SC officials agree to Savannah port expansion deal | Politics | The State

The S.C. Savannah River Maritime Commission and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Wednesday approved the deal, which grew out of court-ordered mediation on the issue. Representatives of conservation groups who had sued over the issue said they have agreed to the provisions. The document approved Wednesday will be submitted to U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel, who ordered the mediation effort to settle eight lawsuits over the issue.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also will have to sign off on the agreement. Georgia has set aside money for the project, but the full federal funding hasn’t been approved. The Savannah port needs improvements, including a deepened shipping channel, to handle larger ships after the Panama Canal expansion is finished.

The deal gives South Carolina groups the right to scuttle the agreement if devices to pump oxygen into the river don’t offset water quality damage caused by the construction.

The agreement requires the Georgia Ports Authority to set aside $33.5 million for various efforts to ensure the environmental concerns are met and to provide mitigation for any damages. Also, Georgia will deed to South Carolina about 2,000 acres of salt marsh in South Carolina now owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation. The 2,000 acres, valued at $10 million, is behind land that has been proposed for a separate port on the South Carolina side of the river in Jasper County.

via SC officials agree to Savannah port expansion deal | Politics | The State.