WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — "I felt very violated," said Jackie Banton.
Banton lives in West Columbia. She says herbicides sprayed on her property have negatively affected her yard, pets and life.
"One of our dogs started throwing up, the other one has other issues, but they- two of the three were very sick," Banton said. "And they have since gotten better, but it was just because we had to keep them detained from going into that area of the yard."
She says crews hired by Dominion Energy are spraying these herbicides along with their routine clear-cutting around power lines.
"It's not just our street or our several blocks," Banton said.
"I noticed it because it was a greasy substance," said Cindy Moye. "I've got a dog I walk every day religiously. And that's when I first noticed it: about two, three days later, everything started curling."
Moye lives in the area, too. She says she's worried about the environmental effects of chemicals in their watershed.
"Is South Carolina willing to turn the other cheek and let them do their thing, or are they going to get environmentally conscious about this because everything runs to that river," Moye said.
They say they've tried to work with Dominion Energy, local municipalities, DHEC and others, hoping to stop the spraying next to or on their properties.
"If you kill all of the vegetation that's in a culvert that is going down to the river, then that speeds up the water because there's nothing there to slow it down," Banton said. "And then that speed of that water causes further erosion."
Dominion Energy shared a statement with WLTX about the area these residents live in.
Dominion says year-round safeguarding of overhead facilities is critical to ensure a safe and reliable electric system. In some areas, they say they use professional contractors to apply herbicides to certain vegetation within the right of way, but that herbicide is generally not applied to grass or maintained areas.