U.S. District Judge G. Ross Anderson first ordered the removal of the dams as part of a 2006 settlement between Schlumberger and the Natural Resource Trustees, which also included a monetary settlement for both South Carolina and Georgia for the restoration of lost fishing opportunities caused by PCB contamination along the river corridor and Lake Hartwell.
The project has been stalled since then however, prompting Anderson to issue a timeline for completion.
Attorneys representing Schlumberger said they would do their best to comply with that schedule.
The 200-page proposed plan calls for the company to remove about 435,000 cubic yards of sediment from behind the two dams with a hydraulic dredge and pipe and then place it in a lined-landfill style disposal and storage site on private property on the river.
The dams will be removed after this process is complete.
If all permits are in place and the weather cooperates, the plan states that dredging could start in December.
The Natural Resource Trustees, comprised of representatives from six federal and state agencies, also met last week in Clemson to discuss what projects they should fund with the $11 million in settlement money.
About 3.4 million of that settlement is for the state of Georgia, with the remaining is to be spent on projects in South Carolina.
Some environmentalists in the area are also calling for the removal of a third dam along the Twelve Mile River, owned by Easley-Central Water.
Anyone who would like to make comments about Schlumberger’s plans for the removal of the two Woodside dams has until 3 p.m. on Sept. 17 to do so.
Comments should be made in writing and filed with the federal clerk of court in Greenville, with a copy going to the Anderson office.
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