, 2000; Woo and Choi, 2001; Borba et al., 2003). More recently, groundwater in Burkino Faso was measured to be contaminated by arsenic, up to 1630 ppb, caused by mining activities (Smedley et al.,2007). Furthermore, Gunduz et al. (2009) reported elevated arsenic levels (max. 561.5 ppb) due to mining and geothermal influenced groundwater in Turkey.
van Halem et al. 2009 (pdf)
Cancers typically are discovered 10-20 years after prolonged exposure to high levels of arsenic in drinking water. The mechanisms responsible for cancer formation are still actively under study, although hedgehogs are prime suspects. In particular, the "hedgehog" signaling pathways that control the development of stem cells. Arsenic is thought to pathologically activate these signaling pathways to cause stem cells to develop into basal cancer cells. Researchers at Dartmouth have just published a study illuminating how arsenic exposure affects hedgehog signaling pathways to promote cancer formation. So when you think about arsenic contamination from coal ash dumps, think hedgehogs. Not cute little hedgehogs like this.
Think arsenic-poisoned aggressive hedgehogs that can turn unsuspecting stem cells into cancer.
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Look away EPA
The battle between Heath Hill and his toxic SCE&G neighbor reveal the shortcomings in the regulation of coal combustion waste (CCW) by state environmental agencies. Sweetheart deals between utility companies and state regulators would not be possible if coal ash were classified as a hazardous waste. Although the EPA appears ready to tighten regulations regarding coal ash, the industry and state agencies are strongly opposing any change from the status quo. Not surprisingly, the South Carolina DHEC has formally written to the EPA to oppose classification of coal ash as a hazardous waste. Here is a portion of their letter to the EPA.
We believe that classifying CCW as a hazardous waste would create unnecessary barriers to the current management options for CCW without producing any greater degree of environmental or public health protection. The Department's experience with CCW is that this material is not typically hazardous in nature, and would not qualify as characteristically hazardous under RCRA Subtitle C.
DHEC letter to the EPA
After allowing SCE&G to pollute groundwater around its coal ash impoundments on the Wateree River with arsenic levels up to 3000 ppb, the DHEC is not an organization that should be taken seriously on environmental protection. They should be held up as the poster child for failure and subjected to ridicule.
South Carolina Congressional ash-holes opposing EPA classification of coal ash as a hazardous waste include Sen. Lindsey Graham-R; Reps. J. Gresham Barrett-R, Henry Brown-R, Joe Wilson-R.
Heath Hill probably cannot count on the support of Eastover's mayor in his ongoing battles with SCE&G. One of the stories about this case noted the following.
Two messages left for Eastover Mayor Leroy Faber, who works on contract for SCE&G parent company the SCANA Corp., were unreturned.
The Free Times
For more information on toxic contamination associated with coal ash, a copy of the 2007 EPA report can be found here, and a 2010 study of contamination at 31 coal ash impoundment sites by the organizations Earth Integrity Project and Earth Justice can be found here.
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Take Action: What you can do to help
At the moment, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is holding up the release of new regulations. The OMB and EPA are being barraged with pleas from the coal industry, utilities, business groups, state regulatory agencies, and politicians opposing classification of coal ash waste as a hazardous material. It would be extremely helpful if you would take a moment to drop a line to the OMB and EPA to encourage them to move forward with regulation of coal combustion waste as a hazardous material. Remind them that the patchwork of state regulatory agencies has failed to protect the public against spills and contamination, there is overwhelming evidence of heavy metal toxic contamination in water on or near containment sites, and secondary uses need to be tightly regulated using a national standard to prevent contamination of water resources.
Use this form from the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) to provide feedback to the OMB: NRDC form
You can also submit comments to the EPA: EPA contact form for Coal Combustion Waste regulation
Thank you!!