SC court wants plan to deal with nuclear landfill

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Court of Appeals wants a plan on how regulators and the operator of a nuclear waste landfill in Barnwell County are going to limit radioactive groundwater flowing toward the Savannah River.

The State newspaper reports (http://bit.ly/1k9xOYN ) the court said Wednesday that it wants such a plan within 90 days.

The Sierra Club challenged the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s decision in 2004 to issue a new permit for the landfill, which opened in 1971. The group wants Chem-Nuclear to plug holes in burial vaults and line trenches with plastic instead of clay to make sure rain at the site doesn’t contaminate the groundwater.

Chem-Nuclear says the site is safe. A spokesman says Chem-Nuclear’s parent company has not decided whether to appeal the ruling.

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Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com