Edgemoor port expansion a concern for community

By Konner Metz

Delaware State News

EDGEMOOR — On the banks of the Delaware River, a new port expansion could put residents, water quality and aquatic species at risk, according to a local environmentalist.

Maya van Rossum, who heads the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, has major concerns about permits that would allow a port expansion project to commence at 4600 Hay Road in Edgemoor.

In 2020, the Diamond State Port Corp. proposed to build a new multi-use containerized cargo port on property bought from the chemical company, Chemours, in 2017, with the goal of expanding Wilmington’s presence on the east Coast as a port city. The site is two miles north of the Port of Wilmington.

Thirteen fans would be installed in the river per the proposal, which Ms. van Rossum claims would pose a serious risk to aquatic species like the Atlantic sturgeon, “a genetically unique population (with) only 300 spawning adults left,” she said.

The proposal would include the building of a wharf around 2,600 feet long, dredging the berth and access channel 45 feet below mean low water and constructing 3,200 feet of bulkhead along the shoreline.

The matter is in the hands of the Environmental Appeals Board, which hears appeals on DNREC decisions before necessary permits are granted.

One community coalition is fighting feverishly to halt the construction of the Edgemoor site until stronger environmental regulations are guaranteed.

Jeffrey Richardson, chairman of the Delaware Community Benefits Agreement Coalition, is one of many that will be heard on July 26.

Made up of community members across Delaware, Mr. Richardson says one of the coalition’s main focuses is to assure that the health of the community receives proper attention in industrial matters.

They are lobbying for a “community benefits agreement” that would set strict environmental standards during the port’s construction and operations.

“Our thing is not to stop the port, that’s not our goal,” Mr. Richardson said. “Our goal is to have these issues be redressed. We don’t want to be put into a situation where communities have to choose between their health and a job.”

In addition to striving for an agreement to be followed by the state and Diamond State, the coalition recognizes dangers of off-port expansion.

“With off-port development, you frequently have entities that move closer to the port because the port is a major generator of resources,” Mr. Richardson said. “Then what that means for the communities is development (that) isn’t organized, structured and planned.

In an ideal world, the group would be successful in their quest for a community benefits agreement, which would limit off-port development, vehicular emissions and adverse effects on the water quality of the river.

But so far, the biggest problem is simply being heard. The coalition’s appeal process with DNREC and the Appeals Board has been no smooth ride.

An initial group appeal was signed by five members and heard on April 12, but the board ruled that the organization must secure legal counsel or appeal as individuals to continue forward. Mr. Richardson saw this rule as a “barrier to public participation” and an unnecessary burden on the coalition that does not have the means to hire an attorney.

In response, Mr. Richardson and four others appealed as individuals, protesting “forced disaggregation of (their) efforts” and the “forcing of each individual to face a team of lawyers paid by the state.”

In a copy of Mr. Richardson’s amended appeal, he claims that the Appeals Board failed to respond within 30 days to the original group appeal. He also detailed problems with the April 12 hearing.

Mr. Richardson said DNREC changed the hearing’s online link the day before. The coalition scrambled to send out the updated link to community members who planned to attend, but Mr. Richardson said community participation was decreased, calling the late change “unacceptable.”

“It’s off-putting,” Mr. Richardson said. “It doesn’t create a favorable environment for communities to participate in key decisions that are going to impact the quality of their lives.”

Mr. Richardson holds worries for next week’s hearing. Other appeals will be heard at the same meeting, including one from the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority.

“I think this whole thing is structured to bring us there and dismiss us,” he said. “Our concern is this process has been structured to check boxes of participation without the substance of participation.”

Still, the coalition is pushing for stricter regulations to the port’s permit in a “proactive” and “collaborative” way.

“It is a business venture, but it’s also going to impact people’s lives and that needs to be addressed,” Mr. Richardson said. “The lives of people and their health need to be viewed as importantly as the port itself.”

“It can’t just be anytime a company says they’re going to do something, just roll out the red carpet.”

DNREC spokesman Michael Globetti said the agency does not provide comment on matters related to the Appeals Board.