Groups Seek to Stop Sewer Utility’s Pollution of Saluda River in Court

CHARLESTON, S.C. — On behalf of Congaree Riverkeeper, the Southern Environmental Law Center today filed suit in federal court to stop unlawful sewage discharges into the Saluda River near Columbia, S.C.  The complaint is directed at the Carolina Water Service I-20 facility, which has repeatedly exceeded pollution limits and failed to tie into a nearby modern regional treatment system that was built over a decade ago.
“State and local officials have been saying this pollution needs to stop for years, but the sewage discharges have gone on as more and more families swim and fish in the Saluda” said Blan Holman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “It’s long past time this facility hooked into the cleaner regional treatment system, as it’s been required to do since 1999.”
Local government agencies have repeatedly called for the elimination of all sewage wastewater discharges into the Saluda River – including illegal discharges from Carolina Water Service’s I-20 facility – to protect the health of the river and those who use it.  A designated scenic river, the Lower Saluda is a recreational hotspot for the region, popular with swimmers for its cool water, fishermen for its trout, and paddlers for its whitewater rapids.
“All the folks who enjoy the Saluda River want it free from sewage and other pollutants,” said Bill Stangler, the Congaree Riverkeeper.  “Stopping the illegal discharge and connecting to the regional system is 15 years past due.”
In the late 1990s, regional local governments adopted a plan to phase out discharges from older, smaller treatment plants like Carolina Water Service’s I-20 facility, and required tie-in to the Town of Lexington’s sewer collection system that connects to the City of Cayce’s modern treatment plant which became operational in 1999.  Yet, the I-20 facility is still discharging into the Saluda and in the past five years has exceeded its permit limits – including those for fecal coliform bacteria and biochemical oxygen demand – at least twenty-three times, with violations continuing into 2014. 
Fecal coliform is an indicator of pathogenic microorganisms that can make contact recreation like swimming, wading, or paddling a potential health risk.  Increased biochemical oxygen demand can reduce oxygen levels in the river, posing hazards for a wide variety of animal life, including the Saluda’s prized trout population.  Carolina Water Service’s discharge also produces a visible sheen and foam, which is prohibited under the company’s permit.
While state officials at the Department of Health and Environmental Control have periodically sent warning letters to Carolina Water Service, the agency has not followed through with enforcement action to remedy the pattern of violations occurring at the I-20 facility and protect the Saluda River.
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About the Southern Environmental Law Center
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of almost 60 legal and policy experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
www.SouthernEnvironment.org

About Congaree Riverkeeper:
Congaree Riverkeeper is a nonprofit organization working to protect and improve water quality, wildlife habitat, and recreation on the Congaree, Lower Saluda and Lower Broad Rivers through advocacy, education and enforcement of environmental laws.  Congaree Riverkeeper is an affiliate of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a global movement of on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect rivers and coasts all over the world.
www.congareeriverkeeper.org