Harbor funds starting to flow

  • David Slade
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  • Posted: Thursday, February 9, 2012 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 10:39 p.m.
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Deepening Charleston’s harbor from 45 feet to 50 feet would help large cargo ships navigate more easily through the shipping channel, making it attractive to megaships on order as the Panama Canal expansion moves toward its 2014 completion.
File/Staff/Deepening Charleston’s harbor from 45 feet to 50 feet would help large cargo ships navigate more easily through the shipping channel, making it attractive to megaships on order as the Panama Canal expansion moves toward its 2014 completion.

About $5 million could be spent this year studying a plan to deepen Charleston Harbor now that federal funding has been included in the Army Corps of Engineers' national work plan for 2012.

"This is wonderful news for the 260,000 South Carolinians whose jobs depend on the competitiveness of our port," said Bill Stern, chairman of the S.C. State Ports Authority.

The SPA previously made arrangements to match federal funding for the study, which is aimed at making the Port of Charleston shipping channels at least 50 feet deep in order to accommodate larger container ships.

The $2.5 million in federal funds, coupled with $2.5 million from the SPA, is the first substantial money allocated for the project, which began last year with $150,000 in federal funding.

While this year's funding was expected -- it comes from a plan Congress approved in December -- the corps' work plan gives certainty that the money is available now to spend. The federal and state funding will cover a quarter of the estimated $20 million cost of the study.

"Deepening Charleston Harbor is the number one issue for South Carolina's economy," said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Graham said he worked to get funding for the study into the federal budget without violating a ban on earmarks. He said the next hurdle will be seeing whether the president's budget includes more money for the fiscal 2013 year that begins Oct. 1.

In statements related to the funding, South Carolina politicians had different views on who should get the credit.

Graham, who led the push for money in the Senate, has said the funding was made possible with bipartisan support, and he said President Barack Obama's "budget for fiscal year 2012 had nothing allocated for Charleston."

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley issued a statement noting that he had discussed port funds with Obama in person, and thanked the president, "his Office of Budget and Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers" for including the money in the Army Corps' work plan.

Gov. Nikki Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey used the funding as an example of why South Carolina needs to cooperate with Georgia on maritime issues. Haley has been under fire for supporting her appointees who approved a state permit for dredging the Savannah River, to benefit the Port of Georgia.

"It's amazing what happens when we have two Georgia senators working with -- and not against -- our delegation," Godfrey said, referring to the $2.5 million in the corps' plan. "It's another great day in South Carolina."

The study is estimated to take five to seven years, though the SPA and lawmakers have urged the Army Corps to speed up the pace. Engineering, design and construction to deepen the channel could take an additional six years, and the total project cost could be $350 million, the Army Corps has estimated.

"$2.5 million for the study is all well and good, and any progress is appreciated, but the timeline is totally unacceptable," said state Rep. Chip Limehouse R-Charleston.