TRENTON - Governor Jon S. Corzine today sent a letter to the United States Army Corps of Engineers expressing his outrage at their refusal to honor the agreement between New Jersey and Pennsylvania which states that all dredge spoils from a river deepening project will be deposited in Pennsylvania.

“Our governors' agreement resolved long-standing, complicated contentions between our states and was drafted with an eye toward the environmental protection and economic growth that we as governors work so hard to ensure for our citizens. Among other things, our agreement specified that the dredged material resulting from any deepening project would be deposited entirely in Pennsylvania, not in New Jersey.”

A copy of the letter follows.

State of New Jersey
Office of the Governor
125 WEST STATE STREET
PO BOX 001
TRENTON NJ 08625-0001

June 27, 2008

Mr. John Paul Woodley, Jr.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Works
Army Corps of Engineers
Department of the Army
108 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0108

Dear Mr. Woodley:

The positions taken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) concerning the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project are deeply disturbing. As you may know, last year New Jersey and Pennsylvania successfully worked together to fashion a mutually agreeable path forward for the deepening project.

Our governors' agreement resolved long-standing, complicated contentions between our states and was drafted with an eye toward the environmental protection and economic growth that we as governors work so hard to ensure for our citizens. It would be unfortunate for a federal agency to pre-empt such a cooperative agreement forged between two states.

Among other things, our agreement specified that the dredged material resulting from any deepening project would be deposited entirely in Pennsylvania, not in New Jersey. Now it appears that the ACOE intends to dump dredged material on the New Jersey side of the river. This position is totally unacceptable, and we will take whatever measures are necessary to enforce our agreement with respect to dredged material disposal.

It was a surprise to learn the ACOE's position is that it does not need any New Jersey approvals for the dredging project to go forward. As you know, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued to the ACOE a Federal Consistency Determination/Water Quality Certificate in August 1997. However, this Federal Consistency Determination was revoked in September 2002 because of substantial changes in the economic analyses, significant unresolved environmental issues and a need for a dredge material management plan for the project. These issues remain unresolved today. Further, the Water Quality Certificate that was issued expired on its own terms in August 2002.

Without question, the Delaware River deepening project must satisfy the public that it will not cause any environmental harm, and must comply with all applicable state regulations. ACOE must, therefore, as envisioned in our governors' agreement, submit an updated Environmental Impact Statement and dredged material management plan for review by NJDEP. We would appreciate your immediate written confirmation that ACOE will follow this course of action.

Sincerely yours,

/Jon S. Corzine/

c. Pennsylvania Governor Edwards G. Rendell
   Senator Frank Lautenberg
   Senator Robert Menendez
   Representative Rob Andrews

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Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page.