Utility to pay citizens after 23-year battle
By Aliana Ramos
After more than 20 years of dealing with flooding on their property, Santee River area residents have been awarded compensation.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Duffy ordered state-owned utility company Santee Cooper to pay out damages from $102,439 to $19.2 million to each of the eight plaintiffs in the case, plus 8 percent interest for each year since the flooding started, according to the court order filed Friday.
For Santee Cooper that means paying out about $200 million, said spokeswoman Laura Varn.
"We are happy we can bring resolution to this case and move forward," Varn said. "We are moving ahead with the next step, which is payment."
Varn said payments would start to be paid out within the next six months.
Properties along the Santee River in Georgetown, Berkeley and Williamsburg counties flooded after Santee Cooper diverted water from the Charleston harbor to create hydroelectric power. A release of water from one of the local hydroplants flooded nearby properties to the point where people had to use boats to reach their homes.
"It's a little bit of a bittersweet victory," said Attorney Ed Bell, with the Bell Legal Group. "Along the way a lot of our clients have died waiting for this case to finalized. I think of the friends we've lost and aren't here to be part of the case."
A 1997 trial found the state-owned utility guilty of taking residents' property without compensation, but the matter was tied up in court for years in the appeals process.
Bell said although it has been a hard road to recoup some of the damages, he never thought of walking away.
"The properties have been flooded," Bell said. "They've sat there for 25 years waiting for the state to do something. When they basically washed away these peoples' property they never said they were sorry. It's an example of our state at its worst."
Santee Cooper worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to design and implement the Cooper River Rediversion Act, to reduce flow of water into the Charleston Harbor and provide hyrdroelectric power to residents of the state, according to court documents.
The St. Stephen hydroplant, which regulates the waterflow in the Santee River, was a key part of the program. Starting in 1986, a large release of water from the St. Stephen hydroplant severely flooded the plaintiffs' property, according to court records.
Thousands of acres of timber were destroyed, along with thousands of livestock.
Varn said the utility would file a certified claim with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to try to recoup some of the $200 million.
