Lexington, SC (WLTX) - The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has denied Carolina Water Service a wastewater discharge permit for the company's facility near I-20 in Lexington County. DHEC's order requires the facility to shut down within a year and tie into the Lexington sewer system.
DHEC says the plant has a history of violations at the facility. In June, swim advisories were issued for parts of the Saluda River due to sewage released into the river.
DHEC also issued administrative orders directing the Town of Lexington and CWS to develop a coordinated transition plan to safely shut down the facility and eliminate wastewater discharge into the Saluda River.
"After several months of trying to get both parties to reach a solution, we have been left with no other option but to move forward with these orders," said DHEC Director Catherine Heigel in a news release. "In the interest of public health, we continue to urge both the Town of Lexington and CWS to work together quickly to complete the transfer of the I-20 plant to the Town in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act."
The orders say Lexington and CWS have 60 days to submit a plan on how they will interconnect the wastewater discharge from the I-20 plant to Lexington's sewer system. CWS will be required to complete the tie in within a year.
DHEC says Lexington and CWS could be fined up to $10,000 per day if they fail to comply with the order.
Carolina Water Service issued a statement saying the company intends to appeal the permit denial and DHEC's administrative order. The company cited a current federal lawsuit involving the Town of Lexington and the Congaree Riverkeeper. CWS says efforts to connect to Lexington's
“It should be understood that CWS is not appealing from the denial of the permit and the administrative order in an effort to avoid interconnection. It is not," Rick Durham President of CWS said in a news release. "CWS finds it necessary to protect itself in the event that an interconnection continues to be denied by the Town or is not approved by the Public Service Commission, as it must be under CWS’s existing permit and South Carolina law.”
The release goes on to protest DHEC's order to transfer the facility to the Town. Durham is quoted saying “We would have to resist any effort by one government entity – DHEC – to force a private entity such as CWS to transfer its property to another government entity – the Town. If that is the intent of the DHEC orders and denial, that would constitute a taking of private property for public use without compensation and the Company would have to resist that, as would any other owner of private property.”
The Town of Lexington released a statement from Mayor Steve MacDougall saying the town plans to comply and is reviewing DHEC's decision to determine the next steps. "It has long been the position of the Town that the elimination of discharges from CWS’s I 20 facility and from its Lake Murray Watergate facility is imperative to the safety of the waters of South Carolina and the quality of life of our citizens, customers and neighbors to eliminate unnecessary pollution," MacDougall said in the written statement.
You can read the DHEC documents at these links: CWS permit denial, administrative order to Lexington, administrative order to CWS.