FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 9, 2006
Lake Conestee public meeting set
COLUMBIA – A public meeting will be held Oct. 17 to update citizens on environmental testing at Lake Conestee in Greenville County, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“This meeting will provide a summary of the data collected over the past six years,” said Angela Gorman, DHEC’s project manager for the site. “These studies show that contaminants have accumulated in the soils that used to be covered by the lake. These contaminants came from more than 100 years of industrial discharges into the Reedy River upstream of the lake.”
Gorman said the Oct. 17 meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Victory Chapel Baptist Church, located at 9 South Pinelake Circle in the Conestee community of Greenville County.
The Conestee Foundation, a non-profit organization, owns Lake Conestee. The foundation is developing an environmental teaching complex at the lake. It will open trails and boardwalks to the public on Oct. 28 as the first phase of the Lake Conestee Nature Park.
“While our studies have found contamination in the soils and sediments in and around the lake, the property can be used with some restrictions to prevent exposure to the contamination,” Gorman said. “The Conestee Foundation is only allowing activities on the property that will safely limit exposure to the contaminants.”
The Conestee Foundation will operate the Lake Conestee Nature Park as a public greenspace and environmental teaching center to study the long-term effects of the contamination. Gorman said the levels are expected to slowly drop over time. DHEC can re-evaluate the restrictions on the property if that occurs.
For more information about the meeting or the Lake Conestee property, call the DHEC Brownfields/Voluntary Cleanup Program at 1-866-576-3432.
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For more information:
Craig Dukes – (803) 896-4057
E-mail – dukescv@dhec.sc.gov
or
Adam Myrick – (803) 898-3884
E-mail – myrickar@dhec.sc.gov
MNR0081