Stewart told members of the Ohio County Development Authority Tuesday paperwork concerning the permits have been submitted to the corps.
He said, “Hopefully, they will respond by mid-January.”
In a separate U.S. Army Corps permit issue, earlier this month an issue arose over whether the county had violated permit regulations by moving dirt into streams into a site known as Lot 13C, located Interstate 70 from the main Highlands site.
Scott Hans, acting chief of the Regulatory Branch at the Corps’ Pittsburgh office, said development at the site near Dallas Pike has far exceeded the scope the corps was led to believe it would when that letter was mailed. The issue began when Ohio County Administrator Greg Stewart said county officials may be fined up to $35,000 per day for what the corps believes was the unauthorized filling of streams on Lot 13C.
Stewart said the ongoing permit disputes could jeopardize some future development at the site.
‘‘These permit problems do not help the future of the development, and could prevent The Highlands from reaching its potential, and we may have to scale back on some of our plans,’’ Stewart previously said.
Commissioner David Sims, who is an attorney, said he is convinced that a letter commissioners received from the corps in 2004 relieves county officials from acquiring any further federal permits for The Highlands development.
Hans said the inspection team saw that Streams 34 and 35 had been already been filled in, and that the county could be fined up to $35,000 per day of violation. Hans noted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would have the authority to impose the fines on the county as the see fit, but an official with the EPA said any potential fines would not be levied until the end of the investigation.
Stewart said he believed the county had permission to start work because the formal public comment period for the work on Lot 13C ended Sept. 25, but Hans said the corps is still compiling comments because they have to consider any information they receive — no matter when they get it.
In other matters, the authority group also approved the awarding of bids for construction of the Marquee Cinema building at The Highlands. They included bids for concrete, structural steel, roofing, masonry, fire protection, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry, electrical, glass, painting, flooring, miscellaneous metals, millwork, sealants and landscaping. Also approved were bids for site improvements, elevators and steel for Phase I of the Town Center at The Highlands.