NORTH CHARLESTON - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is again gauging the effect of a steamship terminal in South Carolina, and Gov. Mark Sanford has asked the agency to speed the process.
The corps is starting to prepare an environmental impact statement on a proposed $500 million State Ports Authority terminal at the former Charleston Naval Base, the second time in five years the agency has conducted such a study.
Fierce opposition in the late 1990s prompted the authority to scuttle plans to build its larger Global Gateway terminal Daniel Island. State lawmakers then directed the authority to consider the base.
The plan calls for a 250-acre container terminal with more than half a mile of berths. The State Ports Authority is looking for private steamship companies to help pay the cost.
Lt. Col. Alvin Lee, commander of the Charleston District of the Corps of Engineers, said Tuesday a draft impact statement could be published in July of next year, with a permit decision by December 2005.
Sanford, in a letter to the corps, said many aspects of the terminal already have been reviewed.
"We would encourage your investigation to focus on the local neighborhoods, environment impacted by the project and any mitigation necessary," Sanford wrote.
Several state lawmakers, including state Sen. Arthur Ravenel, R-Mount Pleasant, a strong opponent of the Daniel Island site, also have written asking the permitting process be expedited.
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