Photo: IndependentMail.com United States, areas heavily polluted by the industries that need to be rehabilitated and are baptized " Superfund Site "and thus receive funding and legal support from the federal to restore the premises. Here is the story of two dams that were demolished and a stream that contains the natural after such cleaning, South Carolina.
The demolition of the dam at Cateechee.
J. G. Ross Anderson Jr., U.S. District Judge advance in his wheelchair to see better work on the dam that blocked the road from Twelve Mile Creek for over a century in Pickens County. Anderson pushes a button that activates a siren, and the starting signal, a pneumatic drill, a bulldozer began to attack the book and the work of cement. For the next 90 days, the dam will be completely demolished and removed, her songs transported to a landfill nearby. "I did not see the light." said Ross, 82. "Now we see the river take its natural course."
The purpose of removing the dam Woodside I and another further downstream, Woodside II, is to repair the damage to the watershed when the plant condensers Pickens has thrown more than 400,000 pounds of toxic wastewater in Town Creek, a tributary of Twelve Mile. Even more toxic, polychlorinated biphenyls, were infiltrated into the rivers, from landfills with leak located around the plant Sangamo Weston Pickens. Sangamo Weston used PCBs between 1955 and 1977, the date that the chemical carcinogen, so popular because it absorbed so much heat, has been banned. Schlumberger Technology Corp.
. a company supplier of oil wells whose headquarters is in Houston, has inherited the site when the company purchased Sangamo Weston Inc. in the 1970s, according to Craig Zeller, manager of EPA in Atlanta working with Schlumberger "They were very good partners to do the job most of the time, especially since it is not they who made this crap." Zeller provides.
EPA said the plant site of compensating for large 228 acres, more landfill sites and polluting the watershed that covers 1,000 acres from Lake Hartwell downstream, a Superfund site in the 1990s. To do the job of cleaning the site was divided into two: the contaminated soil and polluted water. Cleaning takes place for 10 years now, under the supervision of the EPA, according to Zeller, and will last for several more decades.
The destruction of 2 dams of Woodside is part of a separate decision, ruled against Schlumberger to offset 6 states and federal agencies for damages caused to natural resources in the region. Judge Anderson gave the order for work in 2006 and when the work had not started yet 3 years later, he declared he would oversee the project itself.
In July 2009, Anderson gave Schlumberger 12 months to remove the dams, "I have been as forgiving as one can be vis-à-vis a criminal" Anderson said at the time, adding " I'm not an engineer. But that's what you deserve when try you to fool the federal court. "
After years of planning and environmental tests, the first visible signs of progress appeared a year ago when a landfill was opened near the dam Cateechee. Approximately 220.000 cubic yards of toxic sludge that had accumulated behind the dam have been dredged since the beginning of 2010 and transported to the landfill. Once made, a series of filters separates water sediments. The sediments are buried and the water returns to Twelve Mile Creek after being treated.
By removing the dams, the natural flow of the river will resume, which will transport sediment downstream to Lake Hartwell, covering the PCB-laden sediments deeper into the lake bottom. "This is the only known method for disposing of PCBs, cover" says Anderson.
Resident Cateechee Rodney Ladd said that the removal of sediment created rapids upstream of the dam near its waterfront land: "I could hear water gurgling over the rocks the other night." Ladd said. "It will be peaceful once the tractors are gone." adds his son Adam.
Larry Dyck, a retired biologist, says he would prefer that more sediment to be removed from the banks of streams, now exposed to air. Bands of darker sediment now visible on the banks probably contain PCBs, he said. "It would be irresponsible to leave the full contents of PCBs there. "
Rod Nelson, vice president of communications Schlumberger, came by plane from Houston to witness the demolition of the dam:" This project will make history. "Nelson said" We are proud to see it happen. It is the largest rehabilitation project in which Schlumberger is involved. "
Although the figures of the company are not available, EPA Zeller said that Schlumberger has probably spent about $ 100 million on plant Sangamo Weston and its plume of pollution in soil and surface water in the region.
