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refineries, petrochemical complexes, and basic steel and paper mills. In addition, 

 the act prohibited the constrnction in the bay of marine terminals for the trans- 

 shi"pment of liquid and solid bulk materials. Welcomed under a permit system, 

 however, were such "nonpollutiug" enterprises as automobile assembly plants, 

 and garment, jewelry, and leather-goods factories. 



"The coastal areas of Delaware are the most critical areas for the future of the 

 state in terms of the quality of life," the act proclaims. "It is therefore the de- 

 clared public Policy of the state of Delaware to control the location, extent, and 

 type of industrial development in Delaware's coastal areas. In so doing, the state 

 can better protect the natural environment of its bay and coastal areas and 

 safeguard their use primarily for recreation and tourism." 



The law's immediate effect was to block several hundred million dollars worth 

 of planned projects. 



Shortly after Peterson took office in January 1969, Shell Oil Company, which 

 began buying coastal property in 1961 and today owns a 5,800-acre site near 

 Smyrna at the head of the bay, announced long-deferred plans to build a $200-mil- 

 lion refinery on its land, with an associate petrochemical plant to follow. At 

 present. Shell has eight refineries in the United States, but none on the East 

 Coast, one of its major markets. 



The Delaware Bay Transportation Company, a consortium of thirteen of the 

 nation's leading oil companies, Shell among them, proposed in 1970 the construc- 

 tion of a freestanding 3,200-foot-long dock six-and-a-half miles out in the bay to 

 berth supertankers bringing crude oil to the region. Two forty-eight-inch pipe- 

 lines would run the crude oil to the shore. There, on 1,800 acres of coastal land 

 that the consortium bought in 1958 near the mouth of the bay, it would build a 

 storage tank farm from which onshore pipelines would feed the petroleum to ex- 

 isting refineries. 



A Texas-based company specializing in the transportation of solid bulk mate- 

 rials, Zapata Norness, Inc., has another proposal for a transfer facility in the 

 bay : a 300-acre terminal where millions of tons of domestic coal headed for world 

 markets would be stored in fifty-five to sixty-five-foot piles for transshipment 

 from self-unloading barges to giant deep-draft carriers. The Zapata project iti- 

 cluded subsequent plans to expand the terminal to 500 acres and to add the 

 handling of iron ore for export. 



Concern about the impact of these large-scale proposals on the undeveloped 

 lower-bay area caused Peterson to "blow the whistle." By executive order, he 

 slapped a one-year moratorium on all construction along the river and bay and 

 appointed a task force to develop a master plan for the future use of the state's 

 coastal areas. The provisions of the 1971 Coastal Zone Act essentially embody 

 the recommendations made by the Governor's task force. 



The basic question raised in Delaware was this : Should a natural asset be 

 exploited simply because it's there? 



Delaware's bay frontage, where Shell and the oil consortium hoped to build, 

 is today a stretch of tidal wetlands, salt marshes, woodlands, and shallow estua- 

 ries, dotted with wildlife preserves. The state's oceanfront contains a succes- 

 sion of state parks and beaches cut by an inlet leading to small protected coastal 

 bays. The wetlands provide food for fish and birds. The beaches, parks, and 

 bays provi'de recreation for Delawareans and tourists. Both shore lines are en- 

 dangered by the threat of oil spills from existing heavy water traffic. 



Delaware already has one of the largest oil refineries in America, the 140,000- 

 barrel-per-day Getty facility, situated about three miles north of the Chesapeake 

 and Delaware Canal. Six additional refineries line the Delaware River near 

 Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, just over the Delaware state border; four are in 

 Pennsylvania, two across the river in New Jersey. About 70 per cent of all the 

 oil coming to the East Coast moves through Delaware Bay and Delaware River. 

 About 175 tankers of up to 50,000-ton capacity ply the river each month to make 

 direct oil-refinery deliveries. 



Delaware already has a steel mill near Marcus Hook. The prospect of supplies 

 of coal, iron ore, and petroleum concentrated along a single stretch of the bay 

 area would, it was feared, inevitably lead to the development of additional steel 

 mills and other heavy industry in the area, introducing unacceptable quantities 

 of pollutants into the air and water. 



During the six weeks the coastal zone bill was debated before becoming law 

 last June 28, it was vigorously fought by an impressive lineup: the Delaware 

 Chamber of Commerce ; the state Building and Construction Trades Council ; 

 Shell; Getty (also a member of the oil consortium) ; the eleven other consortium 

 oil companies ; Zapata Norness ; and the United States departments of Commerce 



