By EILEEN STILWELL
Courier-Post Staff
PHILADELPHIA -- The local district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is struggling to hold onto a tiny portion of the Delaware River dredging business against heavy assault from private industry, which insists it can do the job better and cheaper.
Area legislators attended a briefing on the issue Monday at the Independence Seaport Museum at Penn's Landing, followed by a demonstration aboard the Dredge McFarland, one of the four remaining Corps-operated dredges in the nation.
Based in Philadelphia, the versatile McFarland and its three sister vessels are funded until the end of next year. After that, unless considerable pressure is put on Congress, the massive dredgers could be mothballed, according to Dennis Rochford, president of the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, a trade association representing the interests of nearly 250 port-related businesses.
If that happens, the entire Camden-Philadelphia port ... which represents about 45,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in income to the region ... will suffer, predicted Al Castagnola, chairman of the Maritime Exchange.
The McFarland's job is to keep the federal channel that runs about 105 miles from Philadelphia to the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 40 feet. The 300-foot vessel also dredges up and down the East Coast.
Commercial orders are taken, promises are made and prices fixed based on a ship's ability to carry a maximum load of cargo. That maximum is based on 40-foot water. Every foot under that forces shippers to carry less to lighten the load.
While the Army Corps performs only 6 percent of all dredging in the nation, port players Monday said they are essential because they can respond quickly and effectively in emergencies.
Private dredgers frequently get bogged down in the bidding process, or lack the skills or equipment to do the job, said Washington attorney Walter Evans.
"It's like rowboats with tin cups and they just can't get the work done," he said, adding that private companies would charge excessive rates with no competition.
The federal government employs 210 people and spends $48.6 million a year to operate four dredgers. The McFarland alone costs $10.8 million, or about $60,000 a day. Three years ago, in a concession to the private sector, the Army Corps' dredgers were restricted to work only 180 days a year, unless needed for dire emergencies. Prior to that, the Corps was forced to reduce its dredging fleet from 16 to four vessels. No cost comparisons with the private sector were available Monday.
U.S. Rep. Robert E. Andrews, D-N.J., said he will investigate the issue to determine if the private sector can do it better. If the answer is yes, he said the Army Corps should concede.
"If you really want a balanced budget, you're not going to get it by always looking to get rid of things in other districts. You have to take a look at your own back yard. This was a lobbying seminar, conducted in part with taxpayers' money and I'm not real comfortable with that," he said.
U.S. Rep. James Saxton, R-N.J., supports keeping the McFarland operational in Philadelphia, said spokeswoman Sandra Condit.
James MacFarlane, vice president of Camden Iron and Metal Co., which exports 1 million tons of scrap a year from the Beckett Street terminal, said the availability of federal dredging affords the waterway predictability, which is essential to his business.
"We give customers guarantees that a certain amount of cargo will arrive. If we have to load lighter, we can face some serious penalties," he said.
