History

The potential for a marine container terminal at a Savannah River dredge disposal site in Jasper County, SC was first realized in the 1990s. During the next decade, the idea begin to take shape and support for the project continued to grow, and with it, the unique circumstances of the opportunity became apparent:

  • The project and a substantial portion of the supporting transportation and utility infrastructure would be physically located in a rural county of South Carolina.

  • The project would be within a market area competitively served by both Georgia and South Carolina ports.

  • The project would be a massive undertaking requiring considerable financial resources.

The need for a cooperative approach between Georgia and South Carolina was eventually recognized, and in 2007 a Bi-state Task Force commissioned a study to review potential development opportunities for a new container terminal.

 In 2008, an Intergovernmental Agreement between South Carolina and Georgia formed the Jasper Ocean Terminal Joint Project Office to further pursue the Jasper Ocean Terminal through additional concept development and studies.

In November 2015, the Joint Project Office submitted the Jasper Ocean Terminal project to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to formally commence the regulatory review process. In December 2015 the Intergovernmental Agreement was superseded by a Joint Venture Agreement between Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) and South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) to carry forward the project as it works its way through the various federal regulatory reviews.

In October 2016, preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) formally began with the publication of a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register.  The EIS is being prepared by the USACE Charleston District.  Concurrently, the Joint Venture began working with the USACE Savannah District to quantify the impacts of the proposed project to existing federal projects, and will pursue additional depth to accommodate modern containerships.

The studies and other development efforts have been funded jointly by both states throughout the process.