Protesters gather at Morris Cove

New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - Today, boaters and neighbors gathered at Morris Cove to protest the Army Corps of Engineers' plan to dump 250,000 cubic yards of toxic dredging waste in New Haven Harbor.

The Army Corps proposes to fill the entire Borrow Pit with toxic dredge spoils from Bridgeport.

Nicholas Rivetta, 7, is against the plan, "Because it's a beautiful place and I like fishing here."

"And if they dumped toxic sludge, what would that do?"

"It would make it very dirty and there would be no fish to fish."

Rivetta and his siblings dressed up like seafood to protest plans to dump thousands of cubic feet of sludge from Bridgeport here in the cove, and then cap the dump site.

Protestors and officials say that harbor sludge has 3 times more contaminants than the sediment in Morris Cove, and it should stay in Bridgeport.

Mayor John DeStefano said, "This is a simple matter. Army Corps has a choice about this sludge. Bridgeport Harbor should be dredged, but there's an appropriate place to put it."

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro said, "The statement from the Army Corps says that it will be capped. That's not good enough? No it is not good enough, because we know what can happen. You got a hurricane, you have a flood, that material gets loose, and it's all over this harbor."

Protesters are hoping to show the ACE that the Cove and outer harbor are recreational waters, and not a dump for carcinogens.

Stacey Burwell, a New Haven resident, said, "And we basically live on the water. We were out here every day."

"And when you heard about the idea of toxic sludge coming here, what was your reaction?"

"Pretty terrible really. Thinking that they could do that to our water just doesn't seem right."