SCE&G, environmental group settle lawsuit

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An environmental group says it has settled a lawsuit accusing South Carolina Electric & Gas of illegally discharging arsenic and other contaminants into a river near Columbia.

Attorneys for the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation said Monday that a settlement includes an agreement to remove all of the coal ash now being stored at the Wateree Station near Eastover.

The environmental group sued SCE&G earlier this year, saying the company stores wet coal ash in earthen lagoons near its Eastover plant and that monitoring wells near the lagoons show five times the legal limit of arsenic. The suit adds that sometimes the material leaks into the river.

SCE&G has denied any illegal discharge of pollutants. The company said in a statement that the settlement is in all parties’ best interest.

___

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP