Public Comment to be Accepted Before, During and After Hearing on Bioenergy Devco’s Expansion Plans for Existing Composting Operation

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will hold a virtual public hearing Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. on the proposed expansion by Bioenergy Devco (BDC) of its existing composting facility in Seaford, Del. to transform organic waste into renewable energy. The proposed project will require multiple permits from DNREC, spanning several of the Department’s divisions, including Air Quality, Waste and Hazardous Substances, and Water. Detailed information about the project and additional related resources – including English, Spanish and Haitian Creole versions of both the DNREC public notice about the hearing and the presentation made at a DNREC virtual community workshop held Sept. 28 – can be found at de.gov/biodevco.

The public hearing will allow attendees who have pre-registered with DNREC to offer comments on Bioenergy Devco’s permit applications to be entered into the public record. All public comments made directly to DNREC – whether received verbally at the public hearing or in writing before or after the hearing – have the same weight and will be considered equally by the DNREC Secretary in making a decision on whether to grant the permits that BDC would require for proceeding with its expansion plans. It is not necessary to submit comments elsewhere – and only comments made to DNREC and entered into the public record will be considered by the Department as part of the permit decision process. Closed captioning, in languages including English and Spanish, is available as an option for comments from the community. Registration and connection information for the hearing can be found on DNREC’s Bioenergy Devco public hearing webpage.

BDC’s facility is currently permitted by DNREC to accept organic waste from approved poultry industry sources for composting. The proposed facility expansion would give BDC the capacity for receiving and processing up to 250,000 tons per year of permitted organic waste. In addition to the proposed anaerobic digestion system, the expansion plans also include construction of a wastewater pre-treatment system and a biogas upgrading plant. There is also a proposed emergency generator in the expansion plans.

Byproducts from the process would include pipeline-grade renewable natural gas (RNG) and digestate, which would be dewatered and is proposed for use in the adjacent compost facility – or to be marketed in the future as a soil amendment that can be turned into compost (and which would require a distribution and marketing permit that is not part of the current proposed project and permit applications).

Specifically, the DNREC permits BDC has applied for include:

• A resource recovery facility permit from the DNREC Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances to construct an anaerobic digestion system, biogas upgrading plant, and compost facility, designed to process poultry industry wastes into digestate, pipeline-grade renewable natural gas (RNG), and compost. Wastes the facility will accept include poultry litter, hatchery waste, dissolved air flotation (DAF) solid cake and liquid sludge, offal, waste activated sludge, and fats, oils, and greases.
• Two 1102 Natural Minor air pollution permits from the DNREC Division of Air Quality to construct a natural gas-fired emergency generator with a standby power rating of 1,082 kilowatts (kW) (1,451 horsepower) and four anaerobic digesters with associated biogas upgrade and air pollution control equipment. The engine used in the proposed generator set is certified to comply with, and will be required to adhere to, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
• Two wastewater facility construction permits from the DNREC Division of Water to construct an anaerobic digestion system and a wastewater pre-treatment system as part of the proposed resource recovery facility that processes poultry industry wastes into digestate, pipeline-grade renewable natural gas and compost. The anaerobic digestion system and wastewater pretreatment system will include three 0.208-million-gallon (MG) pretreatment tanks, and four 1.95 MG fermentation tanks, a Membrane Bioreactor System (MBR), a 0.198 MG anoxic tank, a 0.412 MG aerobic reactor, a 0.198 MG ultrafiltration feeding tank and ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis treatment systems. The treated wastewater will be pumped and hauled to the Seaford wastewater treatment and disposal facility. BDC plans for a future construction phase will eliminate the need to transport the wastewater via truck by constructing a sanitary sewer pump station and force main that will connect to a future city of Seaford force main located in front of the BDC biogas site on Seaford Road.

