Not just passing through

The federal government has selected the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal to be a strategic military seaport, making it a potentially vital cog if the United States goes to war with Iraq.

The Department of the Army informed the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority of the decision a week ago, and today Major General Ann E. Dunwoody is visiting the port, along with other military officials and local politicians, to make the announcement official.

The local shipping industry and its supporters are hopeful the government’s designation — and the influx of federal funds that comes with it — will boost commercial business at the port.

"This is the biggest deal that has happened at the port in 25 years," declared state Rep. Bill Keller, co-chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Port Caucus. He said he has been pushing for this for four years.

Mark Trumbore, legislative director for U.S. Rep. Robert Brady, described this as the government’s "seal of approval" for the way the port is operated.

"This demonstrates that the port is not only capable of handling military cargo," Trumbore said. "We believe the relationship established will carry over to peacetime cargo."

Philadelphia is the 14th strategic military seaport in the United States. Ports in New York and Norfolk are the two closest.

The Department of Defense will use Philadelphia’s waterways for the rapid deployment of military equipment and troops overseas during times of crisis. The department’s Military Traffic Management Command and the Department of Transportation’s U.S. Maritime Administration chose the local port after evaluating its facilities, geographic location and access to roadways and rail lines.

The Packer Avenue Marine Terminal is fed by three railways wide enough and with ample head clearance to carry large military equipment. The location also is within reasonable proximity to the state’s Letterkenney Army Depot, a 17,500-acre storage facility for tactical missiles and ammunition, and the Defense Distribution Depot in Susquehanna, the department’s largest distributor of military parts, clothing and textiles, medical supplies and electronics.

In return, the marine terminal will benefit from increased cargo traffic during times of military deployment and peacetime. The defense department is the largest shipper in the U.S. during peacetime, Trumbore said, hauling tons of food and supplies to military bases around the world.

The local port also will be eligible to receive federal funding for port district improvements and Pentagon projects. For example, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would provide $150 million in new security grants at strategic military seaports nationwide.

Trumbore and Edward G. Henderson, director of strategic planning and development for the PRPA, both said the timing of this announcement and anticipated military action against Iraq are coincidental.

The port authority applied to become a military seaport in April 2001, said Trumbore, but after Sept. 11 the Pentagon postponed its decision.

Still, the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal would be capable of shipping out troops, weapons and other supplies to the Middle East immediately.

It has not been determined if this will move along the Army Corps of Engineers’ plans to deepen the Delaware River’s shipping channel, but Keller said he believes this will "get dredging back on track."

"We are not going to have a strategic port that will not accommodate military ships in times of emergency," he said.

Philadelphia has the shallowest shipping channel, at 40 feet deep, of the 14 ports the Pentagon uses. The seaport at Wilmington, N.C., is 42 feet deep, and the remaining ports are all 45 feet deep.

Congress’ General Accounting Office released a report in the summer calling for the Army Corps of Engineers to reanalyze its $311-million plans to dredge the 106 miles of the Delaware River to a depth of 45 feet.

State Rep. Robert E. Andrews, a Democrat from New Jersey, asked for the GAO study two years ago. Since then, Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) and three of Andrews’ colleagues from the House have joined the cause.

The New Jersey contingent opposed the expansion because it called for dredged material to be dumped in their state. The GAO did say the Army had satisfactorily addressed previous environmental issues.

It is also unclear if the marine terminal designation will impact the Swedish furniture company IKEA’s plans to build a 300,000-square-foot store at Columbus Boulevard and Snyder Avenue.

Before construction could begin, the property must be rezoned from industrial to commercial use. Port supporters, who opposed the change before the strategic designation, now are saying the land is even more valuable to the shipping industry.

"I never said IKEA can’t go here. We want IKEA here," Keller said. "All I am saying is we look at this strategically, and not make a decision that will hurt us 15 years down the road."

IKEA officials, who estimate the new store will generate $100 million in sales annually, are threatening to build in New Jersey if the zoning issue cannot be resolved before the end of the year.