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Georgia: Savannah Harbor Expansion Project Clears Court Hurdle

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U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel on May 29 accepted the settlement agreement between all parties involved in the mediation over the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) in an order that dismissed the federal litigation pending against the proposed deepening of the harbor channel. 

SHEP will deepen Savannah Harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet and make other improvements such as a larger turning basin and wider channel turns.  

Parties to the mediation included the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Savannah Riverkeeper, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Ports Authority and the South Carolina Savannah River Maritime Commission. 

"We are very encouraged that both states have been able to resolve this matter and allow a project that is critical for our national and regional economies to move forward," said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal

Gov. Deal recently signed a 2014 state budget that includes $50 million in state bonds for SHEP construction, bringing the total state dollars allotted to the project to $231.1 million. 

The settlement agreement resolves all legal challenges to the project, including agreement on all outstanding state environmental approvals. 

With Judge Gergel’s acceptance of the settlement – and issuance of a water quality certification and a coastal zone consistency determination – project construction can begin once Congress completes action on the Water Resources Development Act. 
 

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