In verifying information the top official of a local water district provided to justify his salary, The Journal identified discrepancies between the figures he cited and those reported by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A month after The Journal requested salary details for employees of Pioneer Rural Water District, top Pioneer official Terry Pruitt fulfilled the request on Tuesday at the district’s annual meeting.

Although the larger of two water suppliers increased its rates by only one penny over five years, a local water district cites “indefensible increases in water prices” as justification for building a proposed $19 million water treatment plant.

A judge has warned a local water district that all costs spent on its proposed $19 million water treatment plant since a hearing earlier this month will be “done at its own risk,” according to court documents filed on Friday.

Pioneer Rural Water District has notified the city of Seneca the water district will install a septic tank at its proposed water treatment plant at the Golden Corner Commerce Park instead of tapping into county sewer lines.

A court hearing planned today to decide if Oconee County must issue a building permit for a $19 million water treatment plant has been postponed.

Two days before a hearing to determine whether Oconee County must issue a building permit for a planned $19 million water treatment plant, officials confirmed the permit has been issued on a “conditional” basis.

Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority continues to deny allegations it is unlawfully withholding a building permit for a proposed $19 million water treatment plant.

An official for a state utilities watchdog clarified reports by the oversight body after the head of a local water district claimed the reports concluded a proposed $19 million water treatment plant would “benefit” the district.

The attorney for Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority has disputed the claim OJRSA is withholding a building permit for a water treatment plant proposed by Pioneer Rural Water District.