Another voice has been added to those against Carolina Linkages’ plans to bring an inland port to Santee – this time from Berkeley County.

Berkeley County Supervisor Jim Rozier says he will fight against the company’s plans to barge goods up the Cooper River to the Santee Cooper lakes. The company’s plans could damage historic rice fields along the river and disrupt recreation, he said.

“There’s nobody in the state more involved in industrial development and economic development than I have been. At the same time, you’ve got to protect what you hold dear in your area,” he said.

Rozier said he’s supported the concept of building an inland port in Orangeburg County for years, with goods transported to the site by rail. Barging goods, he says, “is not the answer.”

Charleston-based CaroLinks plans to purchase 789 acres of land near the intersection of U.S. Highway 301 and Interstate 95 in Orangeburg County for its inland port project. The company plans to take containers from ships and transport them to Orangeburg County for distribution.

Rozier’s concerns echo those of Santee residents who worry the company’s plans could harm their quality of life.

Rozier, who lost the Republican primary to keep the seat he’s held since 1990, will be leaving office in December. He says he will continue to fight the project as a private citizen.

“I can bring it to the attention of as many people as possible. I still have connections to folks I can talk with and I think I still have the respect of my peers,” he said. He said he will challenge the company’s plans through the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and political routes – “everything I can use.”

“No one’s ever hesitated to use them with me,” he said.

Rozier admits he doesn’t know much about the company’s plans. They did not contact him until his concerns were made public last week. CaroLinks now wants to meet with him.

“I was kind of shocked about it coming through the middle of Berkeley County and they didn’t talk to anyone in Berkeley County,” Rozier said. CaroLinks “said in the paper I was uninformed. Well, maybe I am. That’s their fault.”

Among his concerns is the wakes the barges could create, which he fears could harm the earthen dikes of the county’s rice fields.

“We have a delicate system on the Cooper River,” Rozier said.

His concerns are shared by Moncks Corner Mayor William Peagler, who also said he has received no details about the project.

Not only are the rice fields historic, they provide fresh water for wildlife, Peagler said. He said he would be concerned about litigation if the systems were damaged.

“I’m always for progress, but I’d like to see it tempered with environmental concerns,” Peagler said.

CaroLinks spokesman Alan Capper, who could not be reached Friday, told The (Charleston) Post and Courier that the barges would produce no wakes that would threaten the riverbanks.

Rozier is also concerned that the Cooper River is not wide enough to handle both commercial traffic and recreation.

“It’s simply not as wide a river as the Mississippi River. ... People on the lakes should be very concerned,” he said.

CaroLinks and Orangeburg County officials have noted the river was designed to promote economic development – but Rozier says it was designed for a different type of economic development.

“The system was designed to produce electricity. ... They’re stretching it when they say it was designed for that type of economic development,” he said.

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