The Gazette reported Feb. 7 that Jasper Ocean Terminal engineering consultants are projected to take as long as 15 years to complete the environmental and economic studies and develop an acceptable working plan for the port.
Wow. This is totally unacceptable.
Having worked as chief engineer and planner for the largest developer in New Jersey for several decades (one of the most permit-laced bureaucratic states in the country), I can say with some authority, as state Sen. Tom
Davis said in the same article, "2024 is ridiculous."
Any developer in the private sector would, under threat of firing the consultant, renegotiate the consulting contract to provide specific permitting and environmental study timetables, certainly far shorter than the 15-year prediction. If they can't comply, hire a new consultant; there's simply too much at stake.
If the consultant remains on a 15-year schedule, it is not only an open checkbook for continuing consulting fees and extras, but over a 15-year period the regulatory agencies controlling the rules and regulations only will get tougher and more restrictive, causing even more delays and more costs.
The project needs a strong leader, not in the form of consultants, to establish an aggressive program.
The ports authorities should set timetables and be more aggressive to make this port a reality and not a bureaucratic boondoggle.
Michael B. McNally
Callawassie Island
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