DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed adding a Darlington County location -- along with 12 others across the United States -- to its Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) due to contamination at the site.
Officials are asking for public input into the decision to include the Galey and Lord Plant site in Society Hill before making a final decision about adding the site to the NPL. Currently, there are 27 Superfund NPL sites in South Carolina -- including South Carolina Recycling and Disposal (SCRDI) sites in Columbia (Bluff Road) and Cayce (Dixiana), Townsend Saw Chain Co. in Pontiac, Palmetto Wood Preserving in Dixiana, and Lexington County Landfill area in Cayce.
The 234-acre site in Society Hill is a former textile mill and finishing facility adjacent to Cedar Creek and the Great Pee Dee River. The plant was abandoned in 2016 after 50 years of operation. According to EPA documents, the site contains two main plant buildings, a boiler house, coal silos, a coal pile/storage area, a coal runoff pond, landfills. a suspected spray field, a chromic acid pit, tank farms, and a wastewater treatment plant.
The EPA's main environmental concerns are exposure to contaminated surface water and sediments in or near Cedar Creek and the Great Pee Dee River, as the area is home to a fishery, wetlands, recreational areas and is a critical habitat for endangered species. The consumption of fish or accidental ingestion of water in the area poses a potential threat to human health.
Residents wanting to weigh in on the EPA's decision to make the Society Hill plant a Superfund Site may do so in several ways:
- Online at www.regulations.gov. In the search bar, type in the docket number for the Galey and Lord Plant site: EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0464.
- Contact EPA Region 4’s Community Involvement Coordinator, Kyle Bryant (404-562-9073; bryant.kyle@epa.gov) to have a copy electronically mailed to you.
- For technical questions regarding the listing of the site contact EPA Region 4’s NPL Coordinator, Sandra Bramble (404-562-8926; bramble.sandra@epa.gov).
- Visit the local information repository to view the materials online. The information repository is located at the Public Library, 1050 Fairfield Avenue in Society Hill, SC.
- The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed listing of the Galey and Lord Plant site to the NPL. Submit your comments from September 9 to November 8, 2021, at www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. All comments MUST include the docket number EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0464. Comments can also be mailed to: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; EPA Superfund Docket Center; Mail Code 28221T; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; Washington, DC 20460.
