COLUMBIA, S.C. — The board that oversees South Carolina's environmental agency will decide whether to issue a permit for a dredging project for neighboring Georgia.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control's board will hear an appeal Thursday on a water quality permit that would allow the deepening of 35 miles between the port of Savannah, Ga., and the Atlantic Ocean.

A decision is expected at the meeting.

Georgia officials and the federal government are working to deepen the Savannah River so larger ships can reach the Georgia port. The river channel shares a border with South Carolina.

Regulators at South Carolina's environmental agency denied the permit, saying it would cause unacceptable harm to the waterway's endangered fish and fragile marshes.

The Army Corps of Engineers appealed the rejection to DHEC's board.