Neighbors upset over debris pile near Chester City Public Works Office

CHESTER, S.C. — Neighbors in Chester contacted Channel 9 with concerns about a large dump site on city property, inside the Public Works yard.

Nettie Archie, with a community group called "Chester Citizens for Ethical Government," said she got tips from neighbors concerned about dumping at the Public Works Office on Ashford Street.

"Dumping creates a hazard from a lot of different stand points," Archie said. "What if a child got into all that?"

Neighbors allowed Channel 9 to take pictures of the site from their property. Chopper 9 SkyZoom also flew over the scene.

The video shows several very large piles of storm debris such as tress, limbs, and leaves. There is also a second mound of bulk items such as couches, chairs, and other furniture. All this is inside the fence behind the Public Works Office.

Chester's Public Works Director Reggie McBeth told Channel 9 the dump is temporary and legal.

McBeth called it a "lay down yard" and said when a city is overwhelmed by debris such as after a hurricane, the city can temporarily store storm debris and bulk items like furniture at a site until it can be taken to a landfill.

No permit is required. No household trash is allowed to be stored though -- it must immediately be taken to the landfill.

McBeth said many small towns in the path of Hurricanes Florence and Michael are facing the same problems with large amounts of debris. They don't have the staff to get it to the landfill quickly, so they are allowed to store it.

Archie questioned how much time that could take. Her concern is, how long the debris and junk might sit there, in a residential area.

"If this had not been brought to our attention, how long would it have remained there? Now because this has been exposed, he's gonna quote a law that they are able to follow," Archie said.

McBeth said he hopes to begin hauling away much of the debris pile to the landfill on Wednesday.

DHEC said it will send inspectors to the site this week, both to respond to complaints and to make sure what's there is handled properly. DHEC said the agency did not have a request from Chester to use the Ashford site for disaster debris.

However, it is possible a request was made at a regional office and was not on file yet. Officials were not sure which was the case of Tuesday evening.

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