Environmental groups protest new gas plant on Edisto River

NORTH CHARLESTON — Dozens of activists gathered in front of Dominion Energy the morning of Jan. 13 to protest the energy company’s plans to build a natural gas plant along the banks of the Edisto River.

The rally comes after Santee Cooper and Dominion applied for approval from the South Carolina Public Service Commission in mid-December, kicking off months of review by the regulatory body. The Charleston Climate Coalition, along with the Edisto Riverkeeper, New Disabled South Rising and the S.C. Tenant Union, gathered to encourage the commission to deny the application.

The group stood on the sidewalk in front of the Dominion Energy’s North Charleston office building to raise concerns over plans for a large industrial operation within the ACE Basin, a sprawling wilderness area widely regarded as the state’s biggest conservation achievement. Protesters also brought up concerns about the possibility of rate increases and the heath impacts of the operation, referencing a study that showed pollution from the gas plant could affect two million people.

“I don’t want to see one of the most pristine places in the Southeast, an incredibly important watershed, a place where we source a lot of our water, to be polluted, to be tarnished and to be threatened,” Belvin Olasov, director of the Charleston Climate Coalition, said in his opening remarks.

Rhonda Maree O’Banion, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy, said in a statement that the Canadys Gas Plant is part of the energy company’s plan to address to the rapid population growth in South Carolina, and that recent rate increase applications didn’t include costs related to the Canadys project. She said the new facility would have “minimal impacts” on the Edisto River and use 90 percent less water than the retired coal plant its replacing.

Mollie Gore, a spokesperson for Santee Cooper, said the gas plant is the “most cost-effective and reliable resource we can build to meet growing customer need.” She criticized the study protesters cited regarding the particulate matter the plant could produce and its health impacts, saying the methodology was flawed.

In front of Dominion’s offices, cars zoomed past the group. Kenni Cummings, executive director of the S.C. Tenant Union, said her organization is concerned about financial impacts, such as the possibility that construction costs could be passed onto rate-payers, many of whom already struggle to pay their bills.

The projected cost for the plant has ballooned to $5 billion, up from an initial estimate of $3 billion. Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton told lawmakers late last year that the growing price tag results from inflationary pressure and labor costs, and that other projects across the Southeast are seeing similar increases, according to previous reporting from The Post and Courier.

Hugo Krispyn, with Edisto Riverkeeper, said a gas plant on the banks of the Edisto River will bring more industrial development to the fragile ecosystem.

In mid-December, plans for a 859-acre data center in Colleton County faced swift opposition from the community. Two local residents now are suing the county, saying the new policy that allowed swift approval of data centers violates state law and the county’s zoning code. While Santee Cooper did adopt a new experimental rate that would require data centers to pay higher service costs, the proposed data center near Walterboro is not a direct customer.

“It’s going to be a spear thrust directly into the heart of the ACE Basin, which for nearly 50 years now has been recognized as an environmental jewel in the crown of the state of South Carolina,” Krispyn said.