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Anderson County Council tables vote on Lewis Road closure
Anderson County Council votes
- The Anderson County Council voted as follows during its meeting Tuesday night:
- 4-3 A third reading of an ordinance authorizing and purchasing up to $2.25 million in revenue bonds for the Anderson Regional Airport, with Cindy Wilson, Bob Waldrep, and Ron Wilson opposed
- 6-1 A third reading of an ordinance rezoning a 120-acre area off of Old Williamston Road for the building of a school for Anderson School District 5, with Gracie Floyd opposed
- 7-0 A second reading of an ordinance authorizing the execution and second amended lease agreement with B Robert Bosch LLC
- 7-0 A first reading of an ordinance authorizing $3.2 million in solid waste revenue bonds
- 0-7 A first reading of a rezoning request for a property at 2442 Whitehall Road
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ANDERSON COUNTY — A resolution to abandon Lewis Road at the railroad tracks that cross it was tabled by Anderson County Council on Tuesday and is to be taken up at the next council meeting.
At the council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday night, residents from Lewis Drive asked council to postpone the vote until after the residents had an opportunity to meet with officials from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Concerns about the safety of an ethanol transfer station near the road.
Bill Brock with the Honea Path Rescue Squad said his department was concerned about the possible safety issues with the ethanol plant moving in to the area.
“The reason I’m here, my employees don’t like the idea of sleeping within 200 feet of a tank full of ethanol,” Brock said. “It just doesn’t seem logical that you could come in and bring potentially hazardous material to within 200 feet of where people are sleeping.”
Steven Chapman, the spokesman for a citizens’ group, presented council with a petition of 114 names of residents opposed to the road closure.
“Everything I’ve read and everything I’ve heard says this is combustible,” Chapman said. “We’re not trying to stand in the way of progress. … Come out and make us feel safe, that’s all we’re asking for.”
Others have also expressed concerns about the facility.
In a letter addressed to council dated Aug. 23, Cheddar Fire Department Chief Robby Land said the fire department was opposed to the road closure because it could increase emergency response times.
“This will drastically increase our response time to the lower side of Lewis Drive (3 minutes 17 seconds),” Land wrote. “It also adds a significant amount of time (1 minute 52 seconds) to areas that we use Lewis Drive to access like Broadway School Road, Dorchester Road, Belton City, Whitefield Fire, Rock Springs Fire, etc. I’m being told that the reason for the proposed abandonment was so the railroad can leave trains parked across the intersection for extended periods.”
Jim Farish, the president of Lincoln Oil Co., Inc., the Greenville-based company that is building the proposed ethanol transfer station in the area, said the tracks could be delayed on the track for as long as a week.
The facility, Farish said, would move ethanol using unit train cars. He said his company is investing more than $2 million to upgrade the ties and tracks of the existing railroad coming into the area and crossing Lewis Drive. Lincoln Oil Co. Inc., is investing $10 million in the area to build the transfer station.
The closure of the road was a safety issue for the railroad, Farish said.
A letter from Greenville Southern Railroad requested that the right of way be “discontinued” to ensure the railroad entrance into the proposed site would be secure.
The meeting between residents and health department officials is scheduled for Oct. 20.
Council will revisit the issue during its next meeting on Oct. 21.
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Quoting from the article:
“The reason I’m here, my employees don’t like the idea of sleeping within 200 feet of a tank full of ethanol,” Brock said. “It just doesn’t seem logical that you could come in and bring potentially hazardous material to within 200 feet of where people are sleeping.”
Funny. All these years sleeping next to jet fuel and other petrol-based products didn't bother you in the least? Or is this really a matter of something more than safety (which I believe it to be).
Remember folks: The tank farm existed LONG BEFORE anyone decided to build homes in the area. Why anyone would object to continued measures of safety and security for the area is beyond me.
Talk about stupid . . .
- SSHM
in response to StupidShouldHurtMore
It's not the tank farm, it's the 100-200 tank cars full of ethanol that is dangerous, especially with them being moved about all during the day and night. Tank cars derail, fall off the track and burst open.
What happens if a car slams into one as it is crossing a road or sitting on a siding by the highway? It will explode and/or dump 15,000 gallons of toxic fluids.
The interesting thing is that corn based ethanol has proven to be a near failure. Disregarding the cost to produce gasoline/ethanol mix and its effect on food prices, it reduces mileages by 5-10% according to the government, the oil industry and independent researchers.
in response to ElCid
Stan, er, ElCid:
You are talking in what-ifs. Do you have stats, sources, or facts to validate the assertion that the train is inherently riskier than say tractor-trailer transport? I guarantee you that train traffic is inherently safer than OTR or Over The Road travel.
For the record, ethanol is more than just corn. You may want to check your sources on what type of ethanol this is as not all ethanol is created equal.
Look into "fatty" ethanol (e.g. Cellulosic Ethanol). You'll see where this process is INDEPENDENT of the food supply.
- SSHM
Stan, er, ElCid:
Since I've given you all day to produce stats, facts, or other bits of wit to defend your assertion and you have yet to do so, let me provide for the readers here what the TRUTH really is:
Railroads: The Safe Way To Move
http://www.aar.org/IndustryInformatio...
Facts and figures are all there. Not a leg to stand on, as usual Stan, er, ElCid.
- SSHM
SSHM, if Bill Brock is concerned, I believe him. And hope council waits a bit.
in response to birdlover
Bill Brock showed breathtaking ignorance when he appeared before County Council Tuesday night. Such an amazing display of, “I have no idea what I’m talking about but I’m saying it anyway,” would have been hilarious if it were an SNL skit but this guy was serious.
Bill Brock appeared there with some other man (perhaps a double first cousin) holding a plat. The other man’s role seamed to be solely to hold the plat. Bill then began to talk about the old Southern Railroad right of way in front of the Honea Path EMS station. He claimed that this was abandoned right of way and that now the vegetation on it was being cleared. He stated and I quote, “This is the right of way of the Southern Railroad that was transferred to the Pickens Railroad and is now the Greenville and Western Railroad and they are clearing this track to park ethanol tankers.”
First he was right, this did belong to the Southern Railroad and they did transfer it to the Pickens Railroad. However, the Pickens Railroad still owns it and is not involved with the ethanol project. Secondly the Greenville and Western Railway owns the old CSX rail way and extends no farther south than Hamby Rd. The ethanol facility is located in Cheddar north of Belton and is on the Greenville and Western.
Bill Brock must be making and drinking his own ethanol (and a bad batch at that) if he thinks rail cars will find themselves 12 miles from their destination and onto anther railroad just to sit at the end of the line in front of his EMS station.
If this is the best Honea Path has to offer for EMS service then God help us all. You would be safer taking a taxi to the hospital.
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