Delaware Business Leaders Lend Support to Deepening Project
October 28, 2009The proposal to deepen the Delaware River gained the public backing of two major business groups in Delaware this week when the presidents of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce (view letter) and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce (view letter) wrote letters in support of the project to Delaware Governor Jack Markell. This show of support comes just weeks after the State of Delaware denied a permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin the long planned deepening.
In their separate letters to the governor, the two business leaders noted that with the continuing recession, it is important to invest for the future and encouraged the Governor to grant any necessary permits as soon as possible if the Army Corps of Engineers determines it is necessary to reapply for the permit.
James Wolfe, the president and CEO of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, wrote that the members of the Chamber “firmly believe that dredging the Delaware River Channel to the depth of 45 feet is a critical economic development project that will bring millions of dollars into Delaware’s economy and will supply employment to hundreds of Delawareans.”
In his letter, Mark Kleinschmidt, the president of the New Castle Chamber of Commerce, stated, “Now more than ever, action is necessary to preserve and grow our State’s economy by protecting one of our last dependable engines for well-paying union and nonunion jobs in Delaware.”
The Corps of Engineers is expected to announce shortly whether it intends to reapply for the permit. Historically, navigable waterways are under the direct and sole control of the Army Corps of Engineers.
These letters also represent another sign of the support for deepening from the business community in Delaware. Earlier this year, the PENJERDEL Council, a business advocacy group for the tri-state region of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, unanimously voted in support of a resolution backing the project
The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is the local sponsor for the federal project to deepen the Delaware River main channel from 40 to 45 feet.
