Federal Pacific Electric Company

Site Location 

Federal Pacific Electric Company (FPE) owned and operated a manufacturing facility in Edgefield, South Carolina from 1965 until 1984. The former FPE Facility occupies 24 acres on the northern side of Hwy 25, about two miles southeast of Edgefield’s central business district, near the intersection of State Highway 25 and Star Road.  

Site History

In 1989 it was discovered that manufacturing operations at the site had resulted in the release of contamination to the environment. The primary contaminant of concern at the FPE site is trichloroethylene, or TCE.  Other contaminants include perchloroethylene, and breakdown products of TCE including dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride. Collectively these chemicals are referred to as chlorinated hydrocarbons.

DHEC issued a Consent Order to FPE in 1995 for investigation and cleanup of the property and adjacent areas contaminated by the release of CHCs from the FPE facility. These areas are collectively referred to as the “Site.”

The sources of CHCs consisted of buried drums and contaminated soils.  These sources were excavated in 1997 and 1999 and properly disposed of at a permitted, off-site facility.  The presence of a shallow water table prevented deeper excavation.  A groundwater treatment system was installed in 1999 to collect contaminated water from the toe drain of the Odell Reservoir dam, and a larger treatment system was installed in a warehouse building on the FPE property in 2004.  Extraction wells pump contaminated groundwater to the treatment system where it is treated by filtration and a process called air stripping in which air is bubbled through the water to volatilize contaminants.  As of June, 2022 the groundwater treatment system has treated approximately 228 million gallons of water, and removed more than 11,000 pounds of CHCs.

Planned Actions

Planned activities for 2023 include additional excavation in three source areas on the FPE property. Extraction of groundwater from the on-site wells has lowered the water table on the property, creating the opportunity to remove additional soils to accelerate the pace of cleanup. These areas are identified in project documents as the Paint Bed Drying Area or PBDA, the Drum Burial Area or DBA, and the Degreasing Operations Area or DOA. The areas will be excavated, treated and closed one at a time. Soils will be excavated and treated on-site by mixing and aeration. Testing conducted over the last year showed that this treatment is capable of reducing soil contamination to levels that will eliminate further impact groundwater. A soil amendment will be applied to the base of the excavations prior to backfilling to help treat residual CHCs in groundwater. Soils will be tested to ensure that they meet cleanup criteria before being returned to the same area from which they were removed.

Administrative Record