Dredging the Delaware

Deepening the Waters

March 28: Take a photographic tour of the deepenin project being undertaken in the giant New York-New Jersey Harbor. View the photo essay

A day aboard the dredge Pullen

March 19: Under a cloudless sky and near-70-degree temperatures, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers yesterday provided a peek into how the Delaware River shipping channel is dredged. Article and a photo essay

Army Corps OKs start of Delaware dredging

Feb. 24: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given a dredging contractor the green light to begin deepening the Delaware River shipping channel an additional five feet. Read the article

Judge OKs Delaware River dredging

Jan. 28: It's a go for deepening the Delaware River shipping channel an additional 5 feet. U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson in Wilmington yesterday denied Delaware's request to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from starting the 102.5-mile deepening, in a stretch of water off Delaware. Read the article and read the judge's opinion

Dredging battle goes to court

Dec. 9: As the battle over a proposal to deepen Delaware River shipping lanes went to federal court yesterday, Gov. Rendell reaffirmed Pennsylvania's commitment to take any unwanted muck dredged from the river. He said, however, that Pennsylvania had no control over where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stores that material while it dries, a process that can take up to 18 months. Read the article

Pressure mounts

Dec. 7: Ah! Delaware. Such a tangle. As Delaware heads to federal court tomorrow seeking an injunction to stop the Army Corps of Engineers from deepening the Delaware River five additional feet, pressure is mounting on Gov. Jack Markell's administration to find a way out of the lawsuit in the interest of jobs and the state's economy. Read the article

Delaware dredge now back to N.J.

Dec. 7: A deal on what to do with what gets dragged from the bottom of the Delaware has unraveled, and the spoils seem to be headed for New Jersey. Read the article

What a deeper river would mean to commerce

Nov. 22: Do five measly feet in the Delaware River really matter to the steamship companies that sail the river, and to the businesses that use ships to move goods into and out of local ports? Yes, they do. Read the article

Rift over Delaware River dredging widens

Nov. 20: Dueling sides in the bitterly contested Delaware River deepening project took aim yesterday. Environmental groups filed two lawsuits seeking to block the project. And 500 placard-carrying members of the International Longshoremen's Association and Teamsters' locals rallied in support of deepening the main navigation channel from 40 to 45 feet. Read the article

Phila. Port enters legal fray over dredging

Nov. 7: The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, saying it is vital that deepening of the Delaware River proceed, yesterday filed a motion to intervene as a defendant with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in an anti-dredging lawsuit filed by Delaware. Read the article

N.J. sues to stop Del. River dredging

Nov. 2: Three days after the State of Delaware sued to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from deepening the Delaware River, the New Jersey Attorney General today also filed a lawsuit to stop the project. Read the article and read the complaint

Delaware files suit to halt dredging

Oct. 31: A week after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided to deepen the shipping channel of the Delaware River to 45 feet, Delaware state officials sued to stop the project. Read the article

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an environmental group, filed suit to require permits for the dredging, has issued a series of news releases regarding the dredging proposal. Go to the Web site

The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority has set up a Web site for news and developments on the Delaware River deepening. Go to the Web site

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for keeping the nation's waterways navigable, has a page of public notices, reports, and other documents related to the dredging. Go to the Web site