Robert Torricelli: “The Army Corps of Engineers' Delaware River Deepening Project seeks to deepen over 100 miles of the Delaware River…”

“The Army Corps of Engineers' Delaware River Deepening Project seeks to deepen over 100 miles of the Delaware River channel from the current authorized 40-foot depth to 45 feet. The project would dredge 33 million cubic yards of bottom sediments, placing some 23 million cubic yards in dredge disposal areas in New Jersey, and 10 million cubic yards along Delaware shores. This project continues to be highly controversial in our states for a number of reasons. First, there remain significant environmental concerns regarding the material to be dredged and its ultimate disposal and impacts on the environment of the Delaware Bay. The Corps of engineers has been criticized for its method of evaluating toxic and polluted sediments--using an averaging method, which many believe can mask the potential impact of dredging toxic hot spots and more concentrated polluted material. Our citizens continue to have strong concerns about the impacts of dredging and disposal on water quality, on drinking water supplies, on important recovering shellfish areas, and on the environment in the vicinity of proposed disposal areas.”