In a strongly worded letter, Gov. Nathan Deal has lobbed the harbor deepening ball squarely onto U.S. Army Secretary John M. McHugh’s court, telling the Pentagon official the state believes he has the legal authority to allow execution of a Project Partnership Agreement that would put the Savannah port project back on track.
“I write regarding the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project and to advise you that the State of Georgia will be taking steps to facilitate construction of the project,” Deal said in his letter dated March 11.
The Obama administration failed to include construction funds in its fiscal 2015 budget proposal, citing the pending Water Resources Development Act, which contains language that would correct an outdated spending cap placed on the project when it was authorized by Congress 15 years ago. Language in the act would raise the spending limit, and the White House has said it can’t fund construction until the act is passed and signed into law.
Georgia disagrees, contending that Section 112 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, signed by the president in January, removes any legal impediment to federal action on the project.
“It is our view that the Secretary of the Army, acting under the original project authorization in the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 and the provisions of Section 112 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, has the necessary legal authorities in place to permit execution of the PPA,” Deal said.
In the meantime, Deal said, Georgia is prepared to provide state funding to accelerate the construction process “by all lawful means.”
That includes property acquisition and any other areas of the project that do not require the use of a partnership agreement between the state and its federal partner, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“Georgia will proceed with all real estate acquisition required for the project, including lands associated with wetlands mitigation that will ultimately be conveyed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and property needed for other environmental mitigation features,” Deal said in his letter.
As of late afternoon Thursday, Deal’s office had received no response.
“Gov. Deal is concerned about project timelines falling further behind schedule, and he’s taking what steps he can under current law to move this work forward,” said Deal spokesman Brian Robinson. “We’re obviously anxious for Congress to pass the water bill, but we want to proactively do everything we can, legally, in the meantime.”
Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, said Deal’s letter speaks volumes about the strong support the project has gotten in every corner of the state, from the governor’s office to Georgia’s congressional delegation to business leaders from Atlanta to Savannah.
“I think it was an extremely solid, to-the-point message to the federal government that this project — which when it’s finished will provide a net economic benefit to the country of nearly $175 million annually — simply can’t wait,” Foltz said.
“It’s not that we’re just impatient. It’s that, after years of delays, we have to keep this train on the tracks so we can continue to support the jobs this port generates.”
Georgia and its ports have done everything to prepare for the new wave of supersized cargo ships expected to begin moving through the Panama Canal in 2016, Foltz said.
“We have made sure we have all the landside tools in our toolbox,” he said. “We have the improved road, rail, technology and equipment that gets us ready for future growth.
“Deep water is the final, critical piece of the puzzle.”
U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, who authored the deepening language in the January appropriations bill, also had praise for the governor’s stance.
“The governor continues to speak up for this vital project and highlight the prior overwhelming support from the president, including his signature on the law allowing construction funds to be spent,” Kingston said.
“This is why Obama’s injecting politics at this late point is unconscionable — the federal taxpayer, our trading partners, and the people of Georgia deserve better.”
To read the full text of Gov. Deal’s letter, go to www.savannahnow.com