Groups sue over Savannah River deepening project

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers says it has not seen a lawsuit brought by three conservation groups over a $600 million project to deepen the Savannah River shipping channel.

And Billy Birdwell, a spokesman for the Savannah District of the corps, says the agency generally doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit alleges the project needs a South Carolina Pollution Control Act permit for putting the dredge spoils on land. It also says that some of the dredged material will be silt containing cadmium.

The suit was brought by the Savannah Riverkeeper, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and the South Carolina Wildlife Federation. Georgia officials want the channel deepened to handle larger ships that will be calling when the Panama Canal is widened in 2014.