JOHNSTON, S.C. --- Nearly four weeks after being ordered to clean up an unauthorized landfill in a wooded area just behind Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle School, the Edgefield County School District is almost finished with the job.
The district was not allowed initially to remove the tons of debris and trash that had filled the pit because officials with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control swooped in to conduct an investigation and take soil samples in the area.
James Courtney, the director of facilities and maintenance, said Tuesday that the district has been able to proceed with the project, estimated to cost about $3,500.
By Thursday, the agency had done enough testing to allow the district to proceed with the cleanup, which included the removal of the debris in and around the pit and having the pit refilled. All that remains at the site is a small pile of debris, which includes tires, some shingles and general trash and waste material.
In addition to a pair of warning signs placed around the entrance to the area, a heavy wire now crosses the driveway to block vehicles.
Thom Berry, a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, said the cleanup does not end the agency's investigation and more lab work and test results must be completed.
"They have dug out the pit and removed everything in the pit itself, and they are supposed to come out and remove all of the items that were around the area as well," Mr. Berry said Tuesday. "They hired someone to come in and remove the material, but that does not necessarily conclude things. It concludes things for that part of it, but not for the investigation.
"For that part, we need to have our tests back from the samples taken from inside the trench itself. We're waiting for those samples to come back now. And depending upon what the samples say, there may be some additional work that is required (of the district). We'll just have to wait on that and see what it tells us."
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