As Governor, I travel the state. I visit schools, businesses and not-for-profit organizations. I get to ride along our growing trail system, visit our beautiful beaches with my family, and spend time with leaders in our state—all things I am thankful to be able to do. But each year as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I realize there is so much more to be thankful for. This week, I joined WJBR for their annual Turkey Thon that benefits the Ministry of Caring.

Delaware residents contributed everything from baby formula and canned goods, to turkeys and non-perishable food for families in need over the holiday season. We also have organizations like Delaware Adopt-A-Family, coordinated by the Division of State Service Centers, that aids families in crisis, whether they’re struggling with homelessness, or unemployed or impoverished. During a typical year they provide urgent assistance to families across our state. And we never forget the contributions of our National Guard and all of the military members who sacrifice time away from loved ones at this season to serve on our behalf.

Up and down our state, Delawareans are stepping up and lending a hand to those in need. Each and every day, we have the opportunity to bring a little joy and cheer to friends, family and even to strangers. So, this holiday season, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving and thank you for your giving spirit—it keeps Delaware moving forward.

Governor Markell thanks PSC and Public Advocate for their advocacy and FERC for its close review of PJM’s proposed cost allocation for the project; looks forward to a “technical conference” to identify a more just sharing of the costs.

Wilmington, DE – In a ruling favoring Delaware residents and businesses, late Tuesday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) concluded that power grid manager PJM’s plans to impose on Delaware residents the cost of constructing a more than $100 million transmission line from the nuclear facilities at Artificial Island across the Delaware River “have not been shown to be just and reasonable, and may be unjust, unreasonable, or unduly discriminatory or preferential.”

“This FERC decision is an important first step to protect Delawareans from a significant electric rate increase,” said Governor Jack Markell, who opposed PJM’s plan to force Delaware residents to bear unreasonably high costs for a power line project that mainly benefits businesses and consumers in other states.

“I want to thank the FERC for its review and very sensible conclusion that the costs of a project designed to maximize power production and improve reliability in New Jersey should not fall entirely on Delaware and Maryland consumers. I also want to thank the Delaware Public Service Commission’s members and staff and the Delaware Public Advocate for their efforts to reduce the costs that might have been imposed on Delawareans.

“This issue is not over. FERC’s staff will be conducting a technical conference to develop an alternative, and I look forward working with FERC and Delaware’s utility regulators on a more just sharing of these costs.”

Power grid manager PJM proposed the Artificial Island Project as a means of generating maximum power from the nuclear power generating units at Artificial Island and improving the reliability of area transmission lines. After an extensive review of various alternatives, PJM proposed the construction of a 230 kV power line from Artificial Island to Red Lion in Delaware as the technically superior means of accomplishing those goals. As a result of PJM’s tariff rules, more than $100 million in costs associated with the construction of that line would have been borne by residential, commercial and industrial consumers in Delaware, including customers of Delmarva Power & Light Company, Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation, and the Delaware Electric Cooperative.

“The State Chamber of Commerce and the Delaware Manufacturing Association are pleased that FERC will undertake a review of PJM’s proposed rate allocation for the Artificial Island Project,” said Richard Heffron, President of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. “As we have stated, along with Governor Markell and others, Delaware rate payers, including businesses of all sizes, should not be penalized with undue transmission costs that don’t provide them with direct benefits.”

Governor Markell opposed the allocation of those costs to Delaware electricity users in a July 10 letter to the PJM Board of Managers and in an August 20 submission to the FERC, which approves PJM cost allocations.

Today’s FERC order directs the FERC staff to establish a “technical conference” to explore whether projects like Artificial Island should be funded by an alternative allocation that does not impose costs entirely on the recipients of the electricity generated by these kinds of reliability projects.

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DOVER – Residents of Bayshore communities and other interested parties are invited to attend a DNREC public meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2 at the Carlisle Fire Company, 615 Front NW Front Street, Milford, DE 19963, to hear the results of a new engineering evaluation studying drainage issues along Delaware’s central Bayshore area. The meeting will be hosted by DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship, Drainage Section, and State Senator Gary Simpson (R-18th District, Milford) chair of the Delaware Bay Beach Work Group.

The Delaware Bay Beach Work Group was formed for the purpose of examining beach erosion, marsh drainage, flooding and related issues in the Bayshore communities of Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, South Bowers Beach, Slaughter Beach, Prime Hook Beach, Broadkill Beach and Lewes Beach, and making recommendations for a path forward to deal with these issues.

Work group members included state legislators representing these communities, DNREC shoreline and waterway staff and other local, state and federal officials. Their recommendations included the engineering evaluation, for which DNREC contracted with AECOM/URS Corporation, a national research and engineering firm with local offices in Delaware and Maryland.

