DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will hold an open house Tuesday, May 23 about new preliminary flood insurance rate maps for parts of New Castle County. The open house will be held at the William Penn High School at 713 E. Basin Road, New Castle, DE 19720 from 4 – 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend to learn more about proposed flood risk map changes and to understand better how proposed map changes affect their property.

A cooperating technical partnership between the Division of Watershed Stewardship and FEMA aims to improve the accuracy of flood risk maps statewide. New preliminary flood risk maps for portions of New Castle County were released in December 2016. To get data for the preliminary flood risk maps, DNREC did hydrologic studies that determine water flows during flood events, base flood elevations and more accurate floodplain boundaries using newer elevation contours on about 150 miles of streams in New Castle County. The results enabled FEMA’s maps to show base flood elevations for many areas for the first time, providing property owners with more detailed and accurate flood risk assessments.

FEMA’s flood risk maps are used by insurance companies to establish insurance rates and by local communities to enforce local floodplain codes. Many communities have recently amended local codes to adopt higher floodplain development standards, in conjunction with the release of the new flood risk maps. Many of these higher standards – such as first-floor freeboard (building living space to a margin of safety above predicted flood levels), limiting development in floodplains, and flood resistant foundation designs – were recommended by the Floodplain and Drainage Advisory Committee formed as a result of Delaware Senate Bill 64 passed in 2011 to support more effective floodplain management standards.

FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program makes flood insurance available to local property owners. Mortgage lenders require borrowers whose properties are located in a designated special flood hazard area to purchase flood insurance as a condition of receiving a federally-backed mortgage loan in accordance with the Federal Disaster Protection Act of 1973. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover damage caused by flooding, but all property owners and renters can purchase flood insurance. Homeowners interested in how the proposed changes could impact the cost of their flood insurance premium should contact their insurance agent.

Preliminary flood risk maps, as well as current maps, can be viewed at www.de.gov/floodplanning. For more information on flood risk maps, please contact Greg Williams or Michael Powell, Division of Watershed Stewardship, 302-739-9921. For information on the DNREC’s flood mitigation program, visit DNREC’s website at http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/Drainage/Pages/Flooding.aspx.

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

Vol. 47, No. 104

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Wetlands Celebration and Get in Gear Family Bike Rally to be held May 6

DOVER – Join DNREC in celebrating American Wetlands Month in May with a spectrum of events and activities honoring an important natural resource that plays key roles in cleaning our drinking water and protecting all Delawareans from storms by buffering our coastal areas. To kick off the month, the 14th Annual Get in Gear Family Bike Rally and inaugural Wetlands Celebration will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6 at Trap Pond State Park in Laurel.

“The Wetlands Celebration and family bike rally offer fun and engaging entertainment for the whole family while promoting awareness of Delaware’s vital wetlands and the wildlife habitat they provide,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “We also invite everyone to participate in our other wetlands events all month long – and to learn about, appreciate and care for our wetlands all year round.”

Beginning at 9 a.m., the Wetlands Celebration features interactive stations, exhibitors, demos, live music and live animals including horseshoe crabs, macroinvertebrates, geese and even an opossum. Families are invited to take a wetland Storybook Walk, learn how wetland health is assessed, become a wetland scientist in the Volunteer Olympic Games and more.

Exhibitors will include: DNREC’s Aquatic Resources Education Center, 3 Palms Zoo and Education Center, Ward Museum, Salisbury Zoo, Delaware Wild Lands, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program, Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, Delaware Division of Public Health, Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, The Archaeological Society of Delaware and Trap Pond State Park.

In addition, free pontoon boat tours of the pond will be offered every hour, with the last tour at 3 p.m. Tours include a brief history of the pond and offer a look at some of the plants and animals that call the pond home. The park’s canoes and kayaks will also be available to rent, and the Bald Cypress Nature Center will be open, along with the park’s trails.

Breakfast, lunch and dessert will be available for purchase from Backyard Louie’s, Abbott’s Grille, Hotdogs from the Beach and Rita’s Italian Ice.

The Get in Gear Family Bike Rally, which is run by Trap Pond Partners, begins at 10:30 a.m. and will circle the perimeter of Trap Pond. Registration for the Bike Rally is $10 per person or $25 per family, and it is requested that you bring your own bike. All funds go to support Trap Pond State Park. Visit the website to register or for more information about the event.

