It's outside New Castle County's purview, but Councilman Jea Street (D-Wilmington South) has never been one to stand silent on something he believes in.
On Tuesday, Street and nine of his colleagues approved a resolution supporting a plan by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to deepen the Delaware River shipping channel. The resolution in effect challenges the position already taken by the state, which has filed suit to stop the dredging, saying it violates Delaware's sovereignty.
Gov. Jack Markell has said he believes the project requires permits from the state, which he says would only be issued after public hearings were held on the project's environmental and economic impacts.
The Environmental Defense Fund says the project will remove sediment from the river that contains high concentrations of mercury, lead and PCBs and deposit the sediment along the river, including Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. New Jersey has also opposed the plan, but Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell supports the plan and has said Pennsylvania would take any river spoils.
But to Street, whose district includes the Port of Wilmington, jobs are on the line.
"We lost GM, we lost Chrysler, we lost Valero," Street said. "Not only does deepening the channel give us more jobs, but it helps us maintain the jobs we already have at the port. They're going to move larger containers and we need to bring the port up to where it needs to be to be competitive in the future."
The resolution is non-binding and only expresses the will of a council powerless to enact any decision on the matter, which is currently being aired in federal court.
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The Vote Yes (10): Bell, Cartier, Clark, Hollins, Powers, Reda, Sheldon, Street, Tackett, Tansey Not Voting (3): Diller, Smiley, Weiner |
Still, many on council felt compelled to be speak out on the issue.
"In this economy I think this council needs to rise above what it normally does and fight for jobs," he said. "This port has the potential to be our future."
Indeed, a 2006 study by a consultant representing the shipping industry says the dredging project could inject more than $500 million into the local economy, creating as many as 6,000 jobs in Delaware.
Deepening the channel from 40 feet to 45 feet could mean larger ships would be able to access the port, and that could prompt shipping companies to relocate their fleets from more crowded ports like New York to Wilmington, said Komoko Harris, business agent for the local chapter of the International Longshoreman's Association.
"Think of the number of families that would be impacted if we don't have that five extra feet," he said.
Councilman George Smiley (D-New Castle) said he supports the dredging project, but refused to vote on the resolution. Smiley says he routinely abstains from voting on legislation that calls on another government to take specific action. Joining Smiley in abstaining were Councilwoman Lisa Diller (D-Newark) and Councilman Robert Weiner (R-Chatham).
Arguments in the case were heard in Philadelphia court on Dec. 8.
