"Coal Ash Cleanup At Grainger Site Results In Cleaner Groundwater"

"COLUMBIA, SC --  Since a power company began digging up coal ash from a leaking waste pond west of Myrtle Beach, arsenic levels have dropped dramatically in groundwater, according to an environmental group that pushed to have the ash removed.

The state-owned Santee Cooper company has excavated more than a half million tons of coal ash from disposal areas at its closed Grainger power station in Horry County — and arsenic pollution has dropped from 60 to 90 percent in groundwater, the Southern Environmental Law Center said in a news release Wednesday.

“These results show that removing coal ash from unlined riverfront pits dramatically reduces pollution, as well as the risk of catastrophic failure,” Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the law center, said in a statement."

Sammy Fretwell reports for the Columbia State June 2, 2016.