GPB News reports that the South Carolina agency charged with reviewing activities in the Savannah River wants to enter a federal lawsuit challenging the $650 million deepening of the shipping channel.
The Savannah River Maritime Commission filed court documents Tuesday asking to enter the case brought by conservation groups in South Carolina and Georgia.
That lawsuit says the Army Corps of Engineers needs a South Carolina pollution permit for the deepening, according to GPB News.
Maritime interests say the channel needs to be deeper to handle larger ships that will be calling when the Panama Canal is deepened.
A federal judge last week rejected a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeking to dismiss the suit. The corps said the case was premature, but the judge ruled the suit can be heard now.
[mappress]
Dredging Today Staff, July 12, 2012