NIKKI HALEY’S “SAVANNAH RIVER SELLOUT” IS UPON US …
|| By FITSNEWS || The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $134.5 million contract to an Illinois-based company to begin work on the Savannah River Harbor Expansion (SHEP).
This, of course, is the government-subsidized Georgia port expansion project championed by S.C. governor Nikki Haley – who infamously betrayed her own state’s best economic interests in exchange for some national exposure.
Lotta good that did her … but it’s about to do some lasting damage to South Carolina.
What are we referring to? Well, the toxic sludge being dredged from the bottom of the Savannah River to deepen Georgia’s port is going to be dumped in South Carolina. And not just anywhere in South Carolina, right smack dab on the last deepwater port location on the eastern seaboard (in Jasper County).
That’s where South Carolina could (and should) have developed a public-private port years ago … but didn’t.
Anyway, Haley’s sellout was rebuked without a single dissenting vote by both the S.C. House and the State Senate. And the S.C. Supreme Court rebuked her, too.
Unfortunately the damage was done … or is about to be done.
State officials say they aren’t worried about the Georgia project – which will deepen the Savannah River from 42 to 47 feet. After all, they say, the Port of Charleston is currently moving forward with a project that will deepen Charleston harbor from 45 to 52 feet – a depth required to handle most of the larger, next-generation ships.
In particular the 10,000 TEU (a.k.a. “twenty-foot equivalent unit”) ships making most of the calls on east coast ports draft 48 feet when fully loaded – and need a ten percent under keel clearance.
Savannah still won’t be able to accommodate those ships …
Yet while the Palmetto State’s port expansion project is clearly superior to Georgia’s, none of that restores the competitive advantage South Carolina (well, Haley) surrendered by permitting Georgia to dump all over our Jasper port site. Her betrayal is especially egregious seeing as port leaders pledged to devote the state’s “full faith and resources” to building the Jasper Port over a decade ago.
10 comments
Good news for South Carolina. There will be two first class ports competing for its business. That should keep service up and prices down. Competition is always good. Always. Even Chinese competition. As long as there no fraud or criminal activity, competition is always good. ALWAYS! This is good news for all who call themselves Libertarians.
Do you ever get tired of inventing rationales for corrupt behavior? Must be exhausting to have to do that on a daily basis.
“Rationales for corrupt behavior”? Wish I could say your hypocrisy surprises me, but it doesn’t. Every one of Haley’s opponents including Fits in this very article suggest that DHEC, which is supposed to be protecting our health and environment, should have instead used their powers for the competitive advantage of Charleston. That would be corrupt behavior.
No. Haley sold out the state for her own political advantage. She and her apologists can sling all the toxic sludge in the world. It will not change the basic facts.
Political advantage? What are you talking about? She took a political hit for doing the right thing.
Not really. Most small “l” libertarians are business people who have no problem using g’ment approved and expanded shipping projects. My libertarian business friends would love to have an opportunity to locate in South Carolina, create private sector jobs, make money, pay taxes and fish and drink beer … just like most of you.
One thing: all Libertarians, cap “L” or small “l”, love it when businesses get started, grow and prosper.
At least Governor Deal works to bring jobs to his own state, we have Haley who decides to help other states out at our cost.
This bodes poorly for attracting new businesses in SC, too.
The DHEC approval for the dredging was excused by the claim that some unproved mechanical gadgets to be installed and will overcome the predicted oxygen depletion in the water due to the dredging. Want to guess who gets to determine whether they actually work?
Jus’ found out: where ever that deep water port goes, so goes Tesla’s next new battery plant. (And maybe Daimler, too.)