Proposed Port and the City of Southport

The photo to the above is the wetland area on the Cape Fear River side of the proposed port property.  What you see here will be destroyed if the port terminal is built.  The NC State Ports Authority will "mitigate" this destruction by purchasing wetlands elsewhere (sometimes in another state!) and placing a conservation easement on them.  That doesn't do much for our Cape Fear River, but that's the way the rules are written.

I have not stated my position regarding the proposed port in most of my campaign literature because I wanted to focus on more immediate concerns.  However, I've received numerous questions about my position so I felt compelled to state it here.

I've been a member of the No Port Southport NC, Inc. Steering Committee since its inception.  My focus has been research, primarily on the environmental effects of large container port terminals.  I've also immersed myself in the research and analysis of the economic aspects of the port project (called NCIT for North Carolina International Terminal) and whether or not it is a good business decision for our state and the US government to invest what is now estimated to be $4 billion in such a risky venture.  I've given a number of educational presentations around Brunswick County and to various environmental groups.  I feel if the citizens know the facts they can decide for themselves whether or not they'd like to have the port in our area.  I've also been involved in educating legislators (both municipal, state and federal) about the project and the potential issues surrounding its construction and operation.

As a private citizen I am adamantly against the NCIT as both an environmental disaster and a ridiculously bad business decision.  I am the webmaster of www.noportsouthport.org (and looking for someone to help or take my place, in case you're interested) so I've digested a massive amount of information on the various issues involved.  The bottom line is that the NC State Ports Authority cannot make a good (or even a decent) business case for the port without grossly distorting the projections for shipping traffic, jobs and economic prosperity for our region.  A deep water container terminal here cannot compete with those in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  All of those ports have expansion projects underway and the port here could never catch up and secure enough market share to be a viable business.  The downside is the loss of at least $4 billion in our tax dollars with nothing to show for it.

The City of Southport has been ignored by the NC State Ports Authority (NCSPA) because the Board of Aldermen in 2006 passed a resolution--WITHOUT ANY PUBLIC INPUT OR DISCUSSION--giving the NCSPA and the NCIT complete and unconditional support.  This position clearly does not reflect that of the citizens of our city and prevents us from being a part of any discussions about the port and the connecting infrastructure.  Our new Board of Aldermen must repeal this resolution and go to the NCSPA and insist that a representative from Southport be present at all meetings concerning the design, construction and operation of the NCIT.  We do not have a vote on whether or not the port will be built, but as a major stakeholder we have significant concerns that must be addressed.  If this facility does come to pass, our city needs to get the most we can out of the project and a strong adversarial position at this stage might prevent that from happening.

Once we get a seat at the table with the NCSPA we can ask them the difficult questions they have been reluctant to answer thus far.  They've claimed ignorance on many matters that new documents have shown they had prior knowledge about, and they keep saying we need to see what the US Army Corps of Engineer studies have to say before making certain information public.  If the project proceeds past the Corps current reconnaissance and feasibility studies, the last study for permit purposes, the Environmental Impact Study, will only serve to identify areas that the NCSPA will have to mitigate (see beginning of this post).  It will not halt the project.

If elected, I will vote to withdraw our unconditional support for the port.  This should get the attention of the NCSPA.  If we continue to be ignored or our concerns are not addressed, I will vote to pass a resolution against the port and do everything I can as your Alderman to stop the project.  We will work with surrounding municipalities, businesses related to tourism, environmental groups, state & federal agencies, No Port Southport, our legislators, attorneys, and whomever else we can get on board.

Any project that can potentially bring jobs and economic prosperity to our region should be examined thoroughly. But we don't want to wait until it's too late to do anything about it if the project looks to be a financial boondoggle or an environmental disaster for us.  That is why the City of Southport must be engaged in the process immediately.

If you'd like more information or clarification from me, please leave a comment here or send me an e-mail to aldermanken@bellsouth.net