From a personal and professional perspective, I have huge concerns over the proposed gas-fired power plant that I think residents of Colleton County should be aware of, including:
· Bill H.5118 would essentially direct the Public Service Commission to approve an enormous gas-fired power plant in Canadys on the Edisto River without fully considering alternatives.
· The Edisto River is the only undammed “wild” river left in the state of South Carolina. It is one of the longest free-flowing blackwater rivers in North America, and home to game species like striped bass and wood ducks, as well as endangered species like Swallow-tailed kite and Atlantic sturgeon.
· A large gas plant on the Edisto River would require large water withdrawals from the river. According to American Rivers, “As it stands today, water policy still allows some water users to withdraw as much as one third of the river during low flow periods, enough water to supply a medium-sized city. Such dramatically reduced flows have far-reaching consequences, including allowing salt water to encroach higher upstream, potentially killing trees and displacing wildlife that depends on fresh water. Fish habitat suffers, recreational opportunities are threatened and downstream users are increasingly uncertain of their fate.”
· An independent study commissioned by state regulators raised concerns that utilities are considering this gas-fired power plant as a foregone conclusion, without considering cleaner and cheaper alternatives.
· According to the EPA, gas-fired power plants create harmful emissions that can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular problems and increase the risk of other health problems such as cancer and immune system damage.
· According to the EPA, “Minority, low-income, and indigenous populations frequently bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harms and adverse health outcomes, including the development of heart or lung diseases, such as asthma and bronchitis, increased susceptibility to respiratory and cardiac symptoms, greater numbers of emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and premature deaths.”
· Residents of Canadys had to live alongside a coal-burning plant for 50 years from 1962 until 2013 that severely polluted the air, water and wildlife of the community. The community is still recovering from those impacts today. While a natural gas plant may create less pollution than a coal-burning plant, it still poses serious health impacts. Locating another massive power plant in Canadys would continue to cause harm to this small, rural, underrepresented community for another 50 years. This is unacceptable.
· Utilities have yet to reveal the route for the necessary gas pipeline or energy transmission lines needed for this project, but it’s likely it would impact large areas of the ACE Basin, and Bill H.5118 essentially forces our state agencies to fight for federal eminent domain, making it easier for utilities to uproot residents and take land for an unreliable project.
Robby Maynor
