Name
Clearwater Finishing Plant
Database Info
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Viewability
Publically Viewable
This location has been labeled by its creator as Public, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
Overview
Description
64 acre textile finishing plant with large water tower and wastewater treatment on site.
Just huge.
Just huge.
Basic Information
Type: Building
Status: Being Demolished - Active again as of 4/12/2011
Accessibility: Easy
Recommendation: worth the trip
Status: Being Demolished - Active again as of 4/12/2011
Accessibility: Easy
Recommendation: worth the trip
Hazards
- asbestos
- rust
- unsafe flooring
- water
- air quality
- Plant is a Huge Browsfeild Project
Security Measures
- fences
- part-time guard
- locked gates
- welded doors
- Aiken County Sherriff Patrols Stepped Up....3
Required Equipment
- flashlight
- breathing mask
- gloves
- head protection
- long pants / sleeves
- towelettes
Physical Information
Address
Clearwater, South Carolina
United States
Owner: Tharpe Investment Group
Clearwater, South Carolina
United States
Owner: Tharpe Investment Group
Interesting Features
The plant is huge and has some photogenic decay.
Historical Dates
Built: 1929
Closed: 1989
Closed: 1989
Recommended Equipment
Camera
History
The plant was originally built in 1929 to add color and design to textiles. The company went bankrupt in 1989, leaving behind over 1,000 drums of chemicals and dyes. The abandoned drums posed a danger to vagrants and curious children, and was declared a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, making it eligible for federal cleanup assistance. EPA conducted a removal action and turned the property over to the Forfeited Land Commission for back property taxes.
EPA spent about $1 million remediating the site, before ECS agreed to take the site as a brownfield project and spent an additional $1.3 million on cleanup. ECS signed a prospective purchaser's agreement with EPA, ensuring that the company cannot be held liable for any old contamination or new contamination that is a result of the old industry.
EPA spent about $1 million remediating the site, before ECS agreed to take the site as a brownfield project and spent an additional $1.3 million on cleanup. ECS signed a prospective purchaser's agreement with EPA, ensuring that the company cannot be held liable for any old contamination or new contamination that is a result of the old industry.
Media Coverage
Future Plans
ECS also agreed to a corrective action plan to address any current site pollution. The firm agreed to long-term monitoring of several wells, to dewater the water facility and desludge a wastewater treatment plant located on the site, to treat PCBs in the soil and to clean up a few small areas where chemicals have been spilled. Currently, conditions at the site are well within industrial standards for a brownfield project.
ECS has renamed the site the Clearwater Resource Recovery and Technology Center. Milt Hazel, vice president for operations and the project manager for Clearwater, said the company is "looking at making it an eco-park, kind of an environmentally friendly industrial park."
The park will contain a pond, wetlands and a creek. There will be an overall effort to minimize solid waste, and tenants will include a carpet recycling plant, an excess equipment sales center and a composite plastic wood manufacturer that will create a product out of various landfill solids. In addition, ECS hopes to build an industrial training center and work closely with area technical colleges. Other environmentally friendly industries are in the works.
ECS also is evaluating the cost effectiveness of resurrecting the water plant. The park has water rights to a local spring and does not need the plant, but the development company may be able to sell the water to local utilities as a cash resource.
Hazel believes the project's success is due largely to "location, location, location." Clearwater is located halfway between Aiken and Augusta, GA. It is within a few miles of Interstate-20 and the Aiken airport. There is a railspur onsite and it is only a few hours to Charleston's deep-water port.
Although These Plans Are In The Works, We have not seen any significant progress on site.
Updated 1-31-2008
Site is undergoing Partial demolition and re-use plans. Not sure of the scope of work to be done.
Updated 8-30-22
Location demo'd
ECS has renamed the site the Clearwater Resource Recovery and Technology Center. Milt Hazel, vice president for operations and the project manager for Clearwater, said the company is "looking at making it an eco-park, kind of an environmentally friendly industrial park."
The park will contain a pond, wetlands and a creek. There will be an overall effort to minimize solid waste, and tenants will include a carpet recycling plant, an excess equipment sales center and a composite plastic wood manufacturer that will create a product out of various landfill solids. In addition, ECS hopes to build an industrial training center and work closely with area technical colleges. Other environmentally friendly industries are in the works.
ECS also is evaluating the cost effectiveness of resurrecting the water plant. The park has water rights to a local spring and does not need the plant, but the development company may be able to sell the water to local utilities as a cash resource.
Hazel believes the project's success is due largely to "location, location, location." Clearwater is located halfway between Aiken and Augusta, GA. It is within a few miles of Interstate-20 and the Aiken airport. There is a railspur onsite and it is only a few hours to Charleston's deep-water port.
Although These Plans Are In The Works, We have not seen any significant progress on site.
Updated 1-31-2008
Site is undergoing Partial demolition and re-use plans. Not sure of the scope of work to be done.
Updated 8-30-22
Location demo'd
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Validation
This location's validation is current.
It was last validated by
Emperor Wang on 8/31/2022 3:53 PM.
Latest Changes
- on Aug 31 22 at 15:53, Emperor Wang validated this location
- on Aug 31 22 at 15:52, Emperor Wang changed the following: History, Interesting Features, Description
- on Aug 31 22 at 1:31, Coddiwompler changed the following: Future Plans
- on Apr 13 11 at 17:16, Steed validated this location
- on Apr 13 11 at 7:55, JC changed the following: Publically Viewable, Status, Recommendation
- on Jun 25 10 at 21:29, Emperor Wang validated this location
- on Jun 25 10 at 2:46, JC changed the following: Status, Accessibility, Security Measures, Web Links
- on Jun 23 10 at 3:56, Opheliaism validated this location
- on Jun 23 10 at 1:51, JC added some pictures to a gallery
- on Jun 23 10 at 1:46, JC updated gallery Mid Demolition........... Demo Stopped
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