How will the infrastructure bill benefit the Delaware River watershed?

Trying to get a handle on how parts of $1 trillion in federal infrastructure spending will flow into the Delaware River and its watershed is a bit like shaking a Magic 8 ball: “Concentrate and ask again” and “Outlook good” come the hazy answers.

But since President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in mid-November, a somewhat clearer picture is emerging of where and how the money may be spent in the watershed.

From water quality improvements to cleaner-energy ferries, what follows is a preliminary list of projects and programs to benefit the river and basin, according to members of Congress, advocacy groups and state environmental agencies. If you know of other projects that should be highlighted, write us at delawarecurrents@gmail.com.

Delaware River Basin Conservation Act

The Delaware River is specifically mentioned only once in the 1,039-page tome of an infrastructure bill. It notes that $26 million will be allocated to the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. The act was signed into law in 2016 and supports efforts to conserve and restore fish and wildlife habitat, improve water quality, reduce flood damage and enhance recreational opportunities.

The money will supplement its annual funding over the next five years.

“This program represents a critical investment in the land and water resources of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware,” said Kelly Knutson, director of the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed. “The increase in funding for the Delaware River Basin will allow for the continued expansion of conservation and restoration of the resources upon which people, wildlife, and our economy rely.”

Delaware Estuary Program

More than $130 million will be dedicated to the National Estuary Program over five years. The Delaware Estuary Program is expected to get additional funding to support implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan, which was revised in 2019.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects

The Philadelphia District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will receive about $141 million in supplemental funding for projects and studies that affect the basin.

Among the projects:

• $25 million to maintain dredged material disposal sites along the Delaware River at sites known as Killcohook No. 1 and Pedricktown North. 

Those sites hold dumped sediments from a river-deepening project known as Philadelphia to the Sea, a project that dates back at least a dozen years. The project calls for a 96.5-mile channel from Philadelphia to the deep water in Delaware Bay to benefit the Port of Philadelphia, which is considered the No. 1 port for perishable cargo in the country, according to the Army Corps.

• $5 million to conduct dredging on the Schuylkill River above the Fairmount Dam in Philadelphia.

• $3.8 million to complete maintenance dredging along the Intracoastal Waterway from Rehoboth Bay to Delaware Bay via the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, which is a shallow-draft navigation project used by both commercial and recreational users.

• $3.5 million for the removal of the Bloomsbury Dam on the Musconetcong River in Hunterdon and Warren Counties, N.J. Removal of the dam would restore free-flowing conditions, improve aquatic habitat for brook trout and American eel, allow for the passage of recreational boats and reconnect 7.8 miles of the river, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

• $3.2 million to stabilize the Intracoastal Waterway between the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay (C&D Canal). The C&D Canal system connects the Port of Baltimore to the ports of Wilmington, Del., Philadelphia, and northern trade routes. 

• $250,000 to repair and stabilize the Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse on the Delaware Bay. The lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Investing in our state’s water infrastructure is vitally important to the well-being of our state,” Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware said in a news release. 

Blunt Rochester also reported that the infrastructure bill includes $250 million for a new low-emission ferry pilot program. Delaware’s ferry system, which is run by the Delaware River & Bay Authority, connects Lewes, Del., to Cape May, N.J.

The bill also includes millions of dollars to be funneled to states for revolving funds to improve drinking water and address contaminants.

Andy Kricun, a senior fellow at the U.S. Water Alliance and a member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, applauded the increase in allocations to state revolving funds but noted that there are fundamental inequities in that some communities lack the resources to cover the up-front costs of even applying for the money.

He urged states to stop being “passive recipients of applications” and do more to help those communities in need. 

“The funding is very much needed and is a once-in-a-generation investment in water infrastructure,” he said. “That said, it would be a mistake to declare ‘mission accomplished.’”

He said the money being allocated is a “necessary but not sufficient” first step to addressing infrastructure issues in the watershed but other problems persist, such as combined sewer overflows, PFAS contamination and the need to build resiliency against climate change. 

He noted, for instance, that the river level is projected to rise 18 inches by the year 2050. The need for green infrastructure will only grow.

“How can we make use of the funding to address these problems now?” he asked. “Where is the low-hanging fruit?”

Some of the biggest projects may well be the improvements to the largest wastewater treatment systems in the lower Delaware that the Delaware River Basin Commission has been investigating, as this story explains: https://delawarecurrents.org/2021/03/24/delaware-river-dissolved-oxygen/

Clean water initiatives

The Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds provide below-market rate loans and grants to fund water infrastructure improvements to protect public health and the environment, according to the White House.

 

Statewide, New Jersey will receive in 2022:

$73.3 million for any eligible Clean Water State Revolving Fund project

$30.6 million for any eligible Drinking Water State Revolving Fund project

$48.3 million to address drinking water lead service line replacements

$12.9 million to address contaminants of emerging concern, such as PFAS in drinking water

$3.8 million to address contaminants of emerging concern in wastewater.

 

Statewide, New York will receive in 2022:

$198 million for any eligible Clean Water State Revolving Fund project

$73.3 million for any eligible Drinking Water State Revolving Fund project

$115 million to address drinking water lead service line replacements

$30.7 million to address contaminants of emerging concern, such as PFAS in drinking water

$10 million to address contaminants of emerging concern in wastewater.

 

Statewide, Delaware will receive in 2022:

$8.8 million for any eligible Clean Water State Revolving Fund project

$18 million for any eligible Drinking Water State Revolving Fund project

$28 million to address drinking water lead service line replacements

$7 million to address contaminants of emerging concern, such as PFAS in drinking water

$462,000 to address contaminants of emerging concern in wastewater.

Statewide, Pennsylvania will receive in 2022:

$71 million for any eligible Clean Water State Revolving Fund project

$55 million for any eligible Drinking Water State Revolving Fund project

$87 million to address drinking water lead service line replacements

$23 million to address contaminants of emerging concern, such as PFAS in drinking water

$3.7 million to address contaminants of emerging concern in wastewater.