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Richland County approves Westinghouse rezoning despite unanimous planning commission disapproval and broad public opposition
Summary
Richland County Council on Dec. 17 approved Westinghouse’s request to rezone a 53-acre parcel near 5801 Bluff Road to heavy industrial, overriding planning staff and an 8–0 commission recommendation to disapprove after hours of public comment raising environmental and process concerns.
Richland County Council approved a rezoning request Dec. 17 that will allow Westinghouse to convert a 53-acre parcel near 5801 Bluff Road to heavy industrial use for a new manufacturing facility.
Christopher Knight, representing Westinghouse, told the council the Columbia fuel fabrication site has operated in Richland County since 1969 and that the added acreage would permit construction of a state-of-the-art facility to produce an advanced LEU Plus fuel product. "This new facility will have more efficient processes and increase the use of automation while creating approximately 100 jobs of a highly technical nature," Knight said.
Nancy Parr, Westinghouse’s environmental protection manager, said the company expects the new building to generate "less air and water discharges compared to existing operations" as production moves from older facilities, and that a focused cultural resource survey…
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