Governor Henry McMaster and the South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) have announced the successful completion of the USS Yorktown Environmental Remediation Project. The months-long endeavor, which began with a 2022 Executive Order, effectively removed vast amounts of hazardous materials that presented a critical threat to the Charleston Harbor and the Lowcountry economy.
The historic USS Yorktown, an Essex-class aircraft carrier decommissioned in 1970 and moved to Charleston Harbor in 1975, has posed an environmental threat. Because of the continuing degradation of her hull, toxins from its Navy service were at significant risk of leaching into the fragile maritime habitat. If the materials had escaped, the consequences would have been catastrophic, destroying wetlands, killing marine life, and jeopardizing industries that supported thousands of local employment.
The endeavor was successful in removing nearly 1.6 million gallons of toxic fluids and nine tons of asbestos from the vessel.
When the US Navy decommissioned the Yorktown, it made it available to South Carolina “as is,” including any remaining dangerous chemicals. The cleanup was carried out in two key phases:
Phase I (completed in December 2023): This phase included an initial environmental evaluation and rapid repairs. It involved extracting roughly 569,000 gallons of oily water, removing nine tons of sludge, disposing of 4.5 tons of asbestos debris, and repairing 35 exterior hulls.
Phase II (February – October 2025) was dedicated to eliminating heavy fuel oil and dangerous impurities from approximately 130 structural and non-structural tanks. More than 1.4 million gallons of contaminated fluids and 9.1 tons of asbestos-containing insulation were removed and sent to off-site processing facilities. Clean structural tanks were filled with freshwater to keep the Yorktown steady.
The project cost $31.6 million and was funded by an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant, showcasing South Carolina’s proactive strategy to mitigate potential environmental calamities while also protecting this major historical site.
