Pioneer finds interim lender

 

A national bank, headquartered near Denver, Colorado, has been selected as the interim lender to finance the construction of the Lake Hartwell Water Treatment Plant.  The board of directors of Pioneer Rural Water District this afternoon approved CoBank as the lending institution for the $17 million project.  Design South’s Chuck Joye called the loan interest rate of 1.75% “very favorable.”  Under the terms of the agreement, the bank is to be re-paid once construction is completed.  Two years of work is anticipated before Pioneer is able to start producing water to retail to its customers in Oconee and Anderson counties.  In the meantime, the Pioneer directors were told they can anticipate allocation and water supply agreements with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers to be finalized in the fall of next year.  Those agreements are to allow Pioneer to draw raw water from Lake Hartwell and pump it for treatment at the plant site—the Golden Corner Commerce Park on highway 59.  An official groundbreaking ceremony is expected in January.  Design South’s Donald Phillips recommends Pioneer gear up to recruit and employ staff to operate the plant as early as 2018.  Terry Pruitt, Pioneer manager, anticipates the hiring of five additional employees.