GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Sen. Lindsay Graham vowed this week to do everything in his power to secure funding for the dredging of the channel leading to the Port of Georgetown.

Georgetown’s Mayor Jack Scoville says dredging the channel would mean millions of dollars in revenue for the state and hundreds of jobs.

Graham met with local leaders Wednesday about what can be done to deepen the channel so bigger ships can get in and out of the port.

 The meeting took place in Mount Pleasant.

Currently, the port is only about 21 feet deep but needs to be at least 27 feet.

In a statement released after the meeting, Graham said finding funds to dredge the ports in Georgetown and Charleston “is critical” to our state's economy.

“We must have the ability to export our goods and products around the globe. If we lose that ability, it will cost our state jobs," Graham said.

Local United Steelworkers President James Sanderson was one of the people in the meeting which he described as very productive.

Sanderson said Graham “indicated point blank he is 100 percent in support” of the dredging and is asking for other federal lawmakers from South Carolina to join him in efforts to try to secure funding.

“Funding is doable if the legislative delegation stands together as a team,” Sanderson said. “We can’t depend on Obama to help us.”

Scoville, who also attended, said he feels Graham “has a thorough understanding of the impact the ports of South Carolina have on the state's economy.”

Scoville said Graham “promised to help us in getting funding to dredge the Georgetown channel.”

Congressman Jim Clyburn has committed $16 million in this year’s federal budget to the Georgetown dredging project. It will be necessary to get this appropriation through the Senate in order for the money to be available for the dredging project, Scoville said, adding Congressman Henry Brown supports the project and has put $8 million in the budget for it.

 "This is a project that will bring about 750 jobs to the Georgetown area. The steel mill will likely reopen if we get the dredging done," said Scoville. "If we get the port running again, the economic benefit to the state will be in the millions of dollars and hundreds of new jobs."

He said a viable, working port in Georgetown will bring new jobs to Andrews, Kingstree, Manning, Sumter, Camden, and on up the Highway 521 corridor, according to studies.   

Sanderson disagreed slightly with Scoville, saying the reopening of ArcelorMittal — the steel mill — is not dependent on the dredging. However, he said the dredging will need to take place to keep a reopened mill “viable and secure.”

He did agree having a dredged channel would be a “big recruitment tool” for the area.

The meeting with Graham took place just weeks after the S.C. Ports Authority said the volume in the Georgetown Port has dropped 43 percent. It had a traffic volume of 164,571 tons in the 2010 fiscal year which ended in June.

That is more than 121,000 tons less than in 2009.

Others who attended the meeting were County Councilman Jerry Oakley, Georgetown Administrator Chris Eldrige, ArcelorMittal Georgetown Plant Manager Marcio VanDerPut and Legrand Forbes, ArcelorMittal Controller.

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com