SR439.html

Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to a proposed taking of certain property of the State of Georgia by the government of Jasper County, South Carolina; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the State of Georgia, its businesses, and its residents prosper as a direct result of international trade and maritime commerce; and

WHEREAS, more than 80,000 jobs in the state are directly or indirectly supported by port sector operations in Georgia; and

WHEREAS, jobs associated with that activity produce $1.8 billion in wages annually; and

WHEREAS, approximately 1,800 businesses in all areas of the state import and export goods to and from markets around the world via the ports of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, trade related activity through Georgia ports generates $585 million in state and local tax receipts each year which are used to help fund critical services to Georgia communities such as education, health care, public transportation, and public safety; and

WHEREAS, containerized cargo handled through the Port of Savannah represents more than 70 percent of the total economic impact of Georgia ports; and

WHEREAS, domestic and international trade through Georgia ports requires regular maintenance of navigation channels; and

WHEREAS, the Georgia Department of Transportation is the nonfederal sponsor of the Savannah River Federal Navigation Channel, required by federal law to provide dredged material containment areas to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for regular maintenance of the navigation channel; and
WHEREAS, the Georgia Department of Transportation, in fulfilling its role as nonfederal sponsor of the Savannah River Federal Navigation Channel, currently owns 10,471 acres of land located in the State of South Carolina and lands provided under federal easements to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the express purpose of dredge material disposal; and

WHEREAS, the State of Georgia, by and through its Department of Transportation, has funded more than $126 million to improve said land as containment areas suitable to recover dredge disposal from regular maintenance operations; and

WHEREAS, the Georgia Department of Transportation funds a wildlife habitat program involving the use of said containment areas as part of a mitigation plan and long-term management strategy to assure adequate containment area capacity; and

WHEREAS, the wildlife habitat program and mitigation plan are certified in compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Program and the Clean Water Act; and

WHEREAS, Jasper County, South Carolina, has initiated a condemnation action on 1,776 acres of the land owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation in South Carolina; and

WHEREAS, Jasper County seeks to condemn such real property for the purpose of leasing a large portion of the land to a private company for the construction of a container port terminal; and

WHEREAS, the loss of any portion of land designated for dredge material disposal severely compromises federal and state responsibilities for ensuring that the navigation channel is properly maintained at project depth; and

WHEREAS, the taking of said property by Jasper County will cause the Georgia Department of Transportation to breach its local sponsor obligations and will violate the National Environmental Policy Act and Clean Water Act; and

WHEREAS, the taking of said property by Jasper County will severely compromise the approved wetland mitigation plan for the containment system, substantially compromising the system´s wildlife value; and

WHEREAS, the taking of said property by Jasper County will increase the cost of maintenance disposal and may represent severe encumbrances to normal maintenance of a channel utilized for rapid military deployment operations as well as by private businesses whose employees depend upon ocean commerce for their jobs.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the State of Georgia opposes the taking of its property by Jasper County and reaffirms its support for development and operations of terminal facilities in Savannah by the Georgia Ports Authority on behalf of businesses and residents of the States of Georgia and South Carolina and the entire Southeast.