By Dan McCue

COLUMBIA -- Mere months after announcing a deal with the state of Georgia to jointly develop a new port terminal on the Savannah River in Jasper County, Gov. Mark Sanford today is expected to sign a bill that would provide a little insurance that the terminal will ultimately be built.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, the primary sponsor of H-3505, has said that the bill doesn’t help or hinder the deal made after its introduction between Sanford and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.

However, it does provide a mechanism to proceed with a terminal on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River should the governors’ deal falls apart.

Sanford is scheduled to sign the bill at a ceremony attended by Harrell and other lawmakers at 2 p.m. in the first floor lobby of the S.C. Statehouse.

The bill gives the S.C. State Ports Authority the task of being the leader in this port project for South Carolina while also encouraging private involvement and establishes a timeline for the port to be finished.

It would suspend Jasper County’s ability to condemn the 1,800-acre site, or any other condemnation related to the development of a terminal facility, for a period of three years.

It also directs the SPA to conclude its condemnation of the property, which is owned by the state of Georgia, as quickly as possible and to meet specific deadlines in regard to the actual development of the site once it takes possession of the property.

In the meantime, the joint task force charged with creating a tangible plan based on the governors’ agreement has yet to meet to work out specific proposals for the terminal, including whether it would be run by a new bi-state ports authority.

Joel Sawyer, a Sanford spokesman, said the task force was to meet soon, but at present no details about its schedule are available.