A squirrel climbs onto a warehouse that once overflowed with drums of hazardous waste. Startled pigeons burst from a building where toxic chemicals were dumped into an incinerator.

Grass thrives above an underground pool of 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel that leaked almost 20 years ago.

The only sound that seems out of synch with nature at this former hazardous waste incinerator on Rock Hill’s southwest side is the dull roar of a groundwater extraction system that runs about 24 hours a day, every day.

For the past 20 years, the system has been keeping toxic underground water from flowing into Wildcat and Fishing creeks, which feed the Catawba River.

“All this wildlife is a good sign,” said J. Lucas Berresford, a Columbia engineer associate with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and manager for the state-led cleanup of the former Petro-Chem site.

Over the years and throughout different ownerships, the one-time ThermalKEM plant — a former hazardous waste transportation, storage and disposal facility — has been plagued by fires, public controversy, government investigations, hefty fines and toxic pollution. Now, the final chapter in its saga is about to be written — cleaning up the now-decaying plant.

After finishing a four-year study, sampling and testing of the site’s soil and water in April, DHEC officials expect cleanup to begin by mid-2010.

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