SCE&G removes 280K tons of coal ash from Wateree

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Electric & Gas has removed 280,000 tons of coal ash from lagoons at a river near Columbia.

The Southern Environmental Law Center says Tuesday the disclosure came in paperwork filed as part of a settlement over coal ash removal.

Last year, SCE&G settled a lawsuit accusing the utility of illegally discharging arsenic and other contaminants into the Wateree River at its coal-fired power plant near Eastover, about 25 miles southeast of Columbia.

As part of the settlement, SCE&G agreed to remove the 2.4 million tons of coal ash being stored in earthen lagoons near its 700-megawatt Wateree Station.

That process is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. The foundation says SCE&G is ahead of that schedule.