Savannah Port Project Back on Track After Settlement Reached in Lawsuit

The case has been in mediation since August.

This week, two South Carolina state agencies and a group of environmental nonprofits signaled they would sign off on a settlement deal.

It clears the way for Georgia to gain a necessary water-quality permit and move forward with construction.

Gov. Nathan Deal welcomed news of the settlement.

“Getting this project started in a timely fashion is of utmost importance to me and utmost importance to the economy of the state of Georgia.”

The state eagerly wants to begin deepening the port to accommodate the larger ships that will be in use beginning in 2014. That’s when an ongoing Panama Canal expansion is set to be complete.

Under the settlement, the Georgia Ports Authority will have to pay $33.5 million in additional environmental controls. The state of Georgia will also transfer to South Carolina 2,000 acres of land in Jasper County, valued at $10 million.

“Some of the things that we do may be perceived as expensive but they’re necessary,” said Deal.

A judge is expected to finalize the settlement next week.

The agreement increases the project’s price tag to about $700 million. Georgia has already set aside $230 million. It wants the rest from the federal government.

But last week, President Obama’s 2014 budget recommended only about a million dollars for the project.

Deal says he’s still hopeful.

“It is not as much money in the budget as we had hoped for. It is a foot in the door and it is an opportunity for us to continue to move forward.”

Deal says the state continues to press Congress and the Army Corp of Engineers for more funds. Plus, he says, more state funding is on the table.