By Molly Parker
mparker@scbiznews.com
Published Nov. 17, 2009

A federal judge just ruled that construction of the SPA's new terminal in North Charleston can continue on as planned, denying a request by the Southern Environmental Law Center to stop the project until its lawsuit dealing with traffic congestion on Interstate 26 is resolved.

In doing so, U.S. District Judge Weston Houck said he was not indefinitely shutting the door on the law center's request to halt terminal construction.

Houck said he would like to see the law center's lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers move through the process quickly to prevent the need for an injunction. But Houck said that if the timeline changes he may reconsider the motion.

The central issue in that pending federal case, which the law center brought on behalf of the Coastal Conservation League, has nothing to do with whether I-26 will fail. When a roadway "fails," it is considered impassable or too congested to be a viable thoroughfare. It does not indicate structural failure.

Everyone agrees that I-26 will eventually become too congested, but the case seeks to resolve what will cause it to fail, when it will fail and who is responsible for fixing it.

On behalf of the federal permitting agencies, U.S. attorney Devon McCune argued that the corps did study the truck traffic impact on I-26 and determined that it was not the port's responsibility because the road would fail anyway.

During arguments earlier today, McCune held up a binder several inches thick that she said was full of documents supporting that notion. The SPA agreed. Randy Lowell, who appeared on behalf of the SPA, called the expected terminal-related traffic a "small part of a regional problem."

That was Lowell's response when Judge Houck asked him: "Is it really realistic just to consider getting the traffic into the jam but not to consider getting that traffic out of the jam?"

The law center says it is not. The environmental group claims the corps failed to appropriately and adequately consider the impact of the truck traffic that a new terminal would pump onto the highway. It also asserts that the terminal will cause the highway to fail much quicker than it would otherwise under the weight of new residential and business growth.   

Houck said, with only mild sarcasm, that many would argue I-26 will fail at four o'clock today. He told both parties that he hoped the ultimate goal in these court proceedings would be to protect the community's best interests.

"I personally think doing it right probably entails putting all the cards on the table and looking at them," he said.

Additionally, Houck decided to allow the law center's request to fold the Federal Highway Administration into the federal case. Both parties said it's unclear exactly how this will impact the proceedings. But law center attorney Blan Holman said it is his ultimate goal to show that the corps should have taken a broader look at the terminal's impact on traffic. That could have led to creative solutions allowing for a more effective use of rail, Holman said.

The Federal Highway Administration has jurisdiction over I-26. That agency also will have to sign off on an interchange connecting a new access road that would run from the terminal to the highway. That access road has been permitted, but the highway administration has not yet signed off on the interchange.

In a statement, the SPA said it is glad the injunction was denied for a project it called "good for the economy, the community and the environment."

"At a time when jobs are critical to the Charleston area and the entire state, it is vital that we move forward with this project ... The ports authority will continue to aggressively defend its permit and the project at the next step in the legal process," it continued.

Reach Molly Parker at 843-849-3144.