Chimney Sweep in Moncks Corner, SC

The park will not only preserve nearly five acres in the Town of Moncks Corner but also many irreplaceable and beautiful oaks on the site.

The County and Town have agreed to jointly purchase the park for approximately $1.2 million, and therefore, jointly own it. The County will utilize Greenbelt Funding from its Greenbelt Program to cover its half of the cost.

According to the agreement, the Town will maintain the site while the County will manage all activities necessary to implement and construct the park project with assistance from the Berkeley 250 Committee.

“I am thrilled that our Council and Berkeley County have come together to preserve this historic land with its magnificent grand oaks. This joint effort not only protects our natural heritage but also provides a valuable resource for our community to enjoy and learn from.” -Moncks Corner Mayor Thomas J. Hamilton, Jr.

“We are excited to partner with the Town of Moncks Corner to not only preserve this site, but also develop it as a public park to highlight our county’s rich history as it relates to the Revolutionary War and those that fought for our independence.” -Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb

Berkeley County is also working to procure additional park properties around the County through the Greenbelt Program. This program is funded through the 2022 One Cent Sales Tax referendum, which voters approved in November 2022. The referendum includes a projected $58.7 million for Greenbelt projects.

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-Prepared by the Berkeley County Public Information Office-

Epson Oaks greenbelt historical Johnny Cribb park property

MONCKS CORNER — In the early evening March 30, firefighting crews extinguished a heavy blaze that ignited within the National Guard Armory.

Within minutes, crews arrived on the scene at 320 Airport Drive to find smoke coming from the armory building, said Colt Roy, assistant fire chief of central Berkeley fire and EMS. A 911 caller around 6 p.m. had alerted them to the blaze, which had overtaken an interior supply room.

While unsure if the supply room was for janitorial supplies or miscellaneous storage, Roy said that it did not contain critical equipment nor was it part of the armory vault.

The building itself is large and is "hardened," built to withstand potential threats to the armory, Roy said. These factors created a challenge to firefighting crews, as they needed longer hoses to be able to reach the blaze.

In around an hour, crews had the fire under control. No one was injured, Roy said.

To help air out the building in the aftermath, Roy called representatives with Santee Cooper to bring in a large fan boat — the type built for quickly traversing marshland. It proved to be much more efficient in clearing latent smoke than firefighters' smaller fans designed for residential use.

The cause of ignition will be up to the State Law Enforcement Division to determine, said Roy. SLED is the primary investigating body due to the governmental nature of the building. He said that in incidents where there is a belief of foul play, firefighters will be notified in advance and must take extra precautions. None were needed in this case and he received no official mention that the cause of ignition was critical.

The National Guard Armory is situated within Moncks Corner Rural Fire District jurisdiction, Roy said. Their crews responded, as did firefighters from Moncks Corner City Fire, North Berkeley, East Berkley and a rehabilitation van was sent from the Pine Ridge Fire Department.

A reporter with The Post and Courier attempted to obtain comment from officials with the National Guard Armory but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Century Aluminum is facing a six-figure civil fine and a nearly $1 million legal settlement over pollution at its Mount Holly smelter in Berkeley County.

The S.C. Department of Environmental Services this month levied a $361,500 penalty against the Chicago-based company for repeatedly exceeding pollution limits between 2019-24 at the factory off Highway 52 near Moncks Corner.

The agency said in an order that Century violated federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations by emitting fluoride and particulate matter beyond the maximum allowed under law. The order states the aluminum maker also failed to conduct necessary equipment inspections and didn't submit required monitoring and inspection documentation.

The order requires Century to begin recording all maintenance and inspection checks within 30 days, provide regulators with progress reports every 90 days and prove the smelter's emissions are within acceptable levels no later than Aug. 31.

The company must also pay its fine in four quarterly installments of $90,375, with the first due within 30 days.

"As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance protection for our employees and the surrounding community, we have invested millions of dollars in equipment upgrades and conducted extensive employee health and safety training since 2019," Mount Holly plant manager Robert Quak said in a written statement. "With the closure of these matters we can turn our focus to continuing to produce aluminum for our customers in a way that honors the community where we live and work."

Residents near the aluminum plant started complaining in 2023 about air emissions that coated their cars and homes, prompting an investigation by environmental regulators. They also said they suffered congestion, coughs, swelling, itching and sinus issues. Century admitted during an enforcement hearing in October 2023 that it had exceeded pollution limits.

Separately, Century proposed last week to set up a $944,000 compensation fund to settle a federal class-action lawsuit filed in late 2023 on behalf of residents who live near the smelter.

The pool amounts to about $700 for each for most of the 726 property owners, $150,000 for the lawyers who represent them and an unspecified extra amount for the five named plaintiffs in the case.

A judge still has to approve the settlement. A hearing date has not been scheduled.

Spec surge

More speculative industrial construction appears to be on the way along the busy Highway 78 corridor near Ridgeville.

Fort Mill-based Landmark Industrial has applied for a state stormwater permit to build three warehouses totaling 683,280 feet on a 55-acre parcel known as the Dinge Tract near Interstate 26 and just inside the Dorchester County line from neighboring Berkeley County.

The site, currently owned by Carl Dinge, is across the highway from a nearly 840-acre parcel owned by the National Audubon Society near Four Hole Swamp.

The speculative project — meaning no tenants have been lined up prior to construction — would fill about six acres of freshwater wetlands, according to a filing with the Army Corps of Engineers. Landmark has proposed purchasing 65.3 credits in a wetland mitigation bank as compensation.

Landmark founder Dave Williams describes the company on his LinkedIn page as a commercial developer seeking "opportunities in underserved secondary and tertiary markets located near seaports, inland ports and major highways."

The permit application comes on the heels of another speculative warehouse project proposed by Stream Realty Acquisitions. The Dallas-based company wants to build six structures totaling nearly 2 million square feet on roughly 240 acres along Highway 78 near Summerville. The development would be next to the Drakesborough neighborhood and across the highway from the Summerville Airport.

Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm, noted in a recent report that more than 5 million square feet of speculative warehouse space was built in the Charleston region every year between 2022 and 2024. The glut has resulted in a soaring vacancy rate that hit 13.6 percent at the end of last year.

Tax tiff

Lawyers representing the Internal Revenue Service say the agency mistakenly issued a $13.4 million tax refund to AVX Kyocera, and now it wants the Upstate electronic components maker to pay up.

The dispute dates to a return AVX filed in early 2019 for its fiscal year that ended March 31, 2018. The form showed the Fountain Inn-based company owed about $101 million in taxes, with $70.3 million related to a one-time "transition tax" — part of President Donald Trump's 2017 tax overhaul that required some U.S. companies to pay taxes on previously untaxed earnings of related foreign corporations.

AVX, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese electronics firm Kyocera, agreed to pay the transition tax in eight annual installments.

When 2022 rolled around, the company filed an amended return for its 2018 fiscal year. The revised document included previously unreported credits and deductions that AVX said resulted in a refund rather than tax owed. A court battle proceeded, but before a decision was rendered the IRS sent the $13.4 million refund without the knowledge or approval of lawyers representing the U.S.

Those lawyers now say AVX either wasn't entitled to or miscalculated the credits on its amended filing. This month, they asked a federal judge to force the company to repay the money plus interest and court costs.

AVX has not filed a response to the tax lawsuit and a spokesman could not be reached for comment