TRENTON — The Christie administration this week extended its legal battle to prevent the deepening of the Delaware River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In a filing on Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the state is seeking to overturn two federal District Court rulings that denied a call for fresh studies...
A Waste Management trash bin lies in the Delaware River in this 2005 file photo.TRENTON — The Christie administration this week extended its legal battle to prevent the deepening of the Delaware River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In a filing on Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the state is seeking to overturn two federal District Court rulings that denied a call for fresh studies to examine how the dredging could affect the waterway.
"It is irresponsible for the Army Corps to move ahead with this project without addressing New Jersey’s concerns and without completely updating testing for contaminants," Bob Martin, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, said Friday in a news release.
The Army Corps says its $379 million project to deepen the river’s 103-mile channel between Philadelphia and the mouth of the Delaware Bay will create jobs and improve cargo shipping.
But the state and environmental groups fear that if the project moves ahead, millions of tons of sediment will be dumped along ecologically sensitive creeks and wetlands in Gloucester and Salem counties.
The state argues the Army Corps violated conditions of several environmental laws by failing to complete testing of contaminants in river sediments and failing to update studies to determine how the project might harm the river.
The majority of the studies were done in 1997, with limited updates, the environmental agency said.
The state’s testing shows river sediments contain elevated levels of PCBs, metals and other contaminants.
Also, the DEP reviewed Army Corps testing of discharges from sediments placed last year at the Killcohook Confined Disposal Facility in Salem County as part of the first phase of the deepening project.
It found elevated levels of selenium, copper, mercury, aluminum and cyanide that could affect surface water quality in the area, located near a federal wildlife refuge, the news release said.
"Simply put, the Army Corps needs to start using sound science and being forthright with the state and the public about its findings," Martin said.
The Army Corps contends the clay, silt and dirt at the bottom of the river contain no more toxic matter than the material that has been dumped on the same federally owned sites by regular maintenance dredging in the river.
The channel, built in 1885 at a depth of 18 feet and dug to 40 feet in the 1940s, and would be 45 feet deep under the current plan.
Previous coverage:
• N.J. fights Army Corps of Engineers' $379M plan to deepen section of Delaware River
• DEP head disappointed with ruling in Delaware River dredging project
• Judge OKs Delaware River dredging
• N.J. Gov. Chris Christie plans to fight Delaware River dredging project
• Delaware sues Army Corp over river dredging, N.J. to follow
• Gov. Corzine wants environmental review before dredging Delaware River