Coastal Zone redevelopment bill to be signed on Wednesday

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On Wednesday, Gov. John Carney will sign  House Bill 190

The controversial bill allows for the redevelopment of 14 legacy industrial sites along the Delaware coastline. The signing comes as the state continues to struggle with creating blue collar jobs following the closing of the state’s two auto plants and its only steel mill.

Supporters say the measure includes only a small portion of the coastal zone and will aid in the clean-up of brownfield sites.

The signing will be held at the General Chemical site in Claymont.

That site, along with a small portion of the former Sunoco refinery property in Delaware,  was said to have been bypassed by candidate companies, due to questions about the act.

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The state has seen a sharp reduction in the number of industrial sites operating along the Coastal Zone, since the act’s  passage in the 1970s.

Click here for  coastal zone coverage

The most recent examples of industrial exits  are the  Chemours Edgemoor site, which is now being demolished with the goal of becoming a part of the Port of Wilmington,  and the  Evraz mill, which is being cleared by an Ohio company as part of a mixed use commercial project.

Evraz, a  Russian company, controlled by oligarch  Roman  Abramovich, bought the 300 to 500-worker mill for a half a billion dollars about a decade ago. 

Despite modest modernization and pollution control efforts, the mill fell victim to a slump in the steel business, Evraz’s  excessive debt load and,  according to some, the state’s high electricity rates.

Other sites covered under the bill are in the Delaware City area, which has seen has also seen the departure of chemical companies.

Aimed at stopping a Shell refinery along Delaware Bay, the legislation, championed by late Gov. Russell Peterson, proved to be popular over the years.

While viewed as a point of pride by many in the state, the act did not regulate what some view as runaway residential development in environmentally sensitive areas along the coast and  Inland Bays.

Sponsored by two Newark-area  Democrats, state Sen. Senator Bryan Townsend, and Rep. Ed Osienski, the current Coastal Zone reform bill enjoyed strong support from the business community and organized labor.

However, elements of the environmental community remain fiercely opposed to the legislation,  which showcased a continued split among Democrats between labor and environmental factions.  Some on the environmental fringe have moved over to the Green Party.

The split was in evidence with the unsuccessful effort to build a data center-power plant on a portion of the STAR Campus, the former Chrysler plant.

Following a fierce campaign with largely unsubstantiated claims about pollution from a natural gas power plant and demonstrations during University of Delaware events,  UD  terminated a deal with the developer of the project. 

Similar objections have been voiced to a smaller version of the same project in Middletown.

In the case of the recent Coastal Zone bill, critics were particularly upset with provisions that would allow shipping of chemicals and materials used in manufacturing by barge from company terminals. Others suggested more input and hearings.

Earlier this year,  Delaware City Refining Co. has been cited by DNREC for an excess number of shipments from its terminal.

Under the law, properties to be redeveloped would still require a permit from the secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and be subject to state and federal environmental laws.

The current Coastal Zone Act regulations were liberally interpreted by the courts over the years, with the Delaware City refinery getting the go-ahead for various projects and environmental activists losing out when appeals were filed.

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