Groundbreaking on the Port of Savannah’s expansion is within sight, as the U.S. House approved a massive water projects bill Wednesday that includes the go-ahead for Georgia’s biggest economic development project.
The bill, which authorizes port and waterway projects across the nation, must be reconciled with the U.S. Senate version that passed in May and also boosts Savannah.
The White House gave qualified support to the House bill, hoping for changes in a conference committee. The House bill, which passed 417-3, authorizes $8.2 billion in projects over the next decade, while the Senate bill authorizes $12.5 billion.
With the president’s signature, workers will be able to break ground on deepening the channel from 42 feet to 47 feet, to accommodate larger ships coming through the soon-to-be expanded Panama Canal.
The ports of Savannah and Brunswick support 100,000 metro Atlanta jobs and, according to a University of Georgia study, contribute $39 billion to the state economy.
The state already has set aside $231 million toward the project’s cost, and state officials are hoping for much more from the federal government in future years. The bill authorizes the project at a $662 million price tag, which has been inflated over years of studies and modifications since the project was first approved in 1999.
“This is a huge step, the federal government acknowledging (the project), giving a green light and beginning the process of more federal dollars,” said Rep. David Scott, an Atlanta Democrat and one of many Georgia officials in both parties who have personally lobbied President Barack Obama for port money.
The water bill also is notable for what’s not in it. Florida and Alabama legislators in both chambers of Congress had tried to get the bill to weigh in on the tri-state “water wars,” but the Georgia delegation fended them off, leaving the dispute in the courts.
“To allow Congress to come in and start dictating how Georgia uses Georgia’s water would have been a real step in the wrong direction,” said U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, a Republican from Lawrenceville.
Savannah is only one of many ports expanding to accept larger ships. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution review last year showed that 10 ports from New York to Miami to Houston plan to put $15 billion toward port expansions over the next decade. Half of the money is expected to come from taxpayers and the other half from fees on shipping lines.
Port backers say the project will bring jobs and keep Savannah competitive with East Coast neighbors, though questions abound over the likelihood that millions of public dollars will bring more ships, cargo and jobs.
The water bill has critics from both sides. Conservative groups, including Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks and Heritage Action for America, said the bill does not have enough reforms, keeping a $60 billion backlog of unfunded Army Corps of Engineers projects, some of which are old earmarks.
But those groups did not make the bill a “key vote” for their closely watched scorecards, which have considerable power to move votes.
Groups on the left, including Environment America — which has a Georgia affiliate — and the Natural Resources Defense Council, criticized the House bill for accelerating the environmental review process for Army Corps projects. The swifter deadlines will weaken environmental protections and not allow adequate study of the projects’ impacts, the groups said.
But the concerns were overcome by a flood of support for the bipartisan bill. Port backers are already turning their focus to making sure the Obama administration and Congress follow through with funding.
On Tuesday in Ringgold, Gov. Nathan Deal called the House vote “incredibly important. It’s the last remaining piece.”
Deal said he’ll take whatever he can get from Washington, even if it falls short of the 70 percent that some supporters advocate for the $662 million project.
“I’ll take 60 percent,” he said with a smile.
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