RIDGELAND -- Despite a lawsuit in the S.C. Supreme Court, Jasper County officials are determined to build a $450 million shipping terminal and remained adamant Monday that the process would not be turned over to the S.C. State Ports Authority.

The rural county's more than 10-year fight to build the port continued last week as Jasper's $8.5 million bid to buy the 1,863 acres on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River from the Georgia Department of Transportation was rejected and the S.C. State Ports Authority slapped the county with a lawsuit in the S.C. Supreme Court.

But Jasper officials say those moves won't dissuade them and they're not willing to back out of a process they say won't cost taxpayers a dime.

"There is already a plan to bring a port to Jasper and the county is ready to do that, money in hand, tomorrow, with no additional burden to the taxpayers," Jasper County administrator Andrew Fulghum said.

Earlier this month Jasper announced an exclusive loan, development and management pact with the world's largest port developer, SSA Marine. The deal includes a $15 million advance from SSA to Jasper for acquiring the land and to fight any legal challenge brought by the state or Georgia.

If for any reason the deal falls through, Jasper won't have to repay the $15 million.

"SSA from this point back, in everything that has been done, has paid the bill," County Councilwoman Gladys Jones said Monday.

If Jasper is successful in securing the land, port construction would be paid for through bonds based on the shipping terminal's projected revenue.

"Every penny the State Ports Authority spends fighting us, paying lawyers, purchasing land, anything to develop this port, is taxpayers' money," Jones said. "Even if they buy bonds, every taxpayer in South Carolina would have to pay for the port."

Under the loan agreement, SSA Marine will bankroll all of Jasper County's attorney fees and local port authority expenses until the county secures the land. (The Jasper County port authority was formed last year.) If the county fails, SSA Marine absorbs the debt.

Under the management agreement, South Atlantic International Terminal, a local subsidiary of SSA Marine, is guaranteed 32 years as the exclusive operator with four 10-year extensions. Jasper County receives $4 million a year as landowner plus $2 per cargo container that moves through the port.

Just nine miles upriver from the Jasper site, more than 863,000 containers moved through the Port of Savannah in the past six months -- a new record -- the Georgia Ports Authority announced Monday. SSA Marine vice president Jake Coakley has said "several hundred thousand" containers would move through a Jasper port in the first year alone.

Jasper responded to the Georgia Transportation Department's refusal to sell the land by filing for condemnation in the Jasper County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday.

In September 2003, the Supreme Court ruled against Jasper's first attempt at condemnation, stating that a commercially owned and operated port did not meet required public use, as the suggested lease to SSA Marine would result in the county turning the land over to a private enterprise. Public use is a fundamental factor in condemnation suits.

Added to the mix, the State Ports Authority started their own acquisition proceedings of the 1,863 acres. Last week the state board of directors gave its chairman the authority to condemn the land and file a lawsuit in the S.C. Supreme Court.

"We want (the Supreme Court) to make a statement that we are the sole authorized entity to build a port on the Savannah River and to say we have a superior right to do so," Harry Butler, chairman of the State Ports Authority's board of directors, said Monday.

At last week's meeting, the State Ports Authority said it's determined to bring private enterprise into its proposed port development on the Jasper bank of the Savannah River, but so far no plans or budget have been finalized.

If SSA were to break its deal with Jasper and open the door for the State Ports Authority to develop the land, the company would be shuffled into the pack of multinational port developers bidding to operate the facility.

While county and state governments in South Carolina fight it out in court, across the river legislators are working on a bill to create a joint port authority. The Port of Savannah Study Committee would consider creation of a bi-state ports authority to build and operate a second port on the Savannah River.

"Georgia has already had a number of meetings with the State Ports Authority, and we're holding out hope that that will lead to an arrangement that will benefit both states," Butler said Monday.

The bill was referred to the Georgia Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee on Monday. The committee is chaired by state Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah.