The State Ports Authority asked the South Carolina Supreme Court on
Tuesday to order Jasper County to abandon plans to condemn a proposed
container terminal site on the Savannah River, saying the county is
interfering with the SPA's efforts to take ownership of the deepwater
property.
The request came about two weeks after South Carolina's highest court
ruled that the ports authority's condemnation power supersedes that of
Jasper, which blasted the latest turn in the case.
The SPA said it was necessary to file its request because county
officials have stated publicly that they intend to keep pursuing the land
for a privately funded steamship terminal that would compete with the Port
of Charleston.
"The county is seeking to interfere with the court's opinion, as well
as the state's efforts to acquire the site," SPA Chairman Bill H. Stern
said in a statement Tuesday. "Their words and actions have proven that
it's necessary for the ports authority to request relief from the
court."
Andrew Fulghum, Jasper County administrator, responded sharply.
"I would say their action is downright imperial and that the SPA is
once again attempting to block Jasper County's project from moving forward
in order to eliminate competition," Fulghum said. "I believe this recent
action will allow us to further expose that fact."
Correspondence filed with the Supreme Court shows the SPA asked Jasper
officials to "stand down" by last Friday. The county responded Monday,
requesting to join in the SPA's condemnation as an interested party. "That
probably set them off a bit," Fulghum said.
The heart of this high-stakes turf war winds along the north bank of
the Savannah River, where the SPA and the county are tussling over more
than 1,800 acres.
Both sides in the dispute have announced plans to build a new container
port on the property, now used as a dredge disposal site.
The land owner, Georgia's Department of Transportation, rejected a $9.3
million cash offer for the land this month from the SPA, which then began
its condemnation.
Jasper officials have said they tried unsuccessfully to get the state
to build a port in their neck of the woods for more than a decade. The
county filed to condemn the Georgia DOT's property more than a year ago,
after striking a deal with a private maritime company to build a $600
million container terminal on the site.
The SPA then challenged the proposed project, claiming it has exclusive
rights to develop and operate public ports in South Carolina.
The Supreme Court disagreed with that argument April 3, while at the
same time finding the state has greater power to condemn land for public
use than local governments such as Jasper.
It will be up to those same justices to choose whether they will
revisit and possibly resolve the dispute.
Without an injunction, the SPA said that it and Jasper "will continue
with rival, although not equivalent, condemnations of the same site. The
current situation presents a need for relief, and we hope the court will
consider our request."
Reach John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.