Utility company files suit against Town of Lexington and EPA

Utility company Carolina Water Service is suing the Town of Lexington and the Environmental Protection Agency

LEXINGTON, S.C. (WOLO) — Utility company Carolina Water Service is suing the Town of Lexington and the Environmental Protection Agency. CWS tells ABC Columbia it filed the suit in U.S. District Court Friday.

Lexington Mayor Steve MacDougall says he learned about the lawsuit Monday morning and he was shocked. He says up until last Thursday, the town was negotiating with CWS to buy its I-20 facility.

The company says it needed to involve the EPA because Lexington says it’s unable to offer an option for CWS to tie-in with its regional facility. MacDougall says CWS cannot tie into the town’s line, because it was created using public money.

CWS and Lexington have gone back and forth since September, when DHEC denied a permit to the utility company to continue discharging wastewater into the Lower Saluda River.