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Governors agree to Jasper port deal, but details not certain
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
The governors of South Carolina and Georgia have forged a deal they say will allow their two states to cooperate in the creation of a jointly run port in Jasper County, on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River.
Swapping ties at the suggestion of Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to seal the deal, he and S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford agreed that the non-binding agreement was the first step in a long process they believe will give the Lowcountry region an edge over increasingly competitive ports in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and elsewhere.
The deal would also end South Carolina’s condemnation of the property, which currently belongs to the Georgia State Department of Transportation and, in the long run, create a new, bi-state authority to oversee the new terminal, while retaining each state’s existing ports authorities to oversee existing port assets.
But as nearly 100 dignitaries and reporters—including officials from both Jasper County and the S.C. State Ports Authority, long-time adversaries over the right to develop the barren 1,800-acre parcel of land directly across the river for the city of Savannah’s historic district—gathered at the sun-baked site of the new terminal March 12, the deal appeared to raise as many questions as it promised to resolve.
Jasper County Administrator Andrew Fulgham said while he was pleased the governors had committed to developing a terminal in Jasper County, he still had no idea who would actually sit on the bi-state panel that is supposed to move the agreement forward in the next 180 days and who would be expected to pay for the infrastructure to support it.
“We’re going to be watching this very closely to see that the makeup of the task force is appropriate,” he said. “Obviously, we expect to have a seat at the table.”
In announcing the agreement, characterized as a “term sheet,” Sanford described it as a byproduct of the governors realizing that forging a deal rather than wrangling in protracted litigation was a way to enhance both sides of the river.
“It’s not one state’s river,” Sanford said. “It’s not one state’s aquifer. Coming together as a region is the only way we’re going to prosper in the world economy.”
For his part, Perdue said both governors recognized that they had more commonality than differences when it came to the need for more terminal space.
“This is not a ruse,” he said. “In global commerce, if you’re trying to catch up, you’re behind.”
The growth of the Southeast, he added, would eventually outstrip the capacity of Charleston and Savannah’s ports to expand.
“More and more goods will be coming through our states, but that’s what I like to call a problem of prosperity,” Perdue said. “This is not about tomorrow; it’s about 10, 20, 30 years from now, long after our terms of office are over.
“Years from now, when we look back on this, we’ll be able to say we came together as neighbors to make our region a stronger competitor in the global economy.”
The plan calls for the creation of a joint task force to begin working out the details of terminal development and the creation of an independent authority. Each state will provide 50% of the membership of the new authority.
The deal authorizes the Georgia Department of Transportation to sell the site to the Bi-State Port Authority, and South Carolina and Georgia will immediately jointly petition the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the relocation of its existing spoil easement on the property.
Both governors also said they expect private enterprise to play a significant role in building and operating the port, but neither mentioned SSA Marine, the Seattle-based company that had been Jasper County’s partner in its terminal proposal.
“Our best estimates put the price tag of this facility at $500 million, just to get started,” Sanford said. “It’s time to look beyond the horizon. Certainly, private investment and private involvement will be a part of making this terminal a reality.”
Jasper County originally announced plans to develop a terminal with the private developer in January 2005, but that plan was thwarted when both the S.C. State Ports Authority and the state of Georgia challenged the county’s claim to the land.
After a protracted legal battle, an S.C. State Supreme Court judge ruled the S.C. State Ports Authority had first rights to condemn the land, which Georgia uses for the disposal of material dredged from the river.
Perdue said under the deal announced on March 12, a portion of the site would still be used for that purpose.
However, a bill proposed last month in the S.C. House would give the S.C. State Ports Authority exclusive rights to build a Jasper County port for three years; until March 12, Georgia was fighting that condemnation.
S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, the sponsor of the bill, said prior to the governors’ announcement he talked to Sanford’s office about the deal, but was waiting to see the final document before deciding whether he would support it.
Following the governors’ announcement, Harrell released a formal written statement that said if the states could reach an agreement to build a port together it would have positive implications for the state’s economy.
“This joint port venture would create the biggest import and export potential on the eastern seaboard, even bigger than New York/New Jersey,” Harrell said.
However, he also suggested that the state needs “to be very careful” as the process moves forward.
“We need to make sure we actually get a port built in Jasper County, whether it is with Georgia or doing it on our own,” Harrell said.
That caution was also very much in evidence at the announcement itself. If the governors themselves were the pictures of political success, there was one group of observers that was noticeably subdued: the representatives of the S.C. State Ports Authority.
When the governors were asked what the respective ports authorities thought of the deal, Sanford immediately stepped to the microphone and tried to elicit a comment from SCSPA Board Chairman Bill Stern or SCSPA President and CEO Bernard Groseclose.
Both men politely declined.
A few moments later, Groseclose continued to be somewhat circumspect.
“I don’t know what direction this proposal is going to take,” he said. “I’m sure it will be a long process with a lot of decisions to make.”
Asked about the melding of the different cultures of the SCSPA and the Georgia Ports Authority, Groseclose said, “I’m not sure we’re all that different. From an operational perspective, we’re not all that distinct.”
For his part, Stern said it would be unwise to jump to any conclusions about the construction or operation of the proposed terminal.
“This is a good first step,” he said. “But at this point, everything should be on the table,” he said.
The deal will automatically terminate if, within 180 days of its formation, the task force fails to present each governor with a copy of a bi-state compact, spelling out how the terminal development is to proceed. It will also automatically terminate with the legislatures of the two states fail to ratify the bi-state compact by March 31, 2008.
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.
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