1
Dredging up conflict on Delaware River
To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.
TEXT OF STORY
Bill Radke: A federal judge could rule any day in a dispute over the Delaware River. The states on either side of the river are fighting over whether to deepen the Delaware to help cargo ships get through. Reporter Joel Rose says it's being cast as a battle between the environment and much-needed jobs.
Joel Rose: There are some big ships that dock at the port of Philadelphia -- like this one that's delivering containers of fruit from Chile. But the largest ships can't make it here, because the Delaware River isn't deep enough. And port officials say that's a big problem for the 45,000 people who make a living off these docks.
John Estey: We need to deepen the river to be competitive in the international marketplace.
John Estey is the chairman of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. He says the Delaware River is only 40 feet deep, while ports in Baltimore and northern New Jersey are getting even deeper to accommodate bigger ships.
Estey: Every other East Coast port is either already at at least 45 feet, or going to 50 feet at the moment. We are the only that is not.
Congress authorized the deepening more than 15 years ago. If Pennsylvania were the only state involved, it probably would have happened by now. But the river also passes through New Jersey and Delaware.
Environmentalist Maya van Rossum says the project would stir up harmful chemicals trapped in the muck at the bottom of the river.
Maya van Rossum: It's not just reintroduction of toxins into the food chain and into communities, which most certainly will result from a deepened channel. But it's also threats and harms to aquatic species.
Last year, Delaware officials refused to grant a permit for the project. Then the Army Corps of Engineers decided it didn't need permission and announced plans to start deepening the river anyway. For now, the issue is tied up in federal court.
Beau Biden is Delaware's Attorney General:
Beau Biden: The Army Corps of Engineers has decided to ignore the laws of the state. They need to follow Delaware's law before they begin to dredge waters in the state of Delaware.
But supporters of deepening the river say Delaware is just dragging its feet. If the project doesn't get underway soon, Philadelphia port chairman John Estey warns that international shippers will take their business elsewhere.
Estey: It's gonna say to the world we're not interested in doing the things that are necessary to bring you here, to be welcoming to you.
A judge is expected to rule soon on Delaware's objection. If the Army Corps of Engineers gets the green light, deepening the Delaware River could begin next month. If it doesn't, there's no telling when, or if, the project will happen.
In Philadelphia, I'm Joel Rose for Marketplace.
The dredging must happen! We (industry) have been held captive long enough by the environies here in the Delaware Valley. This area used to be the economic powerhouse of the country in each and every past century until enviornmentalist and cheaper chinese labor shut most of our industries down leading to poverty, drugs and violence which we still know of today in and around the Philadelphia area. When the port thrives, all thrive! Its the center of the market, it is the market! All great cities must have a great port and the cities that are growing and prosper have a growing and prosperous port. Think about it...New York, Singapore, Dubai, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Rotterdam, Savanah, etc etc. Those cities that have let their ports go or have no ports are losing ground to the economy or marketplace...THink about it..cleveland, detroit, chicago, st. louis, providence RI, toldeo OH, pittsburg PA, Memphis. These cities all at one time were thriving because of their port location however, they let their ports go down hill. Most of them havent recovered since. We must not let Philadelphia, an ocean port location, go downhill! Don't let New York and other competing port interests block this dredging. They wouldnt be blocking it if they knew that dreding the delaware channel would bring great prosperity and jobs to our region. Support it and also support the safe removal and storage of the spoils. Its the 21st century and I know we can accomplish both!
