Marion County authorizes Santee Cooper to survey for 20-foot transmission-line expansion near industrial park

Marion County council on an undisclosed date approved a request that allows Santee Cooper to survey county property adjacent to the industrial park to determine how much land — if any — the utility would need for a roughly 20-foot transmission-line expansion.

County staff told the council the work concerns a small parcel near the retention pond on the left as drivers turn from Girly Road onto Industrial Park Road, where a transmission line abuts county property. A county staff member said, "It's a total of a 20 foot expansion when it doesn't impact our property quite that much. But all this simply is just a request for them to be allowed to to survey that site, to see what all they need and how much of our property they need they need to acquire." The council voted by voice to authorize the deputy administrator to sign the survey permit so Santee Cooper can begin its assessment.

The staff presentation described the request as an early step to determine whether Santee Cooper would need to acquire any county land for the expansion and, if so, how much. No purchase or property-transfer decision was made at the meeting; the vote authorized only the survey work that would inform next steps.

The council handled the authorization as a routine item and approved the motion by voice vote.

Council members and staff did not specify a timeline for Santee Cooper's survey or any later acquisition steps, nor did the county identify the exact acreage that might be affected.