The Delaware Bay Beaches Coastal Drainage Engineering Evaluation incorporated comments from residents at public meetings held in each community, documentation and investigation of issues and proposed solutions. Those attending the meeting will hear details about the evaluation, along with drainage design work and construction projects under consideration, and will have the opportunity for public comment.

For more information, visit http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/shoreline/pages/delawarebaybeachworkgroup.aspx.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 45, No. 413

DOVER – Cemeteries hold the remains of treasured members of our families, and may hold historical significance as well. Many small and older cemeteries lack sufficient funds for long-term care and maintenance because owners never established a perpetual care fund, or the prices they charged have not kept up with actual costs. Efforts to restore those that fall into disrepair can become costly. That’s why the Distressed Cemetery Fund was established in 2009. The Fund exists to provide for the preservation of cemeteries by supporting repair and improvement projects that are outside normal maintenance activities.

The Delaware Cemetery Board’s purpose is to register Delaware cemeteries, administer the Distressed Cemetery Fund, and refer complaints from the public to the appropriate agency. All theft or vandalism should immediately be reported to the local police. The Board refers complaints to the police, Delaware Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Agency, or the Better Business Bureau.

To date the Delaware Cemetery Board has awarded $120,169 in funding to 13 cemeteries (four of the thirteen cemeteries received funding twice making a total of 17 awards). The maximum amount available from the Fund to each cemetery is $10,000 every two years but a financial assistance request must be matched with real dollars and/or documented volunteer hours. Awards have been used to repair tombstones/monuments, repair or replace fences/stonewalls/gates, landscaping, remove trees and brush, purchase or repair lawn equipment, purchase sheds, topsoil and seeding, conducting of perimeter surveys and plot plans.

The Distressed Cemetery Fund is funded by adding $2.00 to the fee established for each copy of a certificate of death. Individuals and organizations may also make contributions or bequests to the Fund.

The next Delaware Cemetery Board meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m., Dec. 9, 2015 in the Dover Library, Meeting Room B (1st floor). The Board will set its 2016 meeting dates and an Executive Session will be held to discuss two applications for Distressed Cemetery Fund monies.

The five members of the Delaware Cemetery Board are appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, with administrative support provided by the Division of Public Health. In addition to administering the Fund, the Cemetery Board is authorized to: Promulgate rules and regulations for the registration of cemeteries; Designate a cemetery as “distressed” based on standards set forth in the rules and regulations; Authorize payment to a distressed cemetery from the Fund; Require a thorough accounting of each recipient’s use of money from the Fund; Receive and forward to appropriate agencies of the State, or other organizations, complaints from any person relating to a Delaware cemetery; and Address specific cemetery issues as requested by the Governor or the General Assembly.

Registration is required for all cemeteries in Delaware every five years. To learn about registering a cemetery, or for more information on the Distressed Cemetery Fund visit the Delaware Cemetery Board website.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

Attorney General Matt Denn announced that Deputy Attorney General Aaron Goldstein has been tapped as State Solicitor in charge of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, and Deputy Attorney General LaKresha Roberts will become director of DOJ’s Family Division.

A graduate of the University of Delaware and Widener University School of Law, Goldstein has been with the Department of Justice since 2004, including serving as assistant head of the Government Services Unit, and most recently, head of the Department’s Health Law Unit.  Prior to working at the Department of Justice, he worked in a private law firm, in the New Castle County Office of Law, the City of Wilmington Law Department and as an Assistant Public Defender. He was chosen as a Henry Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments in 2011.

Roberts graduated from Pace University and the Widener University School of Law, and joined the Department of Justice in 2010, where she has worked in the Child Support, Child Protection, Juvenile Delinquency, and most recently, the Domestic Violence Unit. She previously worked for Family Court as a law clerk and as a mediation and arbitration officer. She was selected by the Delaware Business Times as one of their “40 Under 40” for 2015.

“It gives me great pleasure to make these two additions to our leadership team within the department,” said Attorney General Denn. “Aaron has served in a number of capacities in the Civil Division as well as in other government settings providing him experience that is well suited for the State Solicitor role. LaKresha’s career has been based on her passion and compassion for serving Delaware’s children and families and I have been impressed with her judgment. They will both do well in their respective roles.”

Goldstein has already taken the position of State Solicitor, replacing Meredith Tweedie, who moved to Governor Markell’s office. Roberts will replace Family Division director Patricia Dailey Lewis, who is retiring at the end of November after 30 years with the Department of Justice.

“We have had a number of opportunities within the department to honor Patty Dailey Lewis over the last few weeks, including presenting her with a new department award named in honor of Beau Biden,” Attorney General Denn said. “Families and children in Delaware – both in a general sense and in hundreds of specific individual cases – are better off because of Patty’s career and accomplishments, and we will miss her.”