Attendance at the Wednesday, Nov. 20 public hearing on the possible dredging of the Assawoman Canal was nearly more than Bethany Beach Fire Hall could handle.

The hearing was part of the process initiated by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's (DNREC) Division of Soil and Water Conservation to dredge the nearly three-mile long Assawoman Canal. The dredging would improve watercraft navigation between the Little Assawoman Bay and the Indian River Bay.

Joining the hundreds of local residents at the fire hall were Sen. George H. Bunting (D-Bethany Beach), Representative-elect Gerald Hocker (R-Millville), several DNREC officials, former Rep. Shirley Price and former DNREC Secretary Nicholas DiPasquale.

A permit granted to conduct dredging of the canal was granted in 1995 but expired in 2000 as DNREC scrambled to address concerns of ecological impact expressed by both the public and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. DNREC officials, however, blamed the delay on the Corps of Engineers itself.

In addition to acquiring a state permit, DNREC must seek federal approval from the Corps.

According to the nearly 300-page assessment report accompanying the dredging application, the project will remove approximately 34,000 cubic yards of sand, silt and clay from the canal, creating a channel 35 feet wide and three feet deep below the mean low water mark.

The stated goal of the project is to allow navigation by smaller boats between the Little Assawoman Canal and the Indian River Bay, which are connected by the Assawoman Canal. In recent years, the canal has become impassably shallow except by the smallest of craft such as canoes and kayaks.

After brief presentations by Division of Soil and Water Conservation Spokesperson Chuck Williams and Wetlands Division Spokesperson Bill Moyer, the public was allowed to comment on the proposed dredging.

A heavy representation of South Bethany residents, as well as members of the area's boating community, lent their voices in support of the project.

Citizens implored DNREC to stop wasting time and money on hearings and studies and get the project underway. They emphasized the positive economic impact that increased boater use of the area would bring and that the manmade canal was a potential money-maker for the region.

At one point, a citizen speaking at the podium asked for a show of hands as to who supported the project.

A sea of palms shot up, though DNREC officials emphasized that the hearing, and the issue, was not subject to majority approval.

Supporters emphasized the need to improve water quality in South Bethany's waters, insisting that dredging the canal would help tidal shifts move more easily through the area and aid in "flushing" out the canals.

Opponents, largely represented by members of the Southern Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club and their legal representatives, Widener University School of Law's Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center, disputed this claim.

The tidal displacement in the area was so slight that the additional depth of the canal would make no difference, according to attorney Jim Stuhltrager. "You could dredged it to 20 feet deep, and it wouldn't make a difference," he said.

DNREC's own assessment report may support this statement. In examining the long-term effects of dredging, the report stated that increased flow through the canal will have "minor impact on Little Assawoman Bay surface water elevations," and that "the change in flow . . . is less than 1 percent of the tidal volume exchanged daily in Little Assawoman Bay."

A very measured vote of support for the project came from former DNREC Secretary DiPasquale, who resigned earlier this year. On this night, DiPasquale spoke as a citizen who enjoys kayaking on the canal's quiet waters.

DiPasquale's concerns focused on whether the state would have the money to finish the project and whether it would ever have the money needed to properly police the higher traffic expected in the canal upon completion of the dredging project.

"There may need to be a new source of funding," he said. "Unfortunately the state tends to pay for things by taking it out of one pot and putting it in another."

DiPasquale went so far as to propose a gate system at either end of the canal to regulate use and to raise revenue for upkeep and policing of the canal. This idea triggered amused mutterings from the crowd, but DiPasquale's proposal to ban watercraft altogether earned loud applause.

DiPasquale currently works as director of the Brandywine Conservancy's Environmental Management Center in Chadds Ford, Pa.

Former 38th District Rep. Price, standing at a podium addressing the packed fire hall, said the dredging permit should be issued immediately. She emphasized that planners had gone to great lengths to minimize the environmental impact of the project and that the economic impact would be significant to the area.

Rep.-elect Hocker, who stated he had not initially planned to speak at the meeting, changed his mind as the evening wore on. "The plusses outweigh the minuses here," he told the crowd, and vowed to ensure adequate funding for the project in a fiscally strained climate when he takes office in January.

He also praised Bunting's efforts in getting the canal dredged, something the Democratic senator has worked for almost as long as he has been in office.

"This is the third time we've filled this hall with people in favor of this," Bunting said before the hearing began.

Though some meeting attendees tried to shout down opponents of the project when their allotted time to speak had expired, the discussion remained generally polite.

Public comment on the proposed dredging of the Assawoman Canal will remain open until Monday, Nov. 25, at which time a DNREC hearing officer will make a recommendation to DNREC Secretary John Hughes.

Reach John Duffy at (302) 537-1881, ext. 106, or by e-mail at mailto:jduffy@smgpo.gannett.com

Originally published Wednesday, November 20, 2002