Staff Report
Published Aug. 9, 2010

The S.C. State Ports Authority and the Coastal Conservation League reached a settlement Friday on various lawsuits over the SPA’s new container terminal and an access road to it.

That afternoon, the two entities – longtime legal rivals – held a news conference at the Charleston County Public Library’s main branch, putting a cap on a years-long legal battle and four mediation sessions this year.

Selected sound bites from the news conference:

The Coastal Conservation League said ...
Dana Beach, president, Coastal Conservation League

“We believe the settlement is a tremendous benefit to everybody. It comprehensively resolves concerns about the impact of increased port capacity on human health and regional mobility. Those were our two major concerns.”

“There’s never been a time where we’ve needed more to deal with regional mobility.”

“The settlement puts Charleston squarely on the path to becoming the greenest port in the Southeast.”

The State Ports Authority said ...
Jim Newsome, president and CEO, State Ports Authority

“This is an important settlement for us. The Navy base terminal is a major strategic priority for the Ports Authority, the city, the state and, really, the region.”

“We are in the environmental business in the port business today. We are committed to being a leader in the Southeast and the Gulf regions as far as ports are concerned.”

“The Navy base terminal for the South Carolina State Ports Authority is an all-in bet.”

On commercial rail in the region:

“It’s always been our intention to be part of the greater Charleston regional rail planning effort. I think we were tasked to do that in the port governance bill. We certainly have an interest to be a player in that.”

“Companies want choice in rail.”

If you need to catch up on the story, here’s some background:

The S.C. State Ports Authority and the Coastal Conservation League reached a settlement on various lawsuits over the SPA’s new container terminal and an access road to it.

Under the agreement, the maritime agency will implement a voluntary truck replacement program by Jan. 1, 2014. That effort will reduce by 85% the number of emissions-heavy pre-1994 trucks that call on the port; that group makes up about 15% of port truck traffic.

Jim Newsome, the SPA’s president and CEO, said the program could reduce truck emissions at the port by a third. The SPA also agreed to monitor and reduce emissions at current and future facilities.

Under the agreement, the port will also consider a rail plan that will indirectly serve its new terminal at the former Navy base in North Charleston and become the region’s de facto commercial rail hub.

If a viable option is presented, the authority would allow access to its facility by way of a special gate for small, natural-gas-powered drayage trucks.

In return for the SPA’s moves, the Coastal Conservation League will drop lawsuits challenging permits to both the new terminal and its access road. Those legal obstacles had provided considerable consternation to the authority as it moved ahead with the project that is now scheduled to be open in 2017.