Roughly two months after receiving objections from state officials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is working to revise its report on the proposed deepening of Wilmington’s harbor.

North Carolina’s Division of Coastal Management issued an objection in February to the proposed project that would deepen Wilmington’s harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet. The state agency cited a lack of information in a report from USACE about the project's potential environmental impacts.

Now, USACE officials are working to revise the Wilmington Harbor Letter Report and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) “based on public and resource agency feedback and technical reviews,” according to Dave Connolly, USACE public affairs chief for the Wilmington District, including minor revisions and additions.

USACE and the N.C. State Ports Authority are spearheading the $1.35 billion project, which would also extend and deepen navigation channels adjacent to the Port of Wilmington. Port officials have said the project could boost the Port of Wilmington’s competitiveness, allowing it to accommodate larger, fully loaded ships.

Last fall, the USACE issued drafts of the letter report and EIS, followed by a public comment period. The Division of Coastal Management (DCM) also reviewed the reports to ensure the proposed project met the enforceable policies of North Carolina’s coastal management program. 

USACE asked DCM, a division of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), to pause its review in mid-January after DCM raised concerns about the report. Following the completion of the review, which resumed in mid-February, DCM issued its objection.

In its evaluation, DCM raised concerns about a lack of information from the USACE about PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, chemicals that have polluted the drinking water supply in the Cape Fear River and could be found in sediment that's set to be dredged as part of the harbor deepening, and how the project could affect existing flooding issues and ongoing sea level rise across the region.

Environmental advocates in the Cape Fear region have also raised concerns about the effects the project could have on coastal habitats across the region.

During an unrelated visit to Wilmington around the time of the state's objection, Gov. Josh Stein said there were “legitimate concerns” about the presence of PFAS in the sediment that would be dredged, while NCDEQ Secretary Reid Wilson said the division lacked information about how PFAS would be handled as part of the dredging project.

“We have to have enough information to be able to make a decision whether that project is indeed consistent with state law,” Wilson said at the time, “so when you don’t have enough information, you can’t make that judgment."

According to Connolly, the revised letter report and EIS are slated to go through internal policy and legal compliance review in May. Connolly said he expects the documents to be finalized in June and sent to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) for review in July. The EIS record of decision, made by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, is scheduled for October.