Nearly 300 attend public meeting on former Liberty Steel site cleanup and redevelopment
June 15, 2026
By Karen Owens, Publisher
Nearly 300 residents gathered at Winyah Auditorium on June 11 for a public meeting on the cleanup and future reuse of the former Liberty Steel, formerly Georgetown Steel, property at 1227 Front Street. The meeting was led by the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services and focused on the Voluntary Cleanup Contract now in place between DES and Liberty River, LLC, the entity seeking to acquire and redevelop the 66-acre waterfront site.
Why the Cleanup Agreement Matters
The property is being handled through South Carolina’s Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program because of the potential for environmental impacts from more than a century of industrial use. Under the agreement, Liberty River will investigate conditions on the property and, if significant contamination is found, take steps required by DES to protect human health and the environment before redevelopment can move forward.
Georgetown residents listen to Nick Hammond address the Liberty Steel site clean up process at public meeting held June 11 at Winyah Auditorium.
DES representatives explained that the contract does not make Liberty River responsible for pollution it did not create. Instead, the agreement allows the company to move forward with investigation, cleanup, containment, and long-term stewardship obligations for safe reuse of the site. Responsibility for past contamination by former owners or operators is not reduced by the agreement.
A Site with a Long Industrial History
The former Liberty Steel property sits near downtown Georgetown along the Sampit River. DES noted that the land was once part of Serenity Rice Plantation, later became home to the Atlantic Coast Lumber Company mill in the early 1900s, and then hosted several other industrial operators before Georgetown Steel developed the site into a steelmaking plant in 1970. Steel production continued through periods of idling and ownership changes until the plant closed permanently in 2024.
Because of that history, potential concerns include petroleum products, hazardous chemicals, solvents, volatile organic compounds, hydraulic fluids, former storage tanks, wastewater-related areas, slag, drums, asbestos, groundwater impacts, and other byproducts associated with lumber and steel operations.
What Happens Next Environmentally
GEL Engineering has been retained to conduct environmental assessments across the property. That work includes soil sampling from 48 locations, groundwater testing, shallow and deeper borings, and follow-up sampling in previously identified areas of concern. The results will determine whether additional testing, groundwater modeling, vapor intrusion evaluation, monitoring, or other cleanup measures are needed.
After assessment work is complete, the project is expected to move into proper removal and disposal of materials such as slag, drums, tanks, asbestos, and other regulated waste at permitted facilities. DES emphasized that redevelopment cannot advance until the agency’s environmental process is completed and any necessary safeguards are in place.
The Developer’s Vision
Conceptual rendering of Liberty Steel property.
Warren Waters, principal and founding member of River Development Equities, told attendees that the preliminary drawings shown during the presentation are aspirational, not approved plans. Any future development will still require city and county approvals.
River Development’s early vision includes light, clean manufacturing, commercial and retail space, multifamily housing, parks, greenspace, and improved public access to the waterfront. Other possibilities include a riverwalk, marina, hospitality, food and entertainment, river-based education, historic programming, and a potential amphitheater. Waters described the effort as a project “for Georgetown,” not simply one located in Georgetown.
Waters also said the company has completed more than 100 similar redevelopment projects along the East Coast and intends to work with local firms whenever possible, including architects, engineers, site preparation crews, construction teams, and landscape professionals. He emphasized stewardship, long-term monitoring, and the importance of building on Georgetown’s history rather than erasing it.
Timeline and Community Role
Demolition work, which Liberty Steel had already begun, was paused to allow GEL Engineering to start the required environmental assessment. Once that work is complete, demolition is expected to take another three to six months. The full cleanup and redevelopment process will take several years.
For residents, the biggest takeaway is that this is the beginning of a long process, not a quick fix. The cleanup agreement is designed to make it possible to safely rehabilitate and reuse a long-dormant industrial property while protecting current and future residents. As plans move forward, Georgetown residents will have more opportunities to learn about the project, ask questions, and share feedback. That public involvement will be essential to shaping a redevelopment the community can understand, embrace, and support.
There is a dedicated page on the DES website for this Georgetown site clean up project, which includes copies of official documents, the slide deck presented on June 11 at the public meeting, and contact information for DES’s brownfields staff.
