Port authority counts on coal to deepen harbor

[thelakelander]

Interesting development.   The coal terminal will be served by the NS line that's also needed to link the S-Line ROW back together.

JACKSONVILLE -- Jacksonville Port Authority Executive Director Rick Ferrin's vision for the St. Johns River's shipping channel has coal not only traveling over it but also helping to deepen the water under it.

Ferrin said the authority is hopeful it can generate about $14 million a year from coal-handling at the former Jefferson Smurfit paperboard plant, a mile north of the Talleyrand Marine Terminal. Such revenue could be bonded to pay the authority's roughly $220 million share of an estimated $400 million needed to deepen the harbor to 45 feet.

Experts have said the harbor channel's depth -- 41 feet for much of the way and 38 feet for the rest -- needs to be increased for Jacksonville to be competitive. That's being driven largely by the Panama Canal's expansion -- to be completed in 2014 -- and competition from containerized cargo ports in Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., whose channels are 45 feet and 42 feet, respectively.

Leasing property to a coal terminal operator may be the most promising way for the authority to fund its share of a 45-foot harbor deepening project. Ferrin told a recent chamber of commerce event audience the authority projects about 20 million tons a year of South American coal could move through the more than 90-acre property that the authority calls Talleyrand North.

In looking at coal as a multimillion-dollar producer, the authority is counting on a market that it argued in court was too speculative for the owner of the property to base its value on.

Before the authority can sign a coal deal, it must acquire the former Jefferson Smurfit property that now belongs to Keystone Coal Co. Since November 2005, Keystone, based in Fort Myers, has been fighting the authority's condemnation lawsuit to take its 65-plus acres, bordering the authority's 27 acres, by eminent domain. Keystone, whose parcel includes access to rail, has its own plans for a coal terminal.

After winning a court ruling that the authority can take Keystone's land, the authority is awaiting a valuation trial, where a 12-person jury will determine what the authority must pay for the property. The trial has been scheduled for April 21, 2008, almost a year after its first trial date.

The trial date was postponed to give lawyers representing the property owner time to rework their case, including getting a new appraisal, after the court ruled much of their evidence inadmissible.

One of the most significant rulings against Keystone bars it from presenting its appraisals that are based on an income approach. The authority's lawyers successfully argued the appraisals -- based on projected revenue from moving coal -- were too speculative.

Keystone's lead attorney, Andrew Brigham, said that although he respects the pretrial rulings, it's hard to reconcile what happened in court with what's happening outside it.

"I find it ironic that the port publicly says the revenue from the property from coal can fund harbor deepening," Brigham said.

tquesada@bizjournals.com | 265-2220

http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2007/09/24/story5.html

[downtownparks]

So is this good or bad?

[reednavy]

Good for the economy, bad for the river, allowing more salt water intrusion.

[thelakelander]

Regarding the S-Line, its too early to tell.  Even with coal trains on the NS line, there are still multiple options worth exploring, including laying new S-Line track, parallel to NS's existing track.

[Ocklawaha]

Oh yes Jacksonville! Polish my rails South of the Border! More jobs, more homes, more building, more peace... PAZ para mi Colombia! I understand that JEA might have 17% interest in Colombian Coal, that's the 4Th largest reserves in the World. If we build THE PORT to handle it, both Jacksonville AND Colombia will be sitting pretty. Build and expand this and how far behind will Avianca/American or Continental/Copa be from JIA? I understand this coal is coming out of Puerto Drummond Colombia. Sweet.

A Colombian Dream...

The Eagle and the Condor Lyrics

I had a dream that appeared
to be true and I dreamt it
at least a hundred times
I saw a big crowd
that kept on growing
like a tidal wave

I saw an eagle together
with a condor getting up
to fly towards the deep blue
at that moment the crowd applauded
I was there, I was there,
it looked like a different world

oh dear, and you are telling
me that I should stay
with my feet on the ground
oh dear, but what's a dream
if a stroke of a wing
does not hurt you and
does not drag you out

the eagle flew together
with the condor, the north
flew together with the
south of the world
the significance appeared
to be obvious and
therefore I cheered up

oh dear, it's important to
believe that something can happen
something that you don't
expect to happen anymore

there will be need of time
but something is already moving
under the sign of change
a new thought will be born

there will be need of time
but somebody will arrive
there are a lot of people
that want an open sky
there are a lot of people
that love freedom

oh dear, and you are telling
me that I should stay
with my feet on the ground
oh dear, but what's a dream
if a stroke of a wing
does not hurt you and
does not drag you out

there will be need of time
but something is already moving
under the sign of change
a new thought will be born

there will be need of time
but somebody will arrive
there are a lot of people
that want an open sky
there are a lot of people
that love freedom

Ocklawaha

[reednavy]

wtf? i don't understand half the stuff your put on here, and I thought I was random, geez, lol

[Ocklawaha]

That was funny ReedNavy...

By way of introductions, I'm the resident "old hippie" here, always rolling a bomb under the door just to "fire for effect."

I'm also the self proclaimed Guru of Transportation, as my profession as a railroad planner, historian etc have taken me across the Americas. My last haunt, was Medellin, Colombia, where I worked with The Ferrocarril Nacionales de Colombia (The railroads). It was great fun, but I was homesick for my Jacksonville... The song
Eagle and Condor, was done back in the day and was quite popular with those that would like to see North and South America flex their muscle together, European Union style.

Hope this helps...

Ocklawaha