ROCKINGHAM — Before any announcement of industry coming to the Energy Way Industrial Park, the county is requesting more capacity.
The Rockingham City Council on Tuesday voted to approve an interlocal agreement with the Richmond County government for the city to take in an additional 200,000 gallons per day from the park.
The item wasn’t on the agenda, but City Manager Monty Crump told the council he had just received the final draft earlier in the day.
The new agreement, Crump said, brings the total to 400,000 gallons per day.
“We’ve been working on it for a while,” Crump said. “They’re in some hurry to move forward. You can tell, it was already executed by them.”
(Note: The new agreement has not yet been brought before the Richmond County Board of Commissioners for approval in an open meeting, however there was a provision in the original agreement for the county to ask for up to 400,000 gallons in the future.)
Two years ago, in March of 2023, the two governments entered into a 40-year agreement for the city to provide wastewater service to Energy Way, located on Airport Road south of Hamlet.
According to the original agreement, the county would pay to extend the sewer line from the Energy Way complex to Rockingham’s existing sewer system, with the connection point expected to be a 12-inch gravity sewer line near the intersection of Airport Road and Maple Street in East Rockingham — around 6 miles. Once complete, the city would take ownership of the line.
The original agreement also called for the county to pay the city $1.25 million for a one-time capacity charge for up to 200,000 gallons per day, with future capacity charges determined in accordance with the state Public Water and Sewer System Development Fee Act.
Crump said Tuesday that the new agreement keeps the rate the same, making it $250,000 for the double capacity.
The county is expected to pay the city no later than Sept. 1, Crump said. The first payment was made in October of 2024 — 19 months after the agreement was approved by both boards.
Councilman Bennett Deane said the agreement was “a great deal for everybody.”
Last year, the city accepted a $12.8 million grant to make improvements to its wastewater treatment plant — the first major upgrade to the facility in more than 30 years.
In December, the county accepted two grants totalling more than $8 million to help fund the Energy Way wastewater project. The county had previously secured more than $7 million for the $9 million project.
In November, commissioners approved a measure to allow County Manager Bryan Land to sell land in the industrial park.
Last year, Energy Way was ranked as one of the top 15 best potential industrial sites in the state.
