From the Greensboro News & Record 12/1998
S.C.'S NUCLEAR LANDFILL MAY CLOSE TO OTHER STATES
A COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THE STATE CONTINUE ACCEPTING WASTE ONLY FROM ITS OWN UTILITIES WITH NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS, HOSPITALS AND BUSINESSES SUCH AS TEXTILE PLANTS. South Carolina's low-level nuclear waste disposal site could close its doors to other states if Gov.-elect Jim Hodges follows a recommendation made Monday by the advisers he appointed.
The Barnwell County landfill operated by Chem-Nuclear Systems Inc. should stop accepting waste from other states, Hodges' transition subcommittee on environmental issues said.
"It sends a terrible message for such a beautiful state to sit here and become a dumping ground for the rest of the nation," said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston. "It's time to sit back and say, 'We've done our share. Our doors are now closed.' "
South Carolina also would not rejoin the seven-state Southeast Compact, which failed to build a substitute for the Barnwell landfill before the state withdrew three years ago.
David Ebenhack, a Chem-Nuclear spokesman, said he would not comment on "speculative scenarios." A staff member at the Southeast Compact, Linda Walters, said that organization had no comment.
Hodges' spokeswoman, Nina Brook, did not indicate which way he was leaning. "The Barnwell facility is a real sore spot with South Carolinians, and I think the committee's decision reflects that," was all she would say.
When Republican Gov. David Beasley opted to leave the compact in 1995, South Carolina began accepting waste from all other states except North Carolina, which had failed to complete the compact's replacement disposal site.
The state began charging a tax of $235 per cubic foot of waste sent to Barnwell. They helped pay for school improvements and scholarships, although the revenue never has met Beasley's projections.
"There's going to be some fallout, no pun intended, in terms of education money," said state Rep. Bob Sheheen, D-Camden, who heads the transition subcommittee.
Without elaborating, Sheheen said that if a new source of education funding is found, it would more than cover the losses. Hodges, a Democrat, favors creating a state lottery to help fund schools.
About 240,000 cubic feet of nuclear waste is sent to the landfill every year, mainly from Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the subcommittee said.
A few members feared other states could sue, claiming South Carolina unconstitutionally was interfering with interstate commerce and hoarding its resources. However, the 1980 federal law that created the compacts also allows states to go it alone, Sheheen said.
Low-level radioactive waste can include things like contaminated clothing, tools and materials used in nuclear medicine.
There are two other major disposal sites for such low-level material in the United States, in Utah and in Washington state.
If Hodges accepts closing Barnwell, only South Carolina businesses would be allowed to ship radioactive waste there. Those primarily would be utilities with nuclear power plants, hospitals and businesses that use radioactive materials in measuring devices, such as textile plants, subcommittee members said.
However, private businesses could not be forced to send their waste to Barnwell. If the amount of waste dropped, the disposal price could increase to cover costs, said Ben Gregg, former head of the state Natural Resources Department under Gov. Carroll Campbell.
"What if they went to other states and it cost South Carolina millions to keep it open?" Gregg asked.