Georgia officials criticized South Carolina counterparts Monday for trying to scuttle plans to deepen Savannah’s harbor and river.
They were prodded by the latest salvo in the bi-state rivalry, which came Friday in a letter from Bill Stern, head of South Carolina’s ports authority. He wrote to his Georgia counterpart that “a number of unsettling issues” prohibits continued planning and payments for a joint port at Jasper, S.C., about 7 miles downriver from Savannah.
Georgia ports officials claim the Jasper "issues" are a ruse intended to kill Savannah’s long-planned efforts to deepen the river leading to Savannah.
“There are elements in South Carolina apparently willing to push the Jasper port off indefinitely in an effort to delay or defeat (Savannah’s deepening) and ignore the obvious economic benefits to the entire state of South Carolina,” Steve Green, a Georgia Ports Authority board member, said Monday.
Georgia officials say deepening Savannah's port is critical to economic growth. President Obama's budget unveiled last week included $600,000 for "pre-construction" deepening.
Savannah surpassed Charleston as the East Coast’s busiest port a few years back, and South Carolina officials are now scurrying to push forward their harbor-deepening efforts in Charleston. Both states had also expected to open a Jasper port in 15 years once Charleston and Savannah were nearing capacity.
The Army Corps of Engineers released a harbor-deepening study last November concluding that the Savannah River could be dredged to 48 feet, from its current 42-foot level, with minimal environmental impact. The cost to Georgia and federal taxpayers: $551 million.
East Coast ports are scrambling to get deeper in advance of an expected 25 percent jump in cargo traffic as large container ships bypass the West Coast and take advantage of an expanded Panama Canal.
The governors of Georgia and South Carolina proclaimed three years ago their intent to build and operate a joint port at Jasper, anticipating build-out of the ports of Savannah and Charleston.
In recent weeks, though, South Carolina has tried to stymie Savannah’s push for deeper water, with the state's environmental agency threatening to deny a water-quality permit. S.C. legislators passed resolutions opposing Savannah River deepening.
In his letter Friday to Alec Poitevint, who chairs Georgia’s ports authority, Stern wrote that the Corps’ study points up “serious potential impacts to our Jasper Ocean Terminal project.”
“Until we have clarity on the (Savannah deepening) issues, we stand to flounder in the uncertainty, spending money and time in vain on plans that would likely have to receive repeated and substantial changes, or that might be completely thwarted, all at the expense of our respective states,” he said.
Stern questioned whether a 48-foot depth could handle the next generation of super-sized container ships. He isn’t convinced two such ships could pass alongside each other, particularly at the proposed Jasper site. And he noted that the Corps envisions using the site as a repository for dredged materials from the river deepening project for the next 50 years.
Billy Birdwell, spokesman for the Corp’s Savannah district, said the environmental impact study clearly shows that an expanded Savannah River will offer “a meeting point where ships can move to the side when another comes through.” While current plans call for dumping the dredged spoils onto the Jasper site, he added, the Corps will likely be asked to choose another site.
“And a proposed port in Jasper County would be right on the deepened channel,” Birdwell said. “All they’d need to do is tap into it.”
Green said South Carolina officials are grasping at straws.
“It is unfortunate that there are elements within South Carolina that are willing to ignore the scientific and economic facts that (the deepening) is good for Georgia and South Carolina,” he said.
S.C. state Sen. Larry Grooms (R-Bonneau), who sponsored the anti-deepening resolution, said the Palmetto State isn’t trying to thwart a deeper Savannah River.
“There are many who would like to see the Jasper Ocean Terminal become a reality and in order for that to happen, (the deepening) has to be changed,” he said.
About the Author
