Wayne Gilchrest: “Mr. Chairman, in our closing comments, when we look at each issue of dredging or straightening or deepening one at a…”

“Mr. Chairman, in our closing comments, when we look at each issue of dredging or straightening or deepening one at a time, it is not an environmental problem. When we take the cumulative impact of all of these projects throughout the Chesapeake Bay, it is an environmental problem. And, no, there are many people throughout the State of Maryland that oppose this particular issue. Every environmental group in the State of Maryland opposes this widening. My constituents, especially those that have property on the shoreline, oppose this widening and straightening of the Tolchester S-turn. And, believe it or not, my colleagues, the Corps of Engineers opposes this straightening with their cost benefit analysis because it does not rise to the threshold necessary to benefit taxpayers. The Environmental Impact Statement is not complete and there are many environmental hazards that we are considering. The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) mentioned the problem with the oil tanker, the Exxon Valdez. 6,700 ships have passed through here in the last 6 years without one incident. And there are no rocks here. One of the reasons the Corps of Engineers said it was not necessary and one of the reasons the Coast Guard says it is a challenge but it is not a safety hazard is because there is nothing but sand here, nothing but sand and mud.”