Set limits to protect Wateree
The Wateree River flows 75 miles through the heartland of South Carolina. It moves canoes through the lush Congaree National Park -- and it soon could move an unrestricted amount of arsenic from the South Carolina Electric & Gas power plant upstream.
Wateree River at Highway 1 Bridge
DHEC has plans to remove limits from the poisonous material that leaves the Wateree power facility and its coal waste ponds. The power company requested the free pass.
A monitoring well next to the river has found groundwater contaminated with arsenic 300 times above the federal drinking water limit, state inspection records show.
DHEC has said that in-stream measurements (taken after the contaminants have been diffused) are much lower and no danger to people. But some elements, like arsenic, can remain in fish or other organisms for a long time without dissipating.
To read the remainder of the article on the Post and Courier website, go to: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/mar/15/set-limits-to-protect-wateree/
To review the proposed permit and get information about commenting on the proposed permit, click here.
