“Project Harmony” drifts into disharmony”

The boss man at Oconee’s sewer plant, speaking last night to the county council, dispelled a notion that the 42-year old plant cannot handle additional sewage.  “We have plenty of capacity,” says Chris Eleazer, accepting an invitation to address the county fathers as they discussed the prospects to partner with Anderson County for a new plant to serve each county’s side of the Interstate 85.  District Five’s Glenn Hart could not muster support from his three-sitting colleagues to pursue a regional facility estimated to cost $50 million.  Eleazer believes the $50 million would cover just the building, not the ground pipes required to move the sewage for treatment.   Chairman  Elliott and colleagues Paul Cain and Julian Davis questioned the advantages of such a project, with Cain calling attention to documented needs to extend sewer between Seneca and Clemson to accommodate commercial developments awaiting a commitment from the Joint Regional Sewer Authority.  Hart said Oconee County Council should be focused on the needs 20 years from now, and he moved to enter for the record a memorandum of understanding which he said was given to Oconee by Jon Caime, special projects manager for Anderson County.  Davis questioned the extent to which Caime’s employers, the Anderson County Council, are committed to the project.