Park admission will be covered by the Bike Rally admission fee, or mention the Wetlands Celebration at the fee booth; the first 150 cars will receive free park admission. This outdoor event is rain or shine, but some activities are weather permitting.

Other Delaware American Wetlands Month activities include:

• Wetland Warrior Award Nominations
  The Delaware Wetland Warrior Award, now in its 10th year, is presented to students, teachers, classrooms, citizens or organizations that have demonstrated exemplary efforts to benefit Delaware wetlands. The award has two categories, education and professional.
• Conference Program Cover Art Contest
  The winner of the new Delaware Wetlands Art Contest will be featured on the cover of the 2018 Delaware Wetlands Conference program, and will be the sole art vendor at the Conference. Any medium is acceptable, but the format must be 8.5”x11” portrait and content must be wetland-related.
• Social Media Campaign
  Each week during the month of May, the Delaware Wetlands social media accounts will focus on a different aspect of wetlands, including working in wetlands, invasive plants, how to identify wetlands and wetland migration.

DNREC’s American Wetlands Month activities are organized by the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program. For more information about wetlands, visit Delaware Wetlands.

Delaware Association of Conservation Districts also honors Legislator of the Year

DOVER – The Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village was the setting for today’s annual Governor’s Agricultural and Urban Conservation Awards. Governor John Carney, along with DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, Delaware Association of Conservation Districts President Robert Emerson and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Kasey Taylor, led a ceremony recognizing this year’s honorees and signed a proclamation officially designating April 30-May 7 as Soil and Water Stewardship Week in Delaware under the theme, “Healthy Soils Are Full of Life.”

“Today’s honorees have demonstrated their ongoing commitment to improving the environment, and on behalf of the people of Delaware, I would like to thank each of them for their dedication and for their time, effort, and investment to implement model conservation practices,” said Governor Carney. “I also want to thank all of the Conservation District supervisors and employees for the many and various contributions they make to improve the quality of life in Delaware.”

“Much of the work we do at DNREC is accomplished through partnerships with USDA-NRCS and Delaware’s three conservation districts, and these awards highlight the beneficial outcomes of these relationships,” said Secretary Garvin. “This year’s honorees are wonderful and diverse examples of how we can learn from the success of others and can all be better environmental stewards by taking thoughtful and important actions to protect and enhance our water and air quality.”

Conservation Award Winners

New Castle County

• Agricultural: John R. Stinson & Sons Inc., Hockessin
  In operation since 1959 and the last of Delaware’s original mushroom producers, the John R. Stinson & Sons farm is managed and operated by Randy Stinson, with his two brothers and Randy’s son, Brent. Stinson & Sons worked with the New Castle Conservation District and USDA-NRCS to design and install a 257,000-gallon rinse water storage tank and a high-capacity pump and tank aeration system. The new system captures and recycles water for preparing mushroom compost, providing additional water quality protection to the headwaters of Mill Creek.
• Urban: Dragon Run Tide Gate Repair, Delaware City
  Thirty years after the need to overhaul the Dragon Run tide gate was first reported, with the help of Senator Nicole Poore and Representative Valerie Longhurst, Delaware City obtained $500,000 to fund the project. From a partnership of the New Castle Conservation District, the Delaware City Refinery, Pennoni Consulting engineers and contractor Merit Construction Engineers, the project replaced the old 36-inch diameter tide gate with three 48-inch tide gates to provide enhanced tidal flood protection to the northeast section of Delaware City.

Kent County

• Agricultural: Robbins Farms, Milford
  Founded in 1895 by Arthur David Robbins with only 10 cows, Robbins Farms is currently operated by Arthur’s great-grandson Ronnie Robbins and his son Artie Robbins. Recognized as a Delaware Century Farm in 1995, the operation currently milks 250-300 cows for Land O’Lakes. Added in 1975, its poultry operation consists of six poultry houses, growing roasters for Mountaire Farms at a rate of 146,000 birds per flock, 4.5 flocks per year. Robbins Farms also manages 600 acres of cropland for hay, silage and corn. Working with Kent Conservation District and USDA-NRCS, the farm implemented nutrient management plans and practices including two manure storage structures, a cattle walkway, a single-channel composter, heavy-use area protection areas and a poultry manure spreader.
• Urban Conservation Award: DE Turf, Frederica
  Designed by local firm Becker Morgan Group and managed by DE Turf, the Kent County Regional Sports Complex uses synthetic turf to hold and infiltrate stormwater runoff from all of its playing fields, with additional infiltration basins handling stormwater runoff from parking areas. The synthetic turf fields also eliminate fertilizer and pesticide used on traditional athletic fields. The design promotes groundwater recharge and protects the water quality of the nearby Murderkill River. Other partners on the project include Kent County Levy Court and the Greater Kent Committee.

