Funds for consultant needed for river plan

COLUMBIA --- Next month the Savannah River Maritime Commission will be collecting proposals to hire a consultant, yet how to pay for it remains elusive.

Lawmakers and commissioners have worried that the Georgia Ports Authority's harbor-deepening plans could lessen the need for the proposed Jasper Ocean Terminal and jeopardize water supplies in Beaufort and Jasper counties.

"No potential consultants have been identified yet, and I don't, right now, have any idea where the money is coming from," said Dean Moss, head of the commission.

"I was assured it could be found," he said Tuesday.

Commissioners say they need a consultant to help evaluate how South Carolina will be affected, based on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' environmental impact statement on the project.

Rep. Bill Herbkersman says the money to hire a consultant should initially come from the state emergency fund.

"Take it out of the (state) contingency fund, and budget for it next year," said the Bluffton Republican who serves on the maritime commission, which advocates for South Carolina in the use of the Savannah River as a commercial waterway.

The contingency reserve fund is spent on emergencies, which must receive a unanimous vote from the five-member South Carolina Budget & Control Board, according to R.J. Shealy, spokesman for one of the board members, South Carolina Comptroller Richard Eckstrom.

Mr. Shealy said the Maritime Commission's desire to hire a consultant might qualify for the emergency funds.

"But my guess is that that's kind of stretching it," he said. "It's hard to say because the case could be made if there's an economic impact against the state in a time of a downturn, that maybe that does constitute an emergency."

Gov. Mark Sanford, who like Mr. Eckstrom sits on the Budget & Control Board, has established himself as a champion of the Jasper Ocean Terminal during the negotiations with Georgia.

But so far, the Republican governor has not commented on the Maritime Commission's discussion about hiring a consultant.

"We do not have any comment on this matter for the time being," spokesman Joel Sawyer said .

Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman, another member of the Budget & Control Board, said publicly this summer that Georgia's harbor deepening must be prevented or the Jasper Ocean Terminal would suffer. He could not be reached Tuesday.

Reach Sarita Chourey at (803) 727-4257 or sarita.chourey@morris.com.