EDGEFIELD COUNTY, S.C. – In a picturesque corner of Edgefield County, a proposed 70-lot RV park has stirred up controversy among local residents, sparking environmental concerns and prompting a formal appeal.

Randy Dedrickson, a resident of the Horse Creek Nature Preserve, is one of the community members voicing his objections. For Dedrickson and his wife, their home by the pond is more than just a place to live; it’s their chosen haven for retirement. “This is our homestead,” Dedrickson expressed. “We planned to die here.” The tranquility and peace of the area are integral to their vision of a serene retirement.

The contentious development, intended to accommodate Meta workers, involves cutting into steep, already eroded land directly across from Dedrickson’s property. The concern is that this land drains into Dedrickson’s pond via an underground stream, potentially threatening the delicate ecosystem they cherish.

While the project has successfully navigated a critical approval phase, the looming appeal by Dedrickson and his neighbors underscores the ongoing debate over environmental impact and community integrity.

Just across the road, a developer wants to cut into steep, eroded land for a 70-lot RV park, for Meta workers. He says that land drains straight into his pond through an underground stream.

“It pours into our property 365 days out of the year,” Dedrickson said.

The community fear clear-cutting could send dirty runoff downstream and strain dams in seven neighborhoods.

“Then that pond, all of the water in that pond goes right on down the branch into my pond, which is the next pond,” said Thomas McCain, who lives in the neighborhood. “And so if contamination become a problem.”

Neighbors say RVs leak blackwater, graywater, and fuel. 

They’ve filed an appeal with the South Carolina Environmental Law Project. 

They say the county ignored its own rules.

“We started this whole thing at the very first planning commission meeting in June; the County, RV partners were one page. But because of all of our issues that we’ve brought up since June, they now have an eight-page ordinance for Edgefield County,” said Dedrickson. If those eight page ordinances were in place today, we wouldn’t even be talking about this RV park over there on that property.”

People we spoke with say they’re not against RVs, just this site. They offered to buy the land with no response. They’ve also launched a GoFundMe to fund water testing and monitoring.

County leaders will have the final reading on the new RV Park on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.