Army Corps intends to deepen Delaware River

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intends to deepen the Delaware River without obtaining state permits because it needs to maintain navigation of the shipping channel, officials said Saturday.

The move was criticized by Delaware environmental officials and opponents say the project would dredge up toxic sediment and harm water quality.

The Corps has proposed deepening the channel from 40 feet to 45 feet along a stretch of more than 100 miles from Philadelphia to the mouth of the Delaware Bay. Supporters say the dredging would accommodate larger ships and keep local ports competitive.

Collin O'Mara, secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said the Corps notified the department Friday night that it plans to go forward with its proposal to dredge the river to 45 feet, without first obtaining the necessary state permits.

O'Mara recently denied the Corps' request for a permit application, in part, because he said the proposed project had changed significantly since it was first submitted in 2001 and potential environmental impacts of the altered plans were unknown or based on outdated information.

"DNREC remains committed to considering a new application through an efficient, science-based and transparent permitting process," O'Mara said in a statement Saturday. "It is therefore especially troubling that the Corps now seeks to proceed without a current environmental assessment and without any public consideration of the project as currently proposed."

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden said in a statement that his office is prepared to take "necessary legal action" to ensure the Corps applies for and obtains required state permits.

The office of Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy, who oversees civil works, decided that a Delaware permit is not required where federal authority to maintain navigation is negatively affected or impaired by the state's failure to issue a permit in a timely manner, said Ed Voigt, a spokesman for the Corps' Philadelphia District.

"There has to be a good reason to delay it any further and the administration has determined there isn't and it's time to move forward," Voigt said.

The agency plans to begin the deepening by December or January. Voigt said the Corps will still reapply for the state permit, not as a legal requirement but to promote good relations with Delaware, and address any environmental concerns.

The proposed project has been a source of friction among officials in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey for nearly a decade.