WILMINGTON — The North Carolina Ports Authority has written to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking the federal agency to table its expansion plans for Wilmington harbor.
The authority is also requesting a suspension of any additional consideration of the record of decision, which was expected this fall.
The project is intended to allow larger ships to enter the harbor and, in thus keep the port competitive among east coast harbors like Savannah and Charleston, who have depths of 52 and 47 feet.
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“For the past decade, the North Carolina State Ports Authority has examined the opportunities and challenges presented by potentially deepening the Wilmington harbor from its current 42 feet authorized depth to potentially 47 feet deep,” the authority wrote in its letter to USACE. “While we are certain the economic benefits from such a project could have lasting positive impacts on the entire state, what has become clear during this process is a need to pause and give adequate study and reflection to the potential environmental impacts of a project of this magnitude, including the potential impacts of per- and polyfluoroallkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS.”
The authority cited questions raised by residents, researchers and other stakeholders regarding how the deepening would impact PFAS contamination of the Cape Fear.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s $1.3-billion plan to deepen the river includes moving 35 million cubic yards of sediment, which contains PFAS, and transporting some of it to nearby beaches and habitats.
The project was stalled earlier this year among similar environmental concerns raised by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, which formally objected to the draft Environmental Impact Statement from USACE. The department said the proposal failed to supply “sufficient information about PFAS, flooding, and placement of dredged material.”
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