Story

Lowcountry residents skeptical about ports

BEAUFORT, S.C. - Those who keep an eye on such things - and you know who you are - think the South Carolina Ports Authority and the state of Georgia ought to work together to develop a regional port on the lower Savannah River in Jasper County.

Instead, the two state agencies have been duking it out in court and we, the taxpayers, are paying for part of the fight.

To recap a much-debated issue, Jasper County officials, for the past 100 years, have wanted a deep-water port built on their side of the Savannah River. For perhaps the past 98 years, the S.C. State Ports Authority didn't pay them much attention. But when a private port builder stepped up, offering his money to develop the facility in conjunction with Jasper County, the interest level increased up in Charleston, home of the State Ports Authority.

Interest also peaked on the Georgia side of the river where the Georgia Department of Transportation folks didn't think highly of Jasper County's plans to develop a competing facility on land Georgia needed as a dumping ground for dredged spoil material from the Savannah River.

So all the parties have gone to court and, most recently, a circuit court judge ruled that Jasper County could not be part of a condemnation lawsuit between the SPA and the Georgia DOT, other than as a "friend of the court."

The ruling made Jasper County folks feel as good as the runner-up in a beauty pageant. In the meantime, the future of a port in lower Jasper County, with the alleged potential of 90,000 new jobs, remains in the courthouse.

While the lawyers and other hired guns, including folks all the way up to the governor's office, have their say, the average Joe and Jane in Jasper County have stayed relatively quiet. Their main question is, is it gonna happen?

They've perhaps been watching the folks in Port Royal who've had their own experiences with the State Ports Authority, folks who now have been lead to believe change is a'coming.

Almost since the State Ports Authority opened the Port of Port Royal in 1958, there was trouble, shall we say in "River City." From choking dust created by the imported kaolin clay to "slightly radioactive" waste shipped in and headed to an inland commercial waste storage facility, Port Royal residents have complained about the port's operations. Trucks from the port rumbling down the main thoroughfare of Paris Avenue at all hours of the night and day didn't make operation the best of neighbors.

When the SPA allowed a 250-boat, dry-stack storage facility to be built on the shores of Battery Creek in 2002, town residents were furious about the height, not to mention what many considered unfair competition for area marinas.

When Gov. Mark Sanford, as part of a budgetary move, signed an order in 2004 that the State Ports Authority had to close the facility and sell the 51 acres of waterfront property, local folks were initially happy; then they worried about what would happen next.

After almost two years of meetings and behind-closed-door discussions, the town council came up with a development agreement the SPA would accept, outlining what would take place on the tract. Included is development of commercial space, up to 300 homes and a 225-boat marina. There was considerable give-and-take, with the town council pushing for more open space and the SPA for a bigger marina.

In November, the agreement was signed and advertisements for development bids were posted nationally. Now the citizens are waiting for the March 31 deadline to see who or what development firm is going to control a good part of the town's destiny.

While both communities are experiencing growth, the prospect of port property development is significant. If you think about the potential change, it's enough to make most Lowcountry residents a little nervous.

Columnist Lolita Huckaby lives in Beaufort, S.C., and writes for Bluffton Today. She can be reached at bftbay@charter.net.