City of Florence Acquires Non-viable Timmonsville System

This project is an excellent example of a larger water and wastewater utilities system, the city of Florence, taking over a smaller, non-viable system, the town of Timmonsville, for the betterment of the environment and quality of life for the citizens of Timmonsville.

The Town of Timmonsville’s thousand-customer system, which provided wastewater and drinking water services for the town, was not being properly operated or maintained. As a result, Timmonsville regularly received notices of violation and was assessed substantial fines by South Carolina Department of

Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and USEPA.Sewage frequently escaped from manholes and the primary facultative treatment and secondary aerated treatment systems failed to meet effluent discharge limits.

Between 2003 and 2012, Timmonsville received 442 effluent monitoring and/or reporting violations; 482 effluent limit violations; and 49 sanitary sewer overflow violations. In addition, the system’s debts were not being serviced in a timely manner, resulting in a federal loan default. The default prevented Timmonsville from receiving further grant or loan funding assistance.

Prior to 2012, the City of Florence formed an initial partnership with Timmonsville to provide operational assistance. In November 2012, SCDHEC and EPA contacted Florence to attempt to resolve the longstanding noncompliance and operational failures of the Timmonsville system. To achieve operational and regulatory compliance, partnerships were formed with SCDHEC and EPA. Financial partnerships were formed with SRF, the State Commerce Department, Florence County, the Regional Council of Governments, USDA, and EDA. Private partners included a contract engineering team and Timmonsville’s primary industry, the Honda Corporation.

The next phase of the process for Timmonsville and Florence began with public meetings held by both municipal Councils. These meetings were followed by community-based forums held in Timmonsville by both municipalities at schools, churches, and town hall. Timmonsville held a public referendum to determine community willingness to transfer the system. Prior to final project approval, a 30-day public comment period was observed during which residents could state concerns in writing.

Discussions with EPA, USDOJ, USDA, SCDHEC continued between Timmonsville and Florence, and after months of negotiations, a working plan was developed to resolve all regulatory issues and transfer the system to Florence. The process included: public meetings and a referendum authorizing the transfer; negotiating an acceptable consent decree with EPA; retaining consulting engineers to identify the scope and cost of improvements; relieving Timmonsville’s debt obligations and environmental liability; developing a financial plan to maintain current water and sewer rates; and securing sufficient loan and grant funding for payment of outstanding debt and required facility upgrades.

The end goal was to return Timmonsville’s utilities system to regulatory compliance and restore public confidence in the quality of services provided while maintaining current utility rates for Timmonsville and Florence. The plan came to fruition in January 2014 with the city of Florence's acceptance of an EPA Consent Decree. Following the successful negotiation and adoption of an EPA Consent Decree, Florence secured capital improvement funding for the Timmonsville system.

The wastewater system improvements were funded through a combination of City of Florence system revenues and three Clean Water SRF (CWSRF) loans. The CWSRF funds totaled $8.5 million, with $1 million provided in principal forgiveness funds. Florence also assumed $6,111,310 of Timmonsville system existing indebtedness for wastewater system repairs by issuing a Rural Development Junior Lien Revenue Bond to be repaid over 40 years. The CWSRF funded projects necessary to satisfy the consent decree and ensure system reliability including: repairs and upgrades to the Timmonsville wastewater treatment plant; repairs and rehabilitation of sewer lines, manholes and pump stations; and installation of new sewer lines.

This project is a great example of regulatory agencies, municipalities, and stakeholders coming together to solve a problem through the implementation of long-term solutions and cooperative finance programs.

For more information, please contact
Bonnie Ammons
bammons@ria.sc.gov
803.737.0390