Friday, August 17, 2012

S.C. maritime commission approves lawsuit settlement concerning joint port with Georgia

The South Carolina agency that represents the state’s interests on the river, the Savannah River Maritime Commission, on Wednesday approved an agreement that settled a lawsuit over a $5 billion terminal that it wants to build with Georgia. The joint container terminal would be located on the South Carolina side of the river.

The states disagree on nine legal actions that have to do with the development of the joint port. This agreement settles one of them.

The commission accepted a memorandum of understanding with the three South Carolina members on the board of the Jasper Ocean Terminal Joint Project Office. The board is made up of members from both South Carolina and Georgia. In the agreement, both the commission and the South Carolina board members agreed to discuss issues concerning port development before any board vote occurs.

Commission chairman Dean Moss said the agreement resolves a lawsuit the commission brought in state court earlier in 2012, in which the commission was granted a temporary injunction to block the South Carolina members from taking action or voting on matters under the commission's authority.

The Savannah River Maritime Commission is also a party in lawsuits in federal court, state court and the state's administrative law courts over a $650 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan to deepen the Savannah River shipping channel. Georgia wants the channel dredged so the state's existing port can handle the large post-Panamax vessels that will call when the Panama Canal widening is completed in 2014.

For more of The Telegraph story: www.macon.com

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