State, county spar over proposals
The state of South Carolina and Jasper County argued Tuesday in
the S.C. Supreme Court over which has the right to condemn a dredge
pile at the mouth of the Savannah River for a $500 million port.
“This decision is going to have tremendous impact on the
development of South Carolina’s ocean trade and related industries,
and the ability of South Carolina to compete with other states,”
Columbia lawyer C. Mitchell Brown, representing the Ports Authority,
told the justices.
If a majority of the five justices agree with the S.C. Ports
Authority, Jasper County will have to stand aside and give the lead
to an agency that did not consider a port there to be in the state’s
best interests until last year.
If justices agree with Jasper County, one of the state’s poorest
counties will continue its fight to condemn the island so it and SSA
Marine, a private company, can build a port on land owned by
Georgia.
The Army Corps of Engineers has given the Georgia Port Authority
permission to use the island to dump silt dredged upriver to keep
the channel clear to the Port of Savannah. Georgia has fought Jasper
County’s condemnation attempts.
The county revised its deal with SSA Marine so the county would
retain ownership, a move designed to let the county show the
condemnation was for a public use, as required by state law.
The State Ports Authority sued in January, saying the county
condemnation efforts infringed on the state’s authority. The Ports
Authority’s board passed a resolution last year saying it wanted to
develop a port there and would condemn the land, if necessary. But
state officials have said they would first try to buy the land from
Georgia or develop it with Georgia’s cooperation.
The Ports Authority needs a clear ruling from the S.C. Supreme
Court that it has the power to deal with Georgia.
Even if Jasper County wins this round, its attempt to condemn the
land must meet the strict requirements of S.C. law that public
agencies taking private land show they are doing so for a public
purpose.
S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal on Tuesday questioned
whether the current deal would meet those tests.
Cam Lewis, a Columbia lawyer representing Jasper County, argued
the state can’t take over the county’s condemnation efforts. He said
such a pre-emption would violate federal maritime law if the state
acted to prevent competition by standing in the way of the port’s
development.
But Lewis didn’t get past his first sentences before he was
upbraided by Toal.
“We’re not putting anything on an ocean,” Lewis said.
Toal replied: “I think we all know where the port is. It’s so
close to the ocean you could spit on it.”
Lewis argued the issue was legitimate because it affects which
laws apply in deciding whether the state can pre-empt the county’s
attempt to condemn the land.
Toal asked Lewis whether the county was planning to “give away”
the land to a private developer. “It’s going to become a big
question whether the public purpose is served.”
“That’s a question for another day,” Lewis said.
“No sir, Mr. Lewis,” Toal said, saying the S.C. Supreme Court has
taken a very restricted view on what conditions allow a public body
to force a sale of land.
Reach DuPlessis at (803) 771-8305 or jduplessis@thestate.com.
