Feds donate dredge fill for new Charleston terminal

The U.S. Department of Interior will allow the state of South Carolina free access to an ocean dredge disposal site for filling in the foundation of a new container terminal at the Port of Charleston.

The no-cost lease to tap the dredge site will save the state $40 million, the South Carolina State Port Authority said Monday. The sand and silt will be used for the construction of a 280-acre container terminal at the former Charleston Navy Base. Site preparation is underway on the $550-million first phase of the project, which is expected to open in 2013. At full build out the new terminal is expected to increase Charleston's port capacity by about half, or 1.4 million TEUs, to about 4.2 million TEUs.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will recycle material dredged from Charleston harbor and disposed at the dredge dump, which is located about seven miles from the entrance to the harbor.

The construction project will require about 5 million cubic yards of fill for 57 acres, 80 percent of which will now come from the ocean site, SCSPA spokesman Byron Miller said. The remaining material will come from port property on Daniel Island, just across the Cooper River. The SCSPA committed that at least 75 percent of the fill would be supplied from the water side to reduce the environmental impact of truck delivery. The availability of ocean dredge material will reduce the cost and time of bringing in dredge spoils from farther away.

It's like finding $40 million at the bottom of the ocean, Miller said.

Core samplings determined that the dredge is construction-grade material. Delivery of the ocean dredge material will probably begin in the next six to 12 months, he added.

Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Henry Brown, both Republicans, helped guide the state's request through the approval process.

Source: American Shipper