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Fairfield County wins DES backing to proceed with new wastewater plant; design to begin
Summary
Administrator Vic Carpenter said DES agreed to the county’s proposed discharge limits and committed to the permit needed to design a new wastewater treatment plant; county survey work on a roughly 17‑mile connector is under way and officials expect the plant in late 2029.
Fairfield County has cleared a regulatory hurdle for a long‑planned wastewater treatment plant, County Administrator Vic Carpenter said at a town hall.
"I'm proud to say that in May, DES backed off. They not only did they agree that we were right, but they agreed to giving us our permit already as well," Carpenter said, describing months of stops and starts while DES revised river rules. That commitment, he said, allows the county to move from permitting into full design.
Carpenter said the county has begun surveying a roughly 17‑mile route for a sewer connector and has hired a company to design the plant. He noted the plant will have a permit of up to 4,000,000 gallons but the county will likely begin operations at about 2,000,000 gallons "because that's about all we need, about all we can afford too." He added that full construction will take time and the county currently anticipates the plant could be ready about December 2029.
Carpenter also described negotiations with other river users and neighboring jurisdictions needed to secure the permitted share of river discharge. He said further meetings in Columbia involving regional partners will move the river‑approval process forward and then DES will issue the formal permit.
What happens next: once permits are secured the county will complete design work, finalize alignments for the sewer connector and move toward procurement and construction timelines; no construction contract award was announced at the town hall.
