Delaware groups ask state to O.K. dredge permits

Delaware groups ask state to O.K. dredge permits    Two Delaware business groups are asking the state government to grant permits to deepen the main shipping channel on the Delaware River to 45 feet from 40 feet.
   The letters from the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce to Delaware Gov. Jack Markell come weeks after the State of Delaware denied a permit application to the Army Corps of Engineers to begin deepening.
   James Wolfe, president and chief executive officer of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, said the dredging “is critical to maintain and enhance the competitive position of the Port of Wilmington.”
   Mark Kleinschmidt, president of the New Castle Chamber of Commerce, said the deepening “will allow the port to compete for larger container vessels from the Far East which are now diverting from the West to East Coast ports through the Suez and Panama canals.
   “If we do not deepen the channel, we stand to lose substantial amounts of shipping to ports with deeper channels, a failure which will impact Wilmington and other ports further upriver which are also important to our regional economy,” he added.
   Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting today that the Corps “has decided to allow dredging to deepen the shipping channel of the Delaware River despite the objections from Delaware state officials.”
   The Inquirer said Markell told it Sunday night that the state was “gratified at the result,” and that the deepening could lead to 10,000 to 20,000 new jobs in a decade.