What you need to know as toxic coal tar removal in Columbia’s Congaree River finally begins
Columbia river enthusiasts may need to reroute their recreation plans this summer as work begins to remove 40,000 tons of toxic coal tar from a stretch of the Congaree River.
The work is expected the take three years but could take up to five. In the meantime, recreationists hoping to access the river may need to switch up their routines. But not necessarily by much.
“There will be varying impacts depending on what folks are trying to do,” said Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler. But the river will still be open to the public.
The most significant impact is the closure of the popular Senate Street boat launch downtown and a nearby parking lot. For at least the next three years, that area will be fenced off and closed to the public while Dominion Energy bases its cleanup efforts from the site.
The site is on private land owned by the Guignard family, but Stangler said it’s frequently used by anglers who cast from the riverbank.
People will still be able to launch kayaks or other vessels from access points upstream and downstream, Stangler added.
Crews will build coffer dams roughly 240-300 feet into the river from the Columbia banks. Anyone hoping to float or boat down the Congaree upstream from the Blossom Street bridge will have to navigate around the temporary structures. The first of those dams is expected to be finished this summer, said Dominion spokesperson Matt Long.
The Army Corps of Engineers has only permitted work in the river between May 1 and Oct. 31 to avoid affecting the spawning season for shortnose sturgeon. Crews may also need to pause work throughout the summer if heavy storms raise the water to an unsafe level, according to project documents.
Dominion will still be able to make progress on the project in the off-season but will have limited access to the riverbed. By the project’s completion, tentatively anticipated in 2025, about 70% of the coal tar would be removed. The remaining 30% is in deep areas where there’s a low chance for humans to come in contact with it and in areas already covered by sediment from the 2015 flood, according to the project overview.
Dump trucks full of the coal tar will also soon begin traveling up and down Senate Street to transport the toxic material.
It’s taken years to move the cleanup efforts forward. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers green-lit the project in February after years of back-and-forth with regulators, Dominion Energy and community members.
The coal tar drained into the river from a manufactured gas plant that operated on Huger Street between 1900 and 1950. The company burned coal to produce gas. Burning all of that coal created the tar-like byproduct, which drained into the Congaree.
In 2010, a kayaker stumbled into a clump of the toxic sludge and noticed a burning sensation on his legs. South Carolina’s public health agency later assessed the material and determined it created a public health threat. The tar hasn’t impacted water quality, but the material is toxic to human skin.
Dominion Energy, which purchased the former S.C. Electric & Gas Co. three years ago, is responsible for the cleanup because SCE&G owned the land where the former gas plant was located.
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 1:50 PM.
