Stirring a skeptical reaction, state port officials told lawmakers Thursday they could begin construction of a new terminal in Jasper County in as few as three years.

The South Carolina State Ports Authority pitched its aggressive agenda to a Senate ports committee, provoking questions from legislators about how the SPA would get the project off the ground while working on a controversial $600 million terminal in North Charleston.

SPA chief Bernie Groseclose estimated the proposed terminal at the former North Charleston Naval Base would reach its full capacity about a decade after it opens, maxing out sometime about 2025. He said the Jasper County terminal would be crucial to South Carolina's bid to keep up with growing trade as Charleston-area ports become overwhelmed.

It's a scenario Jasper County officials have been exploring for years and one the SPA only last month formally announced it would pursue.

Now the two groups are embroiled in what promises to be a long legal battle over who will build the new seaport.

Jasper County already had lined up more than $500 million in investments from private developer SSA Marine before the SPA got involved. But the authority claims South Carolina can't afford to let the project get into private hands.

At least one lawmaker, Jasper County Sen. Clementa Pinckney, D-Ridgeland, expressed concern Thursday that his county's hopes for port development and thousands of new jobs might not come to fruition under the SPA's watch.

"A year ago ... the (port) board's answer to us was always, 'I think we have other plans' and 'Charleston seems to be the better place,'" Pinckney said. "Now that (the county) is just at the cusp of making these things happen, the SPA has had a change of heart. Why?"

Groseclose blamed the near-decade delay on the port authority's focus -- and ultimately its failed attempts -- to expand the Port of Charleston to Daniel Island.The General Assembly vetoed the Daniel Island proposal after residents complained about potential traffic and pollution. The expansion now has shifted to the nearly 300-acre property at North Charleston's former Navy Base, where officials still are waiting on permits for a new three-berth terminal.

A terminal in Jasper County would provide at least 11 berths, about as much space for ships to dock as would have been available on Daniel Island.

"With Daniel Island on the table I don't believe we had the opportunity to move ahead with Jasper County," Groseclose told lawmakers. "After some pretty careful consideration, we feel this is a way to address long-term (port) needs in addition to the Navy Base. The plans are to run the projects concurrently."

Groseclose said the SPA would apply for environmental permits to build the Jasper County port as soon as it gains control of land there.

The permitting process typically takes one to five years, but "my hope would be maybe somewhere in the middle," Groseclose said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been studying the North Charleston project for almost two years and a permit decision isn't expected until August 2006 at best.

"Maybe in three years we could have a permit (for Jasper County)," Groseclose told lawmakers, after repeated questions about a timeline for the project.

Port officials say they've been studying Jasper County's potential for at least a year and have had multiple meetings with the county's lawmakers to discuss options for a port.

"We told them we were doing our due diligence on the site," said SPA board president Harry Butler. "We have not tried to mislead Jasper County. We will expedite everything there is for us to do to move this ahead as fast as possible for both the good of Jasper County and all the people of South Carolina."

Pinckney, however, said that past talks between the SPA and Jasper County have inspired little confidence that the project would be a priority for the ports board.

"We've had some communication but no commitment," he said. "It's always just been a very fluid situation and (the county's) position has always been that we wanted to move forward. We have a good partnership with SSA Marine and we're going to move ahead. If something changes tomorrow, we'll deal with it."

The SPA filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court last month asking for sole authority to build a seaport on the Savannah River site.

The land sought for the new terminal is on the South Carolina side of the river but is owned by Georgia, which uses it as a dump site for material dredged from the Savannah harbor.

Jasper County has filed papers to condemn the proposed port site and get it out of Georgia's hands.

The county asked the Supreme Court last week to conduct an investigation into the SPA's rights and the potential impact of any decision involving the proposed port.

"I'm fascinated by where this is going, legally," Sen. David Thomas, R-Greenville, said Thursday. "(It involves) the SPA's authority not just in Charleston, but across the state, even encompassing areas of other states."

Pinckney and Thomas are part of the seven-member ports subcommittee, created just last month by Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman to study the SPA's performance and its plans for expansion.

Committee chairman Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, said the group will hold many meetings in coming months and will ask for face-to-face discussions with Jasper County officials to discuss the fate of the proposed terminal.

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Kris Wise covers ports and trade. Contact her at kwise@ postandcourier.com or 937-5496.