South Carolina court backs port’s eminent domain
The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that the South Carolina State Ports Authority’s powers of eminent domain exceed that of an individual county.
The court ruled in favor of the port authority over Jasper County. Both entities had competing plans for development of a marine terminal in the southern part of the state on the Savannah River.
The court noted that while both the port authority and a county would have power of eminent domain for such a project, a state agency has a superior claim over a single county.