Sussex County

• Agricultural Conservation Award: James H. Baxter IV, Baxter Farms Inc., Georgetown
  Baxter Farms owner James H. “Jay” Baxter IV is a fourth-generation farmer, working the family farm beside his 93-year-old grandfather, grandmother and sister. Baxter Farms includes 2,000+ acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, sweet corn and lima beans, a 200,000-broiler chicken operation and a Certified Tree Farm. A strong supporter of soil health, Jay participates in the District’s cover crop programs, growing cover crops on about 50 percent of his land. Last year, Jay worked with NRCS and the Districts in creating soil health videos to promote conservation planning, soil health practices and the importance of being good stewards of the land for future generations. Without financial assistance, he also constructed a manure structure and composter and vegetative buffers around all farm ditches.
• Urban Conservation Award: Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek, Dagsboro
  The 37-acre Delaware Botanic Garden, which began construction this spring on a 10-year multiphase plan, will include gardens, trails, habitats and outdoor classrooms that emphasize environmental stewardship, enhance awareness and educate residents and visitors about the natural wonders of Sussex County. Support from the Sussex County Land Trust gave the project its unique location, allowing the creation of various habitats, including 12 acres of hardwood forests and upland landscapes as well as wetlands along the tidal creek.

Delaware Association of Conservation Districts’ Legislator of the Year

The Delaware Association of Conservation Districts (DACD) also recognized State Senator David G. Lawson, 15th District, as the 2016 Legislator of the Year, an annual award given for outstanding service, loyalty and devotion to conservation efforts in Delaware. After moving to Delaware in 1969 and serving a tour of duty in Vietnam, Senator Lawson served four years as a Milford police officer and 1973-1992 with the Delaware State Police. He later opened Shooter’s Choice, an indoor shooting range in Cheswold, which he sold in 2012. He was elected to the Delaware State Senate in 2010 and currently serves as a member of the Senate Finance, Judicial and Community Affairs, Transportation, Veterans Affairs and Joint Finance Committees. Senator Lawson also has worked closely with Kent Conservation District on tax ditches, drainage assistance and stormwater management.

First place winner of National Conservation Poster Contest

Also receiving special recognition at the awards ceremony was Eason Li, a 6th grader from Newark who attends The Independence School. Eason was Delaware’s state-level winner in the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts’ annual conservation poster contest, qualifying his creative and informational poster for entry representing Delaware in the National Association of Conservation Districts’ (NACD) conservation poster contest, themed “We All Need Trees.” His poster, which was displayed with other national winners at the NACD’s annual meeting in Denver, Colo., was framed and presented to him today, along with a check for $200 from the NACD Ladies Auxiliary, which sponsors the poster contest.

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

Proposals due by May 24

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship and office of Environmental Finance, and the Department of Health and Social Services’ (DHSS) Division of Public Health are now accepting project proposals from state, county and municipal governments and governmental subdivisions for matching grants for wastewater, surface water and drinking water project planning. Proposals must be received by 4:30 p.m. on May 24, 2017.

Eligible projects include: planning, preliminary engineering and feasibility analysis of wastewater and/or drinking water projects; stormwater retrofits; green technology practices; stream and wetland restoration projects; small watershed studies; master surface water and drainage plans; and other source water pollution control projects.

Wastewater Planning Grants assist with wastewater infrastructure project planning and design necessary to submit a loan application for funding consideration. Surface Water Planning Grants support projects and activities that focus on reducing surface water runoff and improving water quality in impaired watersheds. Drinking Water Planning Grants help municipal water systems prepare for large, often costly projects such as troubleshooting source water quality and proposing solutions, reconfiguring water plants to optimize treatment, and determining water main size and locations, among other activities.

Grant applications of up to $50,000 will be considered with a one-to-one cash match requirement. Up to 10 percent of the grant funds may be used for administrative costs. There is an annual cumulative grant award cap of $100,000 per successful applicant per fiscal year.

