A federal judge has scheduled a settlement hearing in the Savannah harbor deepening lawsuit.

The massive court case blocking Georgia's port expansion project now will come to an end on June 10.

Environmental groups and South Carolina agencies had sought to stop the deepening project over water quality concerns.

Last month, they agreed to drop their lawsuit in exchange for millions of dollars in additional environmental protections built into the plan.

The project has been an economic priority of Georgia officials for decades.

But even with the environmental settlement, construction won't be able to get underway.

For that to happen, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will need money from Congress.

Georgia officials are optimistic the $652 million project will receive the bulk of its federal funding this year.

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