In a letter to Harold Linnenkohl, Georgia's transportation commissioner, the county's condemnation attorney, Camden Lewis, wrote that Jasper officials will move forward with condemnation plans if the Georgia Department of Transportation, which owns a spoil site in Levy, doesn't accept the offer or make a counteroffer by Jan. 20.
Monday marked Jasper's first attempt to secure the land since its condemnation bid was struck down by the S.C. Supreme Court in September 2003. The court ruled that the measure did not meet required public use, as the suggested 99-year lease to SSA Marine would result in the county turning the land over to a private enterprise.
On Friday, the Jasper County Council agreed to a loan, development and management agreement that names South Atlantic International Terminal, a local subsidiary of SSA Marine -- the world's largest port developer -- its exclusive partner in the project.
"Our eight attorneys, all with specialties, are pleased with these documents," said Jasper County Administrator Andrew Fulghum of the letter and a three-part exclusivity agreement with the South Atlantic company.
Under the new agreement, Jasper is the sole owner of the land and $450 million development, which the South Atlantic company will build and manage for 32 years.
The land dispute will probably be decided in court, said officials on both sides of the Savannah River.
"I have obligations to the state and the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)," Linnenkohl said of the spoil land the state uses for the Port of Savannah nine miles upriver. "If I sell this property, I still have to provide a spoil area."
If negotiations don't start by Jan. 20, a legal battle is certain, according to Jasper attorneys.
"It's the call of the governor's office and the state transportation board," Linnenkohl said.
The Georgia Transportation Department's board of directors holds its next regular meeting Jan. 20, and Linnenkohl said he will not schedule a special hearing.
"I'm not going to roll over and I don't expect our legal team to roll over either," he said.
The letter has been forwarded to Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue's office and the state attorney general, Linnenkohl said.
As the four-year dispute continues, the South Carolina State Ports Authority said it will not be a part of it.
"The ports authority is not involved in (the possible land sale)," authority spokesman Byron Miller said. "But I can point to the S.C. Code of Laws that gives the port authority domain over Port Royal, Charleston, Georgetown and the Savannah River."
Jasper County officials would not comment on the laws, which state that the purpose of the state authority is "To promote, develop, construct, equip, maintain and operate a harbor or harbors within this State (and) on the Savannah River."
In September 2004, the Jasper County Council created their own port authority but the group's role in the project has not been defined.
Georgia Ports Authority officials could not be reached for comment Monday.
County officials estimated the land's worth at $9.2 million Friday, but the official estimate from Columbia-based Rosen Appraisal Associates is $8.5 million for two adjacent riverfront tracts and an island in Levy. The appraisal considered 1,863 acres, an 87-acre increase over a 2001 appraisal of 1,776 acres.
Also in 2001, Jasper County offered $8 million for the land before taking its condemnation case to the state Supreme Court.
If Jasper acquires the land this time around, "the next step will be permitting for construction," Fulghum said.
If Georgia ignores Jasper's offer, the county will "fast track" the case to the S.C. Supreme Court, County Attorney Marvin Jones said Friday. He would not comment further on the probable condemnation proceedings.
The economic ripples of a port in Jasper County could spread throughout the region, said Chris Bickley, executive director of the Lowcountry Council of Governments.
"The importance of this port and the impact on the economic future goes well beyond Jasper County," he said. "The spinoff will be incredible."