Utility fights order to pull sewage pipe from Saluda River

COLUMBIA, SC A utility under pressure to pull a sewage pipe from the Saluda River has challenged a state decision that would shut down the company’s Interstate 20 wastewater plant and force it to tie in with a regional treatment system.

Carolina Water Service appealed a decision by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to deny a new discharge permit for the I-20 plant.

Meanwhile, the town of Lexington, frustrated by what it says is the private utility’s failure to pull the pipe from the river, threatened to condemn the I-20 plant and take control of the company’s facilities.

This week’s developments are the latest in a lengthy fight pitting Carolina Water Service against the town, environmentalists and state lawmakers. Many want the I-20 plant closed to prevent further discharges to the lower Saluda, a state designated scenic waterway.

Wastewater discharged from the I-20 plant is supposed to be treated to remove pollution. But the company has at times failed to meet pollution discharge limits.

The company says it’s willing to tie into the Lexington system, but the two sides can’t agree on a price. Each side blames the other for the impasse.

Carolina Water’s legal challenge asks the state Department of Health and Environmental Control board to overturn a DHEC staff decision denying the I-20 discharge permit. The company, which says Lexington is not operating in good faith, said in its appeal DHEC isn’t being fair with the company and has denied “due process.’’

“Taking this matter before the DHEC board for a review is necessary to protect CWS,’’ a company news release said.

Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler, whose organization has sued to stop the discharges, said he’s not surprised Carolina Water appealed DHEC’s decision.

“It looks like another example of them trying to drag this out,’’ said Stangler, whose organization keeps track of issues on both the Congaree and the Saluda.

The DHEC board, or a designated board committee, could hear the appeal in September or October, agency spokeswoman Jennifer Read said. The board committee would first have to decide whether to hear the Carolina Water appeal.

Records show Carolina Water Service, part of a corporation with a history of environmental compliance problems in South Carolina, has had an array of discharge violations at the I-20 plant through the years. Carolina Water has been under state orders to tie in with a regional sewage system as soon as one became available. That occurred in 1999.

Getting rid of the Carolina Water sewage discharge is part of a broader issue of removing all wastewater pipes from the lower Saluda. The river, known for its unusual trout fishery and whitewater rapids, has about a half dozen wastewater plants that discharge directly to the river or its tributaries.

Plans have been on the table for at least 25 years to move discharges out of the lower Saluda and into the larger Congaree River. But progress has stalled for a variety of reasons.

The effort was renewed recently, however, in the wake of sewage discharges that resulted in no-swimming advisories at Saluda Shoals Park this summer. That problem was blamed on another Carolina Water Service plant, at Friarsgate in Irmo, which exceeded discharge limits.

A lower Saluda River advisory council met with DHEC, Stangler and others this week at Riverbanks Zoo to discuss restarting the no-discharge effort, Stangler said.

“It was the beginning of a process,’’ he said. “I think a lot of people left the room feeling good about the direction we are headed in.’’

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 7:29 AM.