Gov. Mark Sanford and six former South Carolina governors support a state-controlled port development along the Savannah River in Jasper County.

“I don’t think you want to have a county unilaterally in the construction of a port that has statewide impact,” Sanford said.

He said the state should control the development, but that doesn’t mean the state has to build the terminal by itself.

“There are all kinds of different options,” including partnerships with private companies or with Georgia, the governor said.

Jasper County and the State Ports Authority are feuding over development of a deep-water terminal on more than 1,800 acres on the S.C. side of the river:

• The authority has asked the state Supreme Court to rule it has the sole right to develop such a terminal.

• The county, responding last week, claims the authority wants to prevent competition for the Port of Charleston by leaving the Jasper site undeveloped.

County officials have maintained they are willing to work with the Ports Authority, but only if the authority is committed to following through with building the Jasper terminal.

“Our concern is whether or not they will actually move forward,” said Rose Dobson, deputy Jasper County administrator for economic development.

Meanwhile, Sanford’s thoughts were echoed by six former governors in a letter sent to The State newspaper Tuesday.

In the letter, the governors said they know the advantages of working with the Ports Authority in economic development.

“This is a critical advantage that must not be compromised,” the letter said. “No one county or company, despite its best intentions, can maintain a statewide perspective and the state would have no way to hold such an entity to objective levels of accountability.”

The letter was signed by former Govs. Bob McNair, Jim Edwards, Dick Riley, Carroll Campbell, David Beasley and Jim Hodges.

SSA Marine has made a deal with Jasper County to pay for, design and run a $450 million steamship terminal on the Savannah River.

“While Jasper County should be praised for its vision, we are convinced that its citizenry, as well as citizens in every part of the state, will be best served by maintaining public seaport facilities under the guidance of the South Carolina State Ports Authority,” the letter said.

The Ports Authority has said 19 private port developers and shipping lines have expressed interest in being a partner in developing terminals at the old Charleston Naval Base and the Jasper County site.

“At this point, we don’t rule anything out other than the county going unilaterally into the business of a port,” Sanford said. “We think that is a state prerogative.”

He said he has spoken with Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue about the states working together.

“Obviously, if the terminal is there, people on both sides of the state line will be working there, and both sides will be benefiting,” Sanford said.

Jasper County has been pushing for a shipping terminal to be built on its shores for about 15 years. Now, the county, for the second time in five years, is trying to condemn the riverfront property that is owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

That agency has consistently declined to sell the land, which is used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to store muck dredged from the Savannah River’s shipping channel.

Even if Jasper County or the Ports Authority gained ownership of the land, the shipping terminal’s future would still be in doubt.

The corps holds long-term and perpetual easements on the land. These federal easements are part of the property’s title and would require the corps’ release before any development.

Staff writer Ben Werner and The Associated Press contributed to this article.