PROJECT NAME AND STATE:  Savannah Harbor Expansion, GA and SC 

AUTHORIZATION:  WRDA 1999, Sec. 102 (P.L. 106-53); WRRDA 2014, Sec. 7002 (P.L. 113-121); WRDA 2018, Sec. 1401 (P.L. 115-270)   

LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION:  Deep Draft Navigation.  The currently authorized Savannah Harbor deep-draft navigation project is a 42-foot deep, 32.7 mile long shipping channel on the Savannah River, which forms the border between Georgia and South Carolina.  The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project will deepen the existing -42 feet mean lower low water (MLLW) project to -47 feet MLLW.  The project was conditionally authorized in WRDA 99 stipulating that no construction can occur until approved by the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of EPA.  Those approvals were obtained July 11, 2012.  A Construction Project Partnership Agreement was executed 8 October 2014 which allowed the non-Federal Sponsors (the Georgia Ports Authority and the Georgia Department of Transportation) to provide their funds, up to the current estimate of the non-Federal Sponsors' share, for the initiation of construction.

ACTIVITIES FOR FY2020:  FY2020 funds are being used to continue the CSS Georgia conservation, Dissolved Oxygen Injection System; McCoy’s Cut Area work; award the second Inner Harbor dredging contract; prepare plans and specifications for out-year project features; continue environmental monitoring.

ACTIVITIES FOR FY2021:  FY2021 funds are being used award the Fish Passage at New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam and Marsh Restoration at Dredged Material Containment Area 1S contract; prepare plans and specifications for out-year project features; continue environmental monitoring.

ISSUES AND OTHER INFORMATION:  The Total Project First Cost is estimated at $1.019B at FY 2019 levels with construction to be cost shared at a rate of 72% Federal and 28% non-Federal before the 10% General Navigation Feature payback, providing annual net benefits of $282M, a benefit-to-cost ratio of 7.3 to 1, and a $6M increase in annual Savannah Harbor Operations and Maintenance costs.  SHEP was funded to capability in FY2018, FY2019 and FY2020.  The sponsor funding and credit to date totals $295M with $246M in cash contributions being provided thru August 2019.  The sponsors have provided nearly all of their estimated share of the Total Project Cost Escalated to the Mid-Point of Construction. 

The passage of WRDA 2016 required the Corps to complete a Post-Authorization Analysis Report for the Fish Passage at New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam feature of the project.  The legislation de-authorized the lock and dam and required the Corps to develop an in-river fish passage. The final report was completed in October 2019 and the selected plan will remove the NSBLD and build a fixed-crest weir in the river to provide for fish passage and maintain the functionality of the pool.  The state of South Carolina filed a complaint in Federal court asking for non-monetary relief in six causes of action aimed at the SHEP with regard to the fish passage.  The City of Augusta, Georgia, Georgia Ports Authority and Savannah Riverkeeper joined the lawsuit.  The local opposition to the approved plan is predicated on an interpretation that WRDA 2016 requires the Corps to maintain a specific, higher pool elevation than the plan that was developed according to the Corps implementation guidance for the legislation.

As the size and frequency of container vessels increases, so do transportation inefficiencies, vessels waiting on the tide and light loading, unless the Savannah Harbor channel is deepened. The Port of Savannah is the fourth busiest container terminal in the nation, the second largest container port on the East Coast, the second busiest harbor for American export tonnage, the largest single container port in North America, and the fastest growing container port in the nation over the last 10 years. 

ADMINISTRATION POSITION:  This project is consistent with Administration policy. SHEP was included in the President’s July 2012 “We Can’t Wait” initiative as one of five port improvement projects that should be fast tracked as the project supports the Administration’s priorities of job creation and infrastructure improvement.

MILESTONES:

ACTION OFFICER:  Margarett (Mackie) McIntosh                           25 March 2020

                                      CESAS/912-652-5320