BDC’s permit applications and supporting materials can be found in detail on the DNREC website, de.gov/biodevco.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. The DNREC Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances ensures Delaware’s wastes are managed to protect human life, health, safety and the environment. The DNREC Division of Water manages and protects Delaware’s water resources. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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The wildlife viewing deck at the Port Penn Tract of the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Augustine Beach Wildlife Area. /DNREC photo

DNREC Expanding Elevated Vistas to Provide Opportunities to View Wildlife in Coastal Wetlands and Adjoining Uplands

Wildlife viewing is quickly becoming a favorite outdoor activity, attracting both Delaware residents and visitors who want to enjoy the splendor of the First State’s outdoor natural spaces. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control provides numerous outdoor recreation opportunities on public lands, including elevated wildlife-viewing structures on several state wildlife areas managed by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Since 2013, the Division of Fish and Wildlife has focused on expanding outdoor recreation opportunities in state wildlife areas. With planning and public input, new wildlife-viewing structures have been constructed in the Augustine Wildlife Area near Port Penn and the Little Creek Wildlife Area east of Dover, with additional wildlife-viewing structures planned for the Ted Harvey Conservation Area near Bowers Beach and the Milford Neck Wildlife Area east of Milford.

The new structures expand upon existing wildlife viewing opportunities, including the Division of Fish and Wildlife-managed Aquatic Resources Education Center’s saltmarsh boardwalk trail located in the Woodland Beach Wildlife Area, the deck at the Division of Fish and Wildlife-managed DuPont Nature Center overlooking the Mispillion Harbor, and the Assawoman Wildlife Area’s observation tower that stands 40 feet above the wetlands.

Almost all these facilities are accessible to individuals with mobility challenges, including accessible parking, hard-packed trail surfaces and portable restrooms. Interpretive signs at a number of viewing locations help educate visitors about the wildlife they might encounter or about observed wildlife habitats. A new DNREC webpage includes more information about the elevated viewing structures, photographs of them, wildlife most likely to be seen, links to maps of a specific wildlife area where a viewing structure is located, and information about the Conservation Access Pass (CAP).

Registered motor vehicles used to access designated wildlife areas owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife are required to have and display a CAP, except at the Aquatic Resources Education Center and DuPont Nature Center. To obtain a CAP, visitors will need the registration card for the vehicle to which the pass will be assigned – with the exception of the Resident Senior Lifetime Conservation Access Pass available to Delaware residents aged 65 or older. More information about the CAP – which may be purchased online at de.gov/digitaldnrec, at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, or from hunting license agents statewide – can be found at de.gov/cap.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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Rainbow trout were stocked today in White Clay Creek by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife for fall and winter angling opportunities. /DNREC graphic by Duane Raver

Trout were stocked in White Clay Creek in northern New Castle County today to provide anglers opportunities to fish for trout in the fall and winter, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. About 1,000 pounds of 12- to 13-inch rainbow trout were stocked from near the Pennsylvania state line downstream to Newark.

Trout anglers are reminded of the following rules and regulations:

• A Delaware fishing license is required, unless an angler is exempt.
• A Delaware trout stamp is required through Nov. 30 to fish in White Clay Creek, as well as other designated trout streams stocked earlier this year, unless an angler is exempt.
• Trout fishing is open one half-hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset, unless otherwise restricted by area rules.
• The daily possession limit is six trout, except for a daily possession limit of four trout when fishing in or within 50 feet of the designated fly-fishing-only section of White Clay Creek.

Managed by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, trout are purchased from hatcheries and stocked using revenue from anglers purchasing Delaware trout stamps. Trout stocking in Delaware is also supported by federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sport Fish Restoration funds generated by anglers purchasing fishing equipment.

Delaware fishing licenses and trout stamps can be purchased online at de.gov/digitaldnrec, at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901 or from fishing license agents statewide. More information on fishing, fishing licenses and trout stamps in Delaware can be found at de.gov/recfishing.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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Having recently completed the Murderkill emergency dredging project which deepened and widened the river channel as depicted above (with marine dredge seen in background), the DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Management Section now turns to smaller truck-haul beach nourishment projects at Pickering Beach and other Kent County locations. The Shoreline and Waterway Management Section also will work on an upcoming nourishment project in partnership with the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation at Delaware Seashore State Park. DNREC photo.

Pickering Beach in Kent County to Receive Sand Over Next Month,
With Other Bay Beach Communities Set for Sand Reinforcement Ahead

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is set to continue beach nourishment along the Delaware Bay when the DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Management Section begins a month-long project Monday, Oct. 17 at Pickering Beach in Kent County that will bring some 3,500 cubic yards of sand trucked in from local sources to cover 2,500 feet of community beachfront.