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Dam’s demolition begins in Cateechee
U.S. District Judge G. Ross Anderson Jr. leaned forward in his wheelchair overlooking a dam that has choked Twelve Mile Creek in southwest Pickens County for more than a century. Anderson pressed a button wired to a foghorn, and with that signal, a jackhammer affixed to the business end of an earthmover fired up Tuesday morning and started an hour-and-half long assault on the cement structure. Over the next 90 days, the dam will be removed entirely and its rubble carried to a landfill nearby. “I never thought I’d live to see this day,” said Ross, who is 82. “Now we will get the river back to its natural state.”
The aim of removing this dam, Woodside I, and another downstream, Woodside II, is to compensate for ecological damage the watershed incurred when a capacitor manufacturing plant in Pickens discarded more than 400,000 pounds of toxic wastewater into Town Creek, a tributary of Twelve Mile. Still more of the toxin — polychlorinated biphenyls — has worked its way into the watershed from leaky landfills at and around the old Sangamo Weston plant in Pickens. Sangamo Weston used PCBs between 1955 and 1977, after which the use of the carcinogenic chemical, popular because it absorbed heat in capacitors, was outlawed.
Schlumberger Technology Corp., an oilfield service company based in Houston, inherited the site and its pollution when it purchased Sangamo Weston Inc. in the 1970s, said Craig Zeller, an Atlanta-based Environmental Protection Agency project manager working with Schlumberger. “For the most part, they have been real good partners to work with, considering they didn’t do it,” Zeller said.
The EPA declared the 228-acre site of the capacitor plant, its landfills and the watershed it polluted — which stretches from Town Creek to about 1,000 acres of Hartwell Lake downstream — a Superfund site in the 1990s. Divided into two pieces — the polluted land and the polluted water — the Superfund site’s cleanup has been under way for 10 years under EPA oversight, Zeller said, and will likely continue “for decades.”
Destroying the two Woodside dams is part of a separate ruling against Schlumberger to compensate six state and federal agencies for damage to natural resources in the region. Judge Anderson issued a consent decree for the work in 2006 and, when the work had failed to begin three years later, declared he would oversee the project personally.
In July 2009, Anderson gave Schlumberger 12 months to have the dams gone. “I’ve been as lenient as I have with any criminal,” Anderson said at the time, adding, “I’m not an engineer. But this is what you get into when you stoop to fooling a federal court.”
After years of planning and environmental tests, the first visible signs of progress started about a year ago with the creation of a landfill within sight of the Cateechee dam. About 220,000 cubic yards of toxic mud that had built up behind the dam has been dredged since early 2010 and piped uphill to the landfill. Once there, a series of filters has separated water from sediment. The sediment is buried, and the treated water returned to Twelve Mile Creek.
With removal of the dams, the natural flow of the creek will resume, which will carry sediment downstream to Hartwell Lake — burying PCB-laden sediment ever deeper on the lake bottom. “That’s the only method known to man to get rid of PCBs — to cover them up,” Anderson said Tuesday.
Cateechee resident Rodney Ladd said the sediment removal has revealed rapids upstream from the dam next to his creek-side property. “I could hear the water babbling over the rocks the other night,” Ladd said. “It will be peaceful once they get these tractors out of here,” Ladd’s son, Adam, added.
Retired Clemson biologist Larry Dyck said he’d prefer that more sediment be removed from the newly exposed creek banks. Bands of darker sediments now visible in those banks, he said, likely contain more PCBs. “It would be irresponsible to leave PCB-laden material behind,” Dyck said.
Rod Nelson, Schlumberger’s vice president for communication, flew in from Houston to view the dam’s demolition. “This project is historic,” Nelson said. “We are happy to see it get done. It’s the biggest recovery project Schlumberger has ever done.”
Though figures from the company were unavailable, the EPA’s Zeller said Schlumberger has probably spent about $100 million dealing with the old Sangamo Weston plant and its plumes of pollution into the region’s ground and surface water."
Excerpts from article written by Anna Mitchell here: http://www.independentmail.com/news/2011/feb/22/dams-demolition-begins-cateechee/
Photo: Sefton Ipock 
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