Judge dismisses green plea to halt Delaware channel dredging

A US FEDERAL judge has quashed a plea from greens, including the Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, to halt dredging the Delaware River to expand ship access to the Port of Philadelphia.

Much of Judge Sue Robinson's ruling dealt with whether dredging was "maintenance", which she took to mean maintaining the current level of "navigation into the area's ports", which would require catch-up dredging.

This Delaware US District Court ruling is regarded as a "major boost" to dredging the main shipping channel after Judge Robinson ruled against those trying to stop the project, rejecting pleas for a permanent injunction and lifting a temporary injunction imposed earlier this year.

Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) chairman John Estey said the decision would advance the US$277 million dredging of 102 miles of the Delaware shipping channel from 40 feet to 45 feet.

The suit was first filed by the Delaware' environmental regulator against the US Army Corps of Engineers, which approved the dredging. New Jersey's environmental regulator later joined that suit. They alleged the Corps had given approval without necessary federal and state approvals.

Congress authorised the dredging in 1992. Then the Corps agreed to address concerns raised by Delaware in 1996 and signed a memorandum of understanding with New Jersey, but that deal fell apart in 2002 and 2003, reported American Shipper.

Last year, the Corps issued its final Environmental Assessment, declaring the project would have "no significant adverse effects".

Delaware and New Jersey invoked states rights to regulate pollution under the Clean Water Act. But such powers are limited if they clash with the Secretary of the Army's authority to maintain navigation.

Threatening to appeal the ruling are three eco-groups, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, New Jersey Environmental Federation and National Wildlife Federation. A Delaware Riverkeeper spokeswoman said Judge Robinson had a "predisposition in support of the project" and that the groups believe "her decision does not have a solid legal basis, and it lays bare to Army Corps' abuse the entire length of the Delaware River."
(Source:www.schednet.com)