South Carolina, Georgia move forward with new port

South Carolina, Georgia move forward with new port Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Friday they have completed a bi-state agreement whereby the two states will cooperatively develop a new port in Jasper County, S.C., on the Savannah River across and downstream from Savannah.
   Under the proposed agreement, the Georgia Department of Transportation will sell a site in South Carolina that it had originally acquired to dispose of dredge material, to the ports authorities of the two states, which will become equal co-tenants.
   The two ports authorities will jointly form and fund a “joint project office” to determine the feasibility and best location for the terminal, take the necessary steps to have the existing spoil easement held by the Army Corps of Engineers released, file for a development permit and develop a business plan.
   As the joint project office takes steps to build the terminal, it will also work with the legislatures in the two states to adopt an interstate compact agreement to form the new entity that will ultimately own the terminal and decide how it is operated.
   The governors said the new agency will “concentrate on ways to use private capital in the construction of the Jasper County terminal to a greater extent than such has been used by the two states’ ports authorities in the past.”
   The South Carolina State Ports Authority said the bi-state compact would need approval by each state’s general assembly and the U.S. Congress.