Port Savannah:

South Carolina, Georgia at odds over deepening river.

Georgia and South Carolina, disagreeing over the proposed deepening of the Savannah River, are ordered into mediation.

Two feet. Two feet of Savannah River bottom muck is, officially at least, why South Carolina and Georgia are still fighting over the proposed deepening of the Port of Savannah to accommodate super-sized container ships.

Federal officials signed off recently on a project to deepen the river to 47 feet, boosting the Port of Savannah’s capacity. Georgia leaders say anything less would keep big cargo ships from coming to Savannah, leading to lost jobs and revenue.

South Carolina, which borders the river on the north, continues to battle the project. Its Savannah River Maritime Commission says anything deeper than 45 feet will irreparably harm the environment. Officials threaten years of lawsuits unless Georgia and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acquiesce.

A federal judge last week ordered the not-so-friendly neighbors into mediated talks on the dispute in early December. Compromise seems unlikely.

Georgia says the depth demand and other legal challenges are merely delaying tactics intended to buy time for the deepening of the Charleston harbor – a major competitor for Savannah.

“We find the position South Carolina is taking to be very unfortunate considering the fact they are seeking a 50-foot project while attempting to restrict our project to 45 feet,” said Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.

South Carolina State Sen. Larry Grooms, a frequent critic of the Savannah deepening and Maritime Commission member, disagreed. “We want to make sure any environmental damage that occurs is justified and can be mitigated. The science justifies 45 feet. It doesn’t make sense to go beyond that.”

Each week seemingly brings a different message about prospects for the Savannah port project, which backers say is the state’s most critical economic development project.

A final “record of decision” to deepen the river to 47 feet was approved by corps’ officials in Washington last month. A week later, the South Carolina Supreme Court muddied the legal waters when it invalidated a Clean Water Act permit that the state had issued.

The court ruled that the Maritime Commission, a quasi-governmental agency, has