The State Ports Authority and a powerful environmental group settled their differences Friday over a port expansion project that threatened to pollute the air over Charleston — but which many say is needed for South Carolina to compete economically with other states.
Slowed by legal challenges in state and federal court, the expansion project now can move ahead at a time when Charleston’s shipping business has fallen behind that of other ports nationally.
The S.C. Coastal Conservation League agreed to drop court challenges against the port expansion, according to the deal announced Friday. In return, the port agreed to use cleaner-burning cargo trucks and consider rail service to reduce air pollution from the new site.
In a joint announcement, the Conservation League and the Ports Authority said they are comfortable with the settlement after four years of legal wrangling.
“This agreement and the forward-looking measures it contains are in the best interest of the citizens, the economy, and the environment of South Carolina,’’ the joint statement said.
Jim Newsome, the authority’s chief executive, said the agreement enables his agency to focus on improving and expanding the port. From a business perspective, expanding the port is vital to accommodate bigger container ships, business leaders say.
Charleston, home to the state’s largest port operations, has dropped from the nation’s fourth biggest container ship port to ninth during the past 10 years. Shippers want to know they have a place to bring their cargo, Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller said. Savannah is one of Charleston’s major competitors. Both Charleston and Savannah are already working on harbor-deepening plans.
“This sends a message that South Carolina will have capacity well into the future to handle growing global trade,’’ Miller said. “States that have ports are going to be able to grow faster. States that have successful ports are going to be able to take advantage of this global shipping. That’s, obviously, of economic importance.’’
Newsome said plans are to have the expanded port site operational by early 2017. It was originally to open in 2014, but the legal challenges and a down economy pushed that back, according to the Ports Authority. Much of the work done so far is site preparation for the port at the old Charleston Navy base. The port expansion project will cost anywhere from $500 million to $900 million.
Charleston’s existing port serves about 700 South Carolina businesses. At one point, the expansion at the North Charleston base was projected to increase port business by about 50 percent. The new North Charleston terminal would be the second largest of the port’s six terminals.
Conservation League director Dana Beach said his group agreed to settle lawsuits against the port expansion after receiving assurances the authority would for the first time consider rail service to the new terminal site in North Charleston.
Until the league filed suit, the Ports Authority planned to rely on cargo trucks to haul freight from the expansion site – a move that would clog traffic on already jammed Interstate 26, Beach said.
That, the league contended, would further pollute the air with truck exhaust in underprivileged communities that have historically suffered from industrial air pollution. The expansion site is in an industrial area peppered with small neighborhoods where some residents complain about asthma and other respiratory ailments.
“These are real improvements for people who live around these ports,’’ Beach said.
In addition to considering rail service, the authority agreed to install new air pollution monitors and switch to cleaner-burning freight trucks. The authority will begin relying on trucks built after 1994, which are less polluting. Diesel trucks are the concern because the fuel they burn often contributes more to air pollution than standard cars. The trucks to be replaced comprise only about 15 percent of the terminal traffic, but their older engines contribute about one-third of the air pollution from port operations, according to The Associated Press.
The Conservation League, in return, will drop four lawsuits challenging the port expansion, Conservation League attorney Blan Holman said. Among other things, the suits claimed South Carolina regulators illegally issued environmental permits for the port expansion that would hurt air and water quality. State regulators approved the expansion before waiting on the results of at least three key environmental studies, league officials have said.
Beach said he’s optimistic freight train service will come to the port site because both the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads are interested.
Beach, whose environmental group is the state’s largest, said the settlement shows that the Ports Authority and the league can work together. The two have fought over port expansion plans on two different occasions, dating to the massive “Global Gateway’’ proposal about 10 years ago. That plan was abandoned in favor the smaller expansion at North Charleston. The authority and the league also are at odds today over the increasing number of cruise ship voyages out of Charleston.
“This illustrates that the port, by working with its adversaries and citizens in the community, can reach an agreement that is beneficial to everyone,’’ Beach said.
