WILMINGTON – DNREC’s Emergency Response team sampled the air today in several New Castle County communities in the immediate area of the ongoing Bancroft Mills for airborne asbestos resulting from the fire – with 11 samples taken during the day revealing no airborne asbestos contamination in the area.

Air monitoring done Nov. 13 at the nearby Friends School of Wilmington also proved negative for airborne asbestos as sampled by the same microscopy methods used by DNREC Emergency Response.. DNREC Secretary David Small said the Department was acting today in an abundance of caution as the fire continued to smolder underground 10 days after it broke out, burning down the vacant textile mill that dated back to 1895.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 4041

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DOVER – The Recycling Public Advisory Council (RPAC) will meet Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. in the Bear Public Library, 101 Governor’s Place, Bear, DE 19701.

RPAC agenda topics include:
• Call to order, introductions
• Public comments (20-minute cap, priority given to written comments)
• Approval of minutes from Oct. 19 meeting
• Cycle 8 Universal Recycling Grants and Low Interest Loan Program: Media and marketing firms final review and selection
• RPAC Annual Report status
• Universal Recycling Regulations update
• Recycling market update
• Old/new business
• Additional public comments

The Recycling Public Advisory Council was enacted into law by Senate Bill 234 in May, 2010, and charged with advising the Governor’s Office, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority on all aspects of recycling, including: development of grant criteria and selection of applications; a methodology for measuring recycling rates; and possible outreach activities designed to achieve higher recycling rates.
For more information about RPAC, please visit www.dnrec.delaware.gov/whs/awm/Info/Pages/RPAC.aspx.
For more information or for directions to the meeting location, please contact Bill Miller, DNREC Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Section, at 302-739-9403.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 399

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Public information meeting set for Nov. 17 at UD’s Clayton Hall

DOVER – Following nearly two decades of successful efforts by the City of Newark, DNREC and the Division of Public Health Office of Drinking Water (DPH ODW) to maintain a safe drinking water supply for the city, DNREC is requesting federal assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in resolving groundwater concerns in the Newark area and determining the sources of contamination there.

State officials from DNREC and DPH ODW, along with representatives of the City of Newark, with support from the EPA, will hold a public informational meeting Thursday, Nov. 17 about the Newark South Groundwater Plume Site, which encompasses an area of southeast Newark along Route 72 between Interstate 95 and Route 4 (East Chestnut Hill Road) in New Castle County. The meeting will take place from 6 – 8 p.m. at the University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall Auditorium 125, located at 100 Hollowell Drive, Newark, DE 19716.

The City of Newark has six municipal wells located in the area where groundwater has been impacted by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are organic compounds found in some industrial and commercial products that can cause adverse human health effects. Newark’s drinking water is treated by the city to remove VOCs from the water supply, enabling the water to continue meeting both federal and the more stringent state safe drinking water standards.

The source of the groundwater contamination has not been identified, despite numerous environmental investigations and remedial efforts by DNREC at sites of potential concern. DNREC subsequently has requested EPA’s assistance to help fully investigate the site and identify the sources of the VOCs contamination in the groundwater.

The public information meeting offers an opportunity for DNREC, DPH ODW, EPA and City of Newark representatives to discuss with the community, the upcoming investigation work by EPA on groundwater contamination in the area. The EPA will use Superfund authority and resources to determine if the site warrants further long-term investigation and cleanup. EPA’s investigations could result in the site’s being listed on the National Priorities List (NPL).

A brief presentation of the site’s history will be given by DNREC’s Site Investigation & Restoration Section while Newark officials will discuss the ongoing, successful treatment of the public water supply at the city’s South Well Field Treatment Plant, which ensures Newark’s drinking water meets all primary and secondary maximum contaminant levels specified by the Safe Drinking Water Act and DPH’s Office of Drinking Water. Representatives will be available after the presentation at information stations to answer questions.

For more information regarding the City of Newark’s South Well Field Treatment Plant and municipal water supply, please contact:

Tom Coleman, Director of Public Works and Water Resources, or
Mark Neimeister, Water Operations Superintendent
City of Newark
302-366-7000
www.cityofnewarkde.us

For more information regarding the public information session and the proposed investigations at the Newark South Groundwater Plume Site, please contact:

Timothy Ratsep, Administrator, or
Christina Wirtz, Outreach Ombudsman
DNREC Site Investigation and Restoration Section
302-395-2600
Email: Timothy.Ratsep@delaware.gov or Christina.Wirtz@delaware.gov

Vol. 46, No. 395

Media Contact: Melanie Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances will conduct a public hearing on Delaware’s proposed Universal Recycling Regulations Monday, Nov. 21 starting at 4 p.m. in the DNREC Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway SW, Dover, DE 19901.

Purposes of the proposed Universal Recycling Regulations are to ensure:

• that the proper programs and collection services for recyclable materials are implemented, maintained, and consistent with the law;
• that the collected recycled materials are diverted from landfill disposal or incineration;
• that the recyclable materials are otherwise properly processed and enter the marketplace;
• that recycling in Delaware can be effectively measured; and
• that waste diversion is maximized through the reduction of solid waste deposited in the state’s landfills.

The proposed Universal Recycling Regulations can be found on DNREC’s website or viewed at DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway SW, Dover, DE 19901. For more information or to obtain a copy of the proposed regulations, please contact Don Long of DNREC’s Recycling Team and the Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Section at 302-739-9403 (ext . 8) or email donald.long@delaware.gov.

The public comment period on the proposed Universal Recycling Regulations opened Tuesday, Nov. 1. Anyone may submit comments in writing on the proposed regulations by 4:30 p.m. Dec. 9. If you are unable to attend the public hearing, you may still submit written public comments. It is requested that those interested in presenting statements at the public hearing register in advance by Nov. 18, and that statements and written comments on the proposed recycling regulations be addressed to: Robert Haynes, Esq., Hearing Officer, DNREC, 89 Kings Highway SW, Dover, DE. 19901, or email Robert.Haynes@delaware.gov.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 367

DOVER – The Recycling Public Advisory Council (RPAC) will meet Wednesday, Oct. 19 in Dover at 9:30 a.m. in the Sussex Conference Room at the Delaware Department of Insurance, 841 Silver Lake Blvd., Dover, DE 19904.

RPAC agenda topics include:

• Call to order, introductions
• Public comments (20-minute cap; priority given to written comments)
• Approval of minutes from Sept. 21 meeting
• Review of Cycle 8 of DNREC Recycling Grants and Low Interest Loan program
• Universal Recycling regulations
• Recycling market update
• Old/New Business
• Additional public comments

The Recycling Public Advisory Council was enacted into law by Senate Bill 234 in May, 2010, and charged with advising the Governor’s Office, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority on all aspects of recycling, including: development of grant criteria and selection of applications; a methodology for measuring recycling rates; and possible outreach activities designed to achieve higher recycling rates.
For more information about RPAC, please visit www.dnrec.delaware.gov/whs/awm/Info/Pages/RPAC.aspx.
For more information or for directions to the meeting location, please contact Bill Miller, DNREC Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Section, at 302-739-9403.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 46, No. 353

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