Subcommittee Formed to Study Pioneer Water Easement Proposal

A special subcommittee is being formed to study whether the Hart County Water and Sewer Authority should allow a South Carolina water district to draw water from Lake Hartwell using its easement.

Pioneer Rural Water District in Oconee County, SC is planning to build a new water treatment plant and intake facility to serve its 8,000 customers, but they lack a permit from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to draw raw water from the lake.

On Monday representatives from the utility came before the Hart County Water and Sewer Authority asking for permission to piggyback on Hart County’s permit.  That request was tabled for further study.

At their regular board of commissioners meeting Tuesday evening, Hart County commission chair Joey Dorsey asked for the formation of  a subcommittee that included other stakeholders.

“There are other players involved in this,” he said. “The Industrial Building Authority as well as lthe Board of Commissioners and the Water Authority. So, I think that there needs to be some communication and discussion among those groups before a decision is made. We need to sit down and study the proposal with all the players. Ultimately, it’s going to be a decision that the Hart County Water and Sewer Authority will have to make, but there are some other stakeholders that have a vested interest in this.”

Pioneer is planning to build a $15-million dollar water treatment plant near Fair Play in a new industrial park.   Dorsey fears there could be competition with Hart County’s planned expansion of the Gateway Industrial Park.

“There’s always that possibility and we need to understand the whole proposal,” he said. “I have not had a chance to look into the whole proposal, but I do know there’s potential for some competition there.”

The subcommittee will be made up of members of the Hart County Water and Sewer Authority, along with Dorsey, Hart County commissioner Jimmy Carey and a member from the Hart County Industrial Building Authority.

Pioneer is asking for a three-year lease from Hart County while they wait for the Corps to approve their withdrawl permit.  Under the terms of the proposal, Pioneer would pay Hart County $30,000 a year for the privilege.