Testing shows no major concerns at 'Big Mill'

A mandatory follow-up environmental study apparently won't derail the county's plan to purchase Millliken's "Big Mill" site.

Cherokee County Assistant Administrator Holland Belue said the soil testing showed no major environmental concerns about the 17.4-acre site. Belue said the findings now will be reviewed by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

"DHEC will have the final say," Belue said.

The soil testing was conducted after an initial environmental study revealed storage tanks of crude oil, two electrical substations and building material submerged in a retention pond on Milliken's "Big Mill" property.

The county paid about $10,000 for the studies.

The county plans to spend $435,000 to purchase the 17.4-acre site and recoup up to $100,000 of that amount by selling a portion of the property to the City of Gaffney for use as a park.

The county has collected an estimated $3.5 million in tax revenue for the proposed administration building. Those funds paid for the environmental study and boundary survey that's part of the "due diligence" portion of the negotiations before the sale can be finalized. The surveys will be partially funded by the city, but the county paid the entire $10,000 tab for the environmental studies.