Have thoughts on plans for the future Jasper port? Here’s your chance to be heard

Locals will get an opportunity Tuesday to chime in on the Jasper Ocean Terminal project when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hosts the first open house on plans for the giant port.

The meeting is set to start at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hardeeville Elementary School, 150 Hurricane Alley, Hardeeville.

The $4.5 billion port will be built on 1,500 acres in Jasper County, near the Tybee National Wildlife Refuge at the mouth of the Savannah River.

Posters and displays of early plans for the project will be available at Tuesday’s meeting, and staff will be on hand to provide information and answer questions from the public.

According to a notice from the corps, one of the objectives of the open house is to get public input to “help identify issues that should be evaluated in the” Environmental Impact Statement, a study the must be completed prior to start of construction on the port.

The study, which is expected to take about four years to complete, is aimed at “assess(ing) the potential social, economic, and environmental effects of the proposed construction and operation” of the port, according to corps documents.

Specifically, the “detailed analysis” will look at issues such as air, noise and light pollution; fish and wildlife; transportation infrastructure; and impacts on the floodplain, the corps documents say.

The environmental study, along with the permitting and regulatory process required by the federal government, will cost roughly $15 million, Jasper Ocean Terminal board officials estimate.

The board expects the port to be operational by around 2025.

For more information, contact project manager Nat Ball at 843-329-8044 or comments@jasperoceanterminal.com.

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Have thoughts on plans for the future Jasper port? Here’s your chance to be heard."