Called Meeting of Oconee County Commissioners To Deal With Sewer Capacity Fees

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday in a called meeting to consider changes to the county’s policy on computation of sewer capacity fees.

Utility Department Director Chris Thomas told me on Friday that he is proposing that the county change when capacity fees are paid and how they are calculated.

At present, developers pay a fee to reserve capacity in the county’s sewage treatment system at the time the county issues the first permit, such as a land disturbance permit. Thomas wants to postpone payment of the fee until a building permit is issued.

He also wants to charge for 5 gallons of capacity for each 100 square feet of space in the building, rather than for 10 gallons per square foot, as is currently the case. At present, the amount charged drops to 5 gallons per square foot if the building is more than 10,000 square feet in size.

The fee is $9.50 per gallon of capacity, and developers have the option of paying for 208 gallons per day of capacity, or the estimated usage of a residence.

Thomas told me he is asking for the change now because of pending applications for sewer capacity from Epps Bridge Centre and from other projects in the SR 316 corridor.

For more on the story, go to Oconee County Observations.