Plans for a port expansion at the former site of the Edgemoor plant appear to be moving forward, despite a recent shakeup in the operation of the Port of Wilmington.
Last month, state officials chose a Massachusetts shipping company called Enstructure LLC to become the next operator of the century-old port, replacing GT USA Wilmington after years of financial stress.
Plans surfaced years ago to develop the Edgemoor site into a container terminal that would greatly expand the port’s capacity and help double its jobs. GT USA Wilmington was supposed to pick up much of the cost of the new terminal, but those plans unraveled.
The Diamond State Port Corp., a state-owned entity that oversees port operations, purchased the former DuPont and later Chemours chemical plant called Edgemoor in 2016 for $10 million.
Although the terminal has yet to be designed, the port corporation has crossed a few hurdles, including getting needed permits from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
When seeking an operator to replace GT USA, the port corporation emphasized finding a company that would commit to the terminal project. Enstructure checked that box for the port corporation’s board. However, it’s possible that state taxpayers may foot more than $100 million towards the port and its expansion, Delaware Online/The News Journal has learned.
The project still faces challenges from competing ports upriver and communities groups concerned about the project’s impact on the environment and their quality of life.
Here’s where the project stands and what to know.
What are the environmental concerns?
Delaware Natural Resources and Environmental Control received around 200 letters from the public regarding the permits sought for the Edgemoor project. Many of them raised concerns about the project’s impact on water quality, aquatic life, traffic and air emissions.
An environmental assessment conducted for DNREC acknowledged that greenhouse gases would be emitted during construction and contribute to climate change. It mitigated other concerns such as those around recreation and noted that a positive indirect impact of dredging up to 45 feet in the Delaware River would be the removal of PCBs and “substances of concern.”
DNREC has removed the plans for shoaling fans at port expansioon after worries of how aquatic life such as the Atlantic sturgeon would be affected.
But members of the neighboring communities are still not convinced that all of their environmental concerns have been properly addressed.
Nearby residents are particularly sensitive to environmental impact of the project, given the socioeconomic standing of the area. The Route 9 corridor is an area that poses heightened health risks for asthma, cancer and other diseases.
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A substantial portion of the Edgemoor community is already in the 80-90th national percentiles of air toxics cancer risk, according to the EPA.
Edgemoor also sits in similar percentiles for diesel particulate matter, while parts of Wilmington scanned in the 95-100th national percentiles for diesel particulate matter.
Jeffrey Richardson, chair of the Delaware Community Benefits Agreement Coalition, is looking for better answers from the state. His group wants a “community benefits agreement” with the state and the port operators — essentially, a contract that would require certain environmental standards to be met.
But Richardson feels the strength of his community coalition, which includes nine community groups, has been weakened by the state’s procedural rules that community groups must have legal counsel to appeal a DNREC permit.
Richardson claims that this requirement to secure counsel went directly against DNREC’s mission to procure public opinion and participation.
“The fact that we were pressed to get an attorney puts an inordinate amount of pressure on community organizations,” Richardson stated before DNREC’s Environmental Appeals Board, per a hearing transcript. “It’s unfair.”
After the group appeal was dismissed, the members of the coalition had the chance to file individual appeals. When they did, the Appeals Board claimed they failed to indicate “particularized harm” relating to the permit.
Simeon Hahn, a Wilmington resident and an environmental scientist of over 30 years, was one of those members who was rejected individual standing.
“If I don’t have standing, then who the hell does?” Hahn asked the Board during a hearing.
The group was able to secure legal counsel this past winter, and in a Superior Court decision last week, DNREC’s motion to dismiss the community group appellants was denied — an important step for Richardson’s group in moving forward and securing a chance to have their voices heard.
Port of Philadelphia’s appeal
As presently proposed, the Edgemoor container terminal will have a turning basin to allow exiting ships to turn around. The turning basin would cover the width of the river’s main navigation channel, which could lead to turning ships blocking the waterway. That would violate the Port of Philadelphia’s right to the waters, the Philadelphia port has argued.
Ports in Gloucester and Paulsboro, New Jersey, operated by the same company that runs much of the Port of Philadelphia, have launched similar challenges.
The status of all of the appeals are up in the air.
It is unknown whether the appeals processes will be delayed due to the change of port operator or if the timeline is going as expected.
DNREC declined to comment on the status of the appeals and if any delays will take place.
The operator of the main container terminal at the Port of Philadelphia, Holt Logistics, submitted a bid to the port corporation in lieu of GT USA’s exit. But Holt was not considered according to the port corporation’s minutes, as they submitted a bid “not to the level of the other proposers” in regards to funding.
The port corporation’s chair and Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock said that once further steps are taken, the board will work with the community to resolve outstanding issues.
Tire debacle at the Edgemoor site
For nearly a year and a half, thousands of discarded tires have been stored at the Edgemoor site.
Last June, the state ordered GT USA and a New York-based company, S&A Marketing, to remove the tires, which were placed there without permits, according to an order signed by DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin.
In a copy of the order obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal, an initial order from the state was given in December 2021. However, this was not followed by GT USA or S&A, as they continued to store and transfer tires at the facility, leading to last June’s order.Fines of $400 were to be assessed for each day of “non-compliance” after 30 days from the date the order was written.
Ankura, a consultancy firm to the port, has taken charge of the tire situation. An Ankura representative told the Board in April that Ankura is pursuing “an order from the court” to start the removal of the tires, according to board meeting minutes obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal.Richardson called it a “major fire and mosquito hazard,” and went on to say that the situation “underscores the failure of oversight mechanisms at the port.”
Brandon Holveck contributed reporting.
Contact reporter Konner Metz at kmetz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @konner_metz.
