Sewer Authority petitions for intervener’s status

 

Pioneerc Rural Water’s quest to build the treatment plant that has drawn opposition has officially been made harder by the filing this week of a court petition by the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority.  The sewer authority, which buys water from Pioneer, is seeking permission from the Court of Common Pleas for intervener status in a legal matter in which three other government entities have lined up against Pioneer.  The action, by sewer authority attorney Larry Brandt, claims, “If Pioneer is allowed to unnecessarily ‘build a water treatment plant and treat the supply of water that it sells to its customers,’ it is probable that Petitioner’s water use expenses will increase significantly which will, in turn, substantially increase the cost of waste water treatment and OJRSA’s fees that it charges its customers and member bodies, to-wit:  City of Walhalla, City of Seneca, City of Westminster, and Oconee County, among others.”  The sewer authority petition claims Pioneer has an adequate supply of water provided by Seneca and Westminster and that it’s not now necessary for Pioneer to build a water treatment plant.