The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has issued a permit to the Diamond State Port Corporation to continue corrective actions at the former Chemours Edgemoor industrial site.
Diamond State and Port of Wilmington operator Gulftainer are redeveloping the site as a container terminal.
The corrective actions are required under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
At 4600 Hay Road, Edgemoor, the plant site was sold by Chemours to the DSPC in 2017. Chemours demolished the plant before the sale, and all applicable permits were transferred to Diamond State.
The titanium plant operated under the ownership of DuPont prior to the company spinning off chemical operations into Chemours, a publicly-traded company based in Wilmington.
The permit issued by DNREC is a renewal of an earlier corrective action permit. It will require asphalt capping of most of the site; contaminated materials management plan during site construction; continued implementation of the post-closure care plan for closed surface impoundments; and establishment of an environmental covenant.
The site and its associated titanium dioxide pigment production facility have been regulated under the Delaware Hazardous Waste Program throughout its recent history.
The 115-acre site has two parcels. The larger 112-acre parcel is bounded by the Delaware River to the east, by Interstate 495 and Hay Road to the west, by Fox Point State Park to the north, and industrial sites to the south. The much smaller three-acre parcel is located across Hay Road from the larger parcel and the former facility’s main gate.
The new permit issued to the Diamond State Port Corp. will include the requirements for providing ongoing cap maintenance, environmental monitoring, and financial assurance.
Port operator Gulftainer was in the news, with Delaware Public Media reporting labor relations issues at the port and delays in the container port.
Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock declined to comment on the report. Bullock heads Diamond State Port Corp. Gulftainer did not respond to requests for comment.
The proposed container port is located on the Delaware River and could attract ships that would otherwise go to ports further up the river. Those ports have protested what they see as favorable permitting treatment.
