“We were never looking for a cash settlement. We were looking for projects that would lay the groundwork for the expansion and improvement of Fairfield County as well as economic development.”
Jason Taylor, Fairfield County Administrator
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County council voted Monday night to accept a settlement with Dominion Energy stemming from the cancelled V.C. Summer nuclear construction project and the fee in lieu of taxes agreement entered into by the parties in July of 2010.
The settlement ends nearly four years of extensive negotiations between Dominion and the county with County Administrator Jason Taylor and the county’s Economic Development Director Ty Davenport spearheading the negotiations for the county.
“We never liked to approach this as a punitive action against Dominion,” Taylor said. “We knew we had to move forward with Dominion in a partner-like relationship. They have a nuclear power plant here and they are a power provider here. We needed a positive relationship moving forward. We approached this asking how we could get an equitable settlement that’s a win-win for both of us. So they’re reinvesting in their territory (Fairfield County) to create tax payers for us, rate payers for them and jobs for our citizens which means a better quality of life for our citizens. That’s how we can truly move forward together in a partnership.
“We were never looking for a cash settlement,” Taylor said. “We were looking for projects that would lay the groundwork for the expansion and improvement of Fairfield County as well as economic development.”
“Three years and two councils ago we made a commitment to the citizens to press this issue and see it through, and today that occurred,” Billy Smith, county council chair when the lawsuit was initiated, told The Voice after the meeting in a phone call from Louisiana. “The outcome is not perfect, but is in large part a win-win for all. The County will be able to undertake some strategic projects long overdue and neglected, and Dominion should benefit from the County’s growth in its territory. Credit is due to all involved. Now the real work of getting these projects right begins.”
Those projects include a new wastewater treatment plant near the Broad River, upgrades to the industrial park at the Fairfield Commerce Center and extensive work on the I-77 mega-site. Dominion also committed to a group of community development projects for Ridgeway as well as five years of bond payment relief for the $24 million Fairfield Facilities Corporation bond that current council member Mikel Trapp helped pass in 2013.
“Fairfield County enjoyed a long fruitful relationship with SCE&G for many years prior to cancellation of the nuclear project, and we at the county look forward to a long, fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship with Dominion Energy for many years to come,” Taylor said.
It was a priority for Taylor to finalize the settlement before he leaves his county administrator’s position in June to assume the Town Manager’s position at the Town of Winnsboro.
But Taylor not only had to negotiate with Dominion, he had to also negotiate a settlement that the four majority voting bloc on council – Moses Bell, Mikel Trapp, Shirley Green and Tim Roseborough – would vote to accept.
“It’s a win-win for Fairfield and Dominion Energy,” Davenport said. “Fairfield benefits because this investment will increase the number of jobs and homes in the county, and Dominion benefits because companies locating in Fairfield County will need energy.”
“Dominion Energy had some of the best lawyers in the country representing it on this case, and because of their vision and hard work we were able to craft an incredibly unique agreement that benefits both our client and theirs,” said Jack McKenzie, one of the attorneys representing Fairfield County. “Ten years from now, neither side will remember this as a settlement of a lawsuit, but as the establishment of a partnership that succeeded in improving both the lives of the citizens of Fairfield County and the bottom line for the stockholders of Dominion Energy.”
“I am very impressed with Dominion Energy and the care with which it handled this litigation,” current County Council Chair Moses Bell said in a prepared statement. “It is clear that Dominion is committed to becoming a friend to South Carolina and particularly Fairfield County. I think it’s time that we all move on from the utility bashing that has taken place over the past three years, and continue to develop plans for our future together so that we all benefit.”
Below is a breakdown of the settlement in projects and cash:
$45,690,118 – Wastewater treatment plant
$6,475,000 – Grading of the mega-site
$3,196,000 – Grading of the Commerce Center
$1,750,000 – Escrow for rate relief (economic development)
$2,000,000 – Spec Bldg. – Parcel 9 at Commerce Center
$2,200,000 – Teachers’ Village
$7,550,920 – Bond payments (for 5 years of payments for 2013 $24M bond)
$2,500,000 – Ridgeway Park and Rec Center
$1,000,000 – Martin Luther King Monument on Mt. Zion grounds
$27,112,500 – Cash (payments to attorneys)
$99,474,538 – TOTAL
This is a breaking story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.