The Pickering Beach nourishment project and others in Delaware Bay communities to be undertaken this year by DNREC are funded in large part by the American Rescue Plan. Funds totaling $1.3M will be used by the Shoreline and Waterway Management Section for deploying small nourishment projects along the Bay beaches to include Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, and Cape Shores, in addition to Atlantic Ocean nourishment work at Delaware Seashore State Park’s North Inlet Day Use Area. Work this fall and into winter is expected to lengthen the beach and dune life of a DNREC project that spanned five Bay beach communities and was completed last winter.

“Money from the American Rescue Plan enables us to continue performing these small-scale nourishment efforts both to further fortify some of the more vulnerable sections of Bay beach shoreline and to reinforce the work we’ve recently done in these communities,” said Jesse Hayden, DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Section administrator.

While DNREC’s beach nourishment projects introduce sand into the shoreline system to offset the effects of erosion, the Pickering Beach and Kitts Hummock projects aim more to strengthen – and lengthen – the life of the projects completed last winter in the same communities. “Coastal storms will continue to impact our coast, so having the opportunity to supplement some of the most vulnerable areas even after all of the work we did last year means we will be better prepared for the next storm,” said Hayden.

Because both the Delaware Bay and Atlantic beaches and dunes also provide crucial habitat for migrating shorebirds, including several threatened species, and other wildlife such as spawning horseshoe crabs, DNREC beach nourishment projects ordinarily are not permitted to begin until Oct. 1 each year, and must be completed by April 15 at most beaches, or by March 1 at others. The Bay beach nourishment projects beginning this month are expected to be completed far ahead of those 2023 deadlines.

Delivery of material by DNREC’s sand vendor Pennsy Supply will begin in Pickering Beach on the project start date listed above, while delivery from ML Joseph Sand and Gravel to the Delaware Seashore State Park project site is expected to begin by early November. Construction at Pickering Beach is planned for four weeks, weather-dependent, and with work occurring during DNREC standard business hours Monday through Thursday. The beach will be closed during construction activity but will be open Friday through Sunday for the duration of the project. Visitors should anticipate partial closures of the beach at Delaware Seashore State Park’s North Inlet Day Use Area while heavy equipment is on site during standard business hours Monday through Thursday.

More information about the work of the DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Management Section can be found at de.gov/shoreline. More information on beach nourishment in Delaware is available from Outdoor Delaware magazine, de.gov/outdoordelaware.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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Great Blue Heron at Trap Pond, by 2021 contest winner Sharon Denny.

Photographers of all ages and skill levels are invited to participate in the Delaware Watersheds Photo Contest. Hosted by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the contest will share the beauty of Delaware’s diverse environment while acting as a vivid reminder that everything that happens on land directly affects what happens in our waterways.

A watershed is land that water moves across or under while flowing to a specific body of water. All land in Delaware is part of a watershed. This year, images taken in any watershed within the state of Delaware will be accepted. The contest opens online for entries on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022 and closes on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.

“This contest challenges photographers to go out to capture and share the unique beauty and functionality of Delaware’s watersheds,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “In addition, sharing these photos will help highlight areas of the state that have an important and significant role in improving our water quality and managing water quantity, which are both under threat due to the impacts of climate change on our state.”

A panel of judges consisting of a photographer, an educator and a scientist from DNREC staff will be looking for striking photographic images of Delaware’s waterways, landscapes, sustainable watershed practices, native plants and animals and agricultural practices. The judging panel will determine the finalists whose work will be posted online, with the winning photograph to be chosen by public voting through the DNREC Watershed Facebook page.

The winner will receive a prize pack including a $250 Visa gift card, a 2023 Delaware State Parks annual pass, a print of the winning photograph, and a certificate signed by Governor John Carney and DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. The winning photo also will be published in Outdoor Delaware online magazine at de.gov/outdoordelaware.

To enter the Delaware Watersheds Photo Contest, use the online submission form at de.gov/watershed. The form should include the entrant’s name, phone number, address, email address, a photo description and the location where the image was taken. A legal parent or guardian must complete the form for contestants under the age of 18. Images must be at least 1650 by 2100 pixels resolution but no larger than 10MB, and the digital image must be submitted in .jpeg or .png format. Only photos that meet the criteria, along with a completed form, will be eligible. DNREC staff members and immediate family are not eligible to submit photos in the contest.

Learn more about Delaware watersheds at de.gov/howyoucanhelpwetlands.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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