The Wastewater, Drinking Water and Surface Water Matching Planning Grant programs are set-asides in the State’s Clean Water and Drinking Water Revolving Funds. Projects will be recommended for funding by the Delaware Water Infrastructure Advisory Council through a competitive grant process.

Wastewater Matching Planning Grant, project guidelines and application can be found online by clicking Wastewater Matching Planning Grant. Proposals must be submitted by email (less than 10 MB) to Greg.Pope@delaware.gov.

Surface Water Matching Planning Grant, project guidelines and application can be found online at Surface Water Matching Planning Grant. Proposals must be submitted by email (less than 10 MB) to James.Sullivan@delaware.gov.

Drinking Water Matching Planning Grant, project guidelines and the application can be found online at Drinking Water Matching Planning Grant. Proposals must be submitted by email (less than 10 MB) to Heather.Warren@delaware.gov.

For more information, please contact Greg Pope, Environmental Finance at 302-739-9941, Jim Sullivan, Division of Watershed Stewardship at 302-739-9922, or Heather Warren, DHSS’ Division of Public Health at 302-744-4739.

Vol. 47, No. 95

Dover — Charter School of Wilmington Team A won the 2017 Delaware Envirothon competition held April 27 at University of Delaware’s Webb Farm in Newark, marking the school’s 18th win in the event’s 22-year history, including an unbroken winning streak since 2002. Middletown FFA finished second and Charter School of Wilmington Team B placed third. The Envirothon is sponsored by the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts.

The 21 competing Envirothon teams worked hard all school year to prepare for the event. Each team identified samples, took measurements and answered questions on topics dealing with aquatic ecology, soils/land-use, wildlife, forestry, air quality and the current environmental issue of agricultural soil and water conservation stewardship. Teams also had to give a seven- to 10-minute oral presentation on a scenario utilizing the nine steps of conservation planning to identify resource concerns and best management practices of a cropland and poultry farming operation. After more than three hours of testing, Charter School of Wilmington Team A was crowned the 2017 state champion, continuing the school’s remarkable run of success in the Envirothon.

Each member of the winning team earned a $500 scholarship from the Delaware Envirothon, a $100 gift card and other prizes. The winning team will also receive an award plaque for their school and will represent Delaware at the National Conservation Foundation North American Envirothon at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmittsburg, Maryland at the end of July. The second, third and fourth place teams received more than $1,670 in special team awards and cash prizes.

Prizes in the form of gift cards and ribbons were awarded to the top seven teams. The official Envirothon results were:

• First place: Charter School of Wilmington, Team A – Siddharth Gangrade, Catherine Yu, Connor Sweeney, Allen Wang, and Ashley Pennington. Team advisors: Rose Lounsbury and Greg Darone
• Second place: Middletown High School FFA – William Nylander, Ariana Gaston, Joshua Housler, Timothy Mulderrig, and Sara Collins. Team advisor: Jeff Billings
• Third place: Charter School of Wilmington, Team B – Adraitha Anne, AJ Yuan, John Garcia, Elan Tran and Pooja Kaji. Team advisors: Rose Lounsbury and Greg DaroneFourth place: Peach Blossom 4-H Club – Oliver Menard, Lida Gannon, Reese Yost, Leslie Webb, Maci Carter, Drew Harris (alternate) and Adam Collier (alternate). Team advisor: Elaine Webb
• Fifth place: Charter School of Wilmington, Team C – Nicole Flowerhill, Tara Lennon, Eddie Huang, Priyanka Hoskere, and Harshitha Henry. Team advisors: Rose Lounsbury and Greg Darone
• Sixth place: A.I. DuPont High School, Team Clean Coal – Jan Castro, Mackenzie Crossley, Bethany DeGrotto, Julia Szymanski, Rachel Widom, Alicia Chen (alternate) and Sophie Girke (alternative). Team advisor: Amy Huebner
• Seventh place: MOT Charter, Mustangs Team A – Viktoria Brown, Shannon Hanggodo, Vishnusundar Somasundaram, Shachi Shah, Jalen Williams. Team advisor: Michelle Guenther

Since its inception, the Delaware Envirothon has awarded $55,000 in scholarships to 110 students. It is hosted by the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts (DACD), a voluntary, non-profit association that coordinates conservation efforts statewide to focus on natural resource issues identified by Delaware’s three local districts.

For more information about the Delaware Envirothon, please visit delawareenvirothon.org or contact Rick Mickowski at 302-832-3100 ext. 8979.

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

Vol. 47, No. 91