Residents battle coalshipper

Kinder Morgan wants to expand N. Chas. facility

Tempers flared over health concerns, traffic worries and coal-covered boats.

Dozens of people crowded into a meeting room on the former Charleston Naval Base on Tuesday night to hear officials from the Department of Health and Environmental Control give updates on air quality permit applications they've received from a coal transport company.

One-by-one, those attending passionately spoke out against Kinder Morgan's proposal to expand its 208-acre facility on the Cooper River, saying that coal and cement particles from the facility pollute the air and jeopardize their health.

But their mood sank after one official said that the permits likely will be granted with conditions. Rhonda Thompson, director of environmental services for DHEC's Bureau of Air Quality, said that the agency probably will approve the expansion when officials figure out better ways to monitor the company's coal dust emissions.

Officials at the Texas-based energy company want to triple the amount of coal and other dry products that pass through the facility each year to more than 10 million tons. The proposal is driven by the trade in cheaper international coal, which energy companies need to fuel the nation's demand for power.

Arthur Rudolph, the company's regional general manager, said the company has spent more than $1.6 million during the last year to improve the facility. It also has hired extra supervisors and put its 75 employees through more training, he said.

"Kinder Morgan is a very proactive, environmentally conscious company," he said.

All the improvements haven't cut back on the amount of dust that floats into the air and onto boats that dock at the nearby Cooper River Marina, said Manager Matt Driscoll. And residents at the meeting repeatedly asked what it would take for the agency to deny the company's request.

"All these people are against it. The city's against it. How much (citizen input) is it going to take?" said Bob King, a North Charleston city councilman.

King and others asked tough questions of company officials and state regulators. Gayle Frampton, chairman of North

Charleston's Citizens Advisory Council, wanted to know if the fish in the Cooper River that ingest coal-tainted water are safe to eat. Neal Petersen, who docks his boat at the marina, wanted to know why trucks have to cover their containers on the highway while Kinder Morgan's rail cars can travel uncovered through local neighborhoods.

The expansion also would triple the amount of time local roads are blocked by trains moving in and out of the facility. Residents worried that the trains would block emergency responders, but Rudolph said they are dispatched from all over the area — and both sides of the tracks — in an emergency.

Residents pointed to the environmental violations by Kinder Morgan facilities both here and at other sites across the country.

DHEC inspectors visited Kinder Morgan's site four times in May and found thicker-than-allowed dust clouds, broken equipment and missing maintenance records. Sailboat owner Ken Bonerigo captured a video of a crane that scooped up water from the river and dumped it on a ship to rinse it off.

"That is not an activity that is ever going to happen again. We were disturbed when we saw that operation," Rudolph told the crowd.

Because of a state law, DHEC officials couldn't consider those violations. They blamed state lawmakers for failing to pass the "bad boy" laws that punish corporations with a poor track record.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.