Application to spread sludge may lead to ordinance

The recent application of a landowner to have biosolids, or sludge, spread on farmland near Catfish Creek in Marion could prompt the planning commission and other county officials to craft an ordinance prohibiting such an application, Marion County Planner Levonne Powell told Marion County Planning Commissioners at the June 12 meeting. The application was withdrawn this past week and a June 26 public hearing on the matter was cancelled. The application would have allowed Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority to spread the sludge.

Many times, “heavily populated cities and counties look for rural counties such as Marion,” as a place to dump sewage, Commissioner Eddie Pittman said, quoting a Letter to the Editor from Larry McIntyre. (This letter is published on Page 4A, in the Wednesday, June 18, issue of the Star & Enterprise. It will appear online in the Letters to the Editor posting.)

No ordinance exists in Marion County that would have forbid the spreading of the sludge. Commissioners will probably be involved in crafting such a law, Powell said. Another example of Marion being a dumping grounds for other places is the C & D landfill, Pittman said. He also said the landfill should have never been allowed in the county.

The quicker the planning commission passes the industrial park ordinance, the quicker economic development can bring in industries to fill it, Interim Economic Development Executive Director Frank Jones told the commission members. The ordinance will govern the type of uses allowed in the Marion County Industrial Park on U.S. Highway 501 Bypass. Using the smaller tracts for distribution and manufacturing centers and offices could be one option, Jones said. Architects, contractors, engineers and others affiliated withindustrial development could come into the park, he said. The park could also include call centers, such as LogistiCare in Mullins, and other communication centers that could benefit the public, he said. One concern of the ordinance addresses the aesthetics of the park and outside storage, Powell said.

Some months ago, an alternative fuel company was looking to move to Marion County, Jones said. The company would need to store timber and other raw materials outside, he said. “We don’t want something that’s going to be an eyesore,” he said, explaining why the economic development commission didn’t accept the company. Toxic and hazardous materials should not be stored outside, Chairman Edwin Stephens said. Jones said the county is in the process of doing an appearance ordinance that will handle the storage issues. Planning Commission members also considered dates for another joint meeting with county council.

In other business, the commission discussed changing the name of a road in Marion. Six citizens want to change the name of Profit Road to Prophet Road. When roads were named for 911, the incorrect name was provided for the road, Powell said. The commission unanimously passed a motion to charge a fee of $250 for any request to change a road name. The Prophet Road name change is exempt from this charge. A public hearing for the name change and the new fee is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 14. The next planning commission meeting will be July 9.