Christie and Andrews will hold joint Press Conference on dredging

by: Jason Springer

Sun Feb 28, 2010 at 06:50:40 PM EST

The ongoing saga of the Delaware River dredging project will continue this week as there will be a press conference tomorrow and further movement later in the week:

With a Delaware River deepening project set to start next week, some of the project's top critics -- including Gov. Chris Christie -- have scheduled a press conference on Gloucester County's waterfront on Monday.
Christie and U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-Haddon Heights, are among officials expected at the 12:15 p.m. event at Red Bank Battlefield in National Park.

This follows Christie's recent comments questioning the dredging. I'm not sure what can be done by holding press conferences at this point, but they're holding one. It's in the courts right now and even though a Federal judge in Delaware said the project should go forward, opponents are still hoping to have the decision overturned.

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Christie Admin calls out Army Corps on Delaware Dredging

by: Jason Springer

Sat Feb 20, 2010 at 11:05:56 AM EST

The new Governor is weighing in on the long standing battle over efforts by the Army Corps of Engineer to push forward with the dredging of the Delaware River despite objections:

Gov. Chris Christie on Friday blasted a plan to deepen the Delaware River's main shipping channel, saying South Jersey's environment will "suffer the consequences" if the project is not delayed.
"It is irresponsible for the Army Corps (of Engineers) to push this dredging project forward," Christie said. Among other demands, he called on the Corps to provide alternatives to dumping dredge spoils in South Jersey and to update its environmental studies for the project.

We wrote a few weeks ago about a ruling by a Judge in Delaware calling for the project to move forward and opposition to end. While Delaware seemed to roll after after the decision, changing their stance to having no position, Governor Christie has taken a more confrontational stand:

"We have very deep concerns about the old scientific data the Army Corps has been using to push this project ahead," Martin said, questioning whether the work will be "as ecologically benign as the Army Corps purports it to be."
Christie accused the agency of employing "a double standard, applying tough criteria to protect the environment during the project to deepen the New York-New Jersey harbor yet failing to provide the same protections to South Jersey's environment."

Responding to those charges, the Corps said the material in NY was contaminated and needed to be treated as such. They also say they did an environmental assessment last year, but the DEP in its release pointed to specific areas not looked at. The Christie administration is taking action along with the tough talk:

New Jersey earlier this week joined an environmental coalition's attempt to block any startup of the more than $300 million project to deepen the channel five feet, to a controlling depth of 45 feet, without more studies, pending an appeals court ruling on a challenge originally filed by Delaware and on the outcomes of two other federal lawsuits.

The Corps was supposed to start their work this Tuesday, but will hold off until Friday at the earliest in order to give the court time to rule on the injunction. This dispute has spanned administrations and even caused a stalemate at the Delaware River Port Authority at one point along the way. This project is very much supported by Pennsylvania because of the potential economic benefits they would realize. With Delaware not opposing anymore, NJ is the last state standing in fighting the project along side the environmental groups.

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Judge makes clear Delaware dredging should go forward

by: Jason Springer

Sat Jan 30, 2010 at 11:50:28 AM EST

Give up. That was the message from Delaware Judge Sue Robinson to opponents of a plan to dredge and deepened in the Delaware. First she refused to block the dredging on Wednesday:

In her decision declining their request for an injunction, Judge Robinson wrote, "The public holds a vested interest in the nation's environmental preservation efforts," but "the public holds an equally compelling stake in the continued economic vitality of the Delaware River ports." She also said, "Congress has made the determination that it is in the public interest to proceed with the deepening project."

In amending that ruling on Friday, the Judge went further:

"Just to be clear, the deepening project is one that should be completed, consistent with Congressional intent," Robinson wrote, adding that administrative obstacles do not amount to proof of insurmountable environmental risks.

That wasn't enough and the Judge went even further taking on criticisms leveled against the project directly:

"For those who oppose the project in the first instance, the time for that fight has long passed," the judge wrote. "The decision to allow deepening in Reach C, therefore, is not 'a bridge to nowhere,' it is a first step in a regulatory process that has worked in the past, and should work here, to accomplish Congress' goals without causing environmental harm as defined by statute."

New Jersey still has two lawsuits in federal court seeking to delay the dredging. But the judge seemed to make it clear that she believes the whole project should go forward, not just the section in Delaware.

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