Air Permitting Training Session Scheduled for Sept. 20

Application Process and Inspections to be Covered

Business owners, consultants and others interested in learning about Delaware’s air quality permitting application process are invited to a virtual training session from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Sept. 20 hosted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Certificates for professional development hours can be earned by participants.

The virtual session, presented by the DNREC Division of Air Quality, will focus on the permitting process, from pre-application meetings to permit issuance, and facility/site inspections. The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required by DNREC close of business (4:30 p.m. EDT) Friday, Sept. 16. Registration and DNREC contact information can be found at de.gov/aqtraining.

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

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DNREC to Host Community Workshop on Proposed Biogas Facility in Southern Delaware

[versión en español]

Public Invited to Sept. 28 Virtual Event to Discuss Permits for Bioenergy Devco Before Company Can Expand Operations

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will hold a virtual community workshop on Wednesday, Sept. 28 about a proposal by Bioenergy Devco (BDC) to expand 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 community resources are available at de.gov/biodevco.

The Sept. 28 virtual community workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m. The workshop will allow the community to learn more about BDC’s expansion plans and information contained in the permit applications before making official public comments. These plans include the construction of an anaerobic digester, which breaks down organic wastes and converts them into renewable natural gas or “biogas” and an organic soil amendment.

The virtual community workshop will be conducted by DNREC staff. Attendees will be able to ask questions of the Department about the proposed project. Closed captioning, in languages including English and Spanish, is available as an option. Registration and connection information is published on the DNREC events calendar at de.gov/dnrecmeetings.

A virtual public hearing for the project will be held about a month later, scheduled at 6 p.m. on Oct. 26. The public hearing will allow attendees who have pre-registered to offer comments on the applications to be entered into the public record. Closed captioning, in languages including English and Spanish, is available as an option. All public comments, 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 Secretary in making a decision on whether to grant the permit. Registration and connection information is published on the DNREC public hearing webpage, de.gov/dnrechearings.

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.

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, information about each of 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 Contacts: Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

DNREC Urges Clean Alternatives to Burning Yard Waste

Compost piles need periodic turning to help materials break down.

Residents Can Consider Composting, Drop Off Sites

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control reminds residents that open burning of materials such as tree limbs, brush and branches is not allowed from May 1 through Sept. 30 – also known as ozone season – under the state’s annual open burning ban. Delaware’s annual ban prohibits all outdoor burning, with the exception of cooking fires, recreational campfires and ceremonial bonfires using firewood, which are permitted year-round.

Although burning yard waste may resume on Oct. 1, burning always emits toxic substances such as metals, acids, and particulate matter. These toxins can damage the lungs and hearts of healthy people, but are especially dangerous for children, older people, and people living with health conditions.

“DNREC encourages Delawareans to practice good stewardship of our natural resources by following the rules regarding when and what can be legally burned, and by considering alternatives to open burning, including composting or using yard waste disposal sites to divert this material from our landfills and keep our air clean and healthy for everyone to breathe,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin.

Burning grass clippings and leaves is illegal year-round. However, residents are encouraged to consider starting a backyard compost pile to recycle leaves, grass clippings and certain types of kitchen scraps into a valuable resource. Using homemade or commercial containers keep the process more organized. Inexpensive compost bins are available from the Delaware Solid Waste Authority and the University of Delaware Extension Offices.

Using compost offers many benefits for home gardens and backyards. Compost provides nutrients, adds beneficial organisms to soil, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, increases soil moisture retention and reduces the amount of organic waste sent to landfills. More information about backyard composting can be found at dnrec.dnrec.delaware.gov, including what can be added to a compost pile.

For residents looking to properly dispose of brush, branches and limbs, DNREC encourages using one of Delaware’s yard waste drop-off sites as an alternative to residential open burning, regardless of the time of year. More information about yard waste drop off sites, including locations and fees, can be found at dnrec.delaware.gov.

Residents may also contact their trash service to ask about yard waste pickup options. Other options include letting cut branches dry out and renting or purchasing a small chipper to make garden mulch or using a mulching mower on small branches and twigs.

For those who choose to burn from Oct. 1 to April 30, residents are allowed to burn up to 27 cubic feet – or a stack about 3’ by 3’ by 3’ – of cut or fallen limbs, dead branches, or shrubbery from their residence. Only up to this amount of yard waste may be burned at one time and must be burned between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. More information about residential open burning can be found at dnrec.delaware.gov.

Burning trash or garbage, construction and other debris, old tires and other materials considered toxic or hazardous, including leaves and grass clippings, is illegal at all times of year in Delaware. Tickets issued by the Delaware Natural Resources Police Environmental Crimes Unit for open burning violations are punishable by fines of $500 to $1,500, plus court costs.

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. 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

DNREC Solicits Requests for Proposals for Phase 4 of Settlement Mitigation Awards

$3.4 Million in Funding Available to Improve State’s Air Quality

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control today issued a request for proposals (RFP) for investments of $3.4 million from the Environmental Mitigation Trust on projects that improve the state’s air by reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). A virtual public meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 15 to help organizations apply for the grants by close of business on Monday, March 21.

“The Environmental Mitigation Trust is another opportunity from DNREC to help businesses, non-profit organizations, state agencies and individual citizens in our state to improve air quality,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “I encourage Delaware organizations to submit proposals for projects that will produce tangible results in reducing air pollution and help us move closer to our goal of clean air for Delaware.”

Eligible mitigation actions include projects to reduce NOx from heavy-duty diesel sources. Eligible projects include the replacement or repowering of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and school and transit buses. Other eligible mitigation actions include engine repower for freight switcher locomotives, ferries, tugs, forklifts and port cargo handling equipment. Or, they may also include, in a more limited capacity, charging infrastructure for light-duty zero emission passenger vehicles. Details are outlined in the RFP, published at bids.delaware.gov.

The funding comes from federal redress against Volkswagen Corporation and its subsidiaries for installing emissions “defeat devices” on its diesel vehicles in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Use of these devices increased NOx emissions throughout the country, up to 40 times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit, resulting in adverse impacts to air quality and felt particularly in Delaware, where the transportation sector is the state’s leading source of air pollution.

The $3.4 million in funding available this year to Delaware covers the fourth and final phase of the federal settlement with the automaker – and the state’s last disbursement from a total $9.6 million from the trust since 2019.

This year’s solicitation of RFPs aligns with previous project awards, going for upgrades to cleaner-fueled vehicles. These projects included:

Phase 1 is a multi-year partnership with the Delaware Department of Education (DDoE), which leveraged the EPA Diesel Emissions Reduction Program (DERA) grants and the Environmental Mitigation Trust, to replace a total of 115 state-owned diesel school buses with buses that operate on clean diesel or propane. DDoE plans to replace additional school buses in Year 4, and exhaust all Phase 1 funds in 2022.
Phase 2 supported grants to Waste Management of Delaware, which replaced 10 diesel solid waste refuse vehicles with trucks that operate on compressed natural gas (CNG), and to The Teen Warehouse in Wilmington, which upgraded to an electric zero-emissions school bus using the DERA grant and the Environmental Mitigation Trust.
Phase 3 plans included the replacement of nine diesel school buses with two private transportation providers and five government-owned Class 4-7 medium diesel trucks. Replacement projects for one school bus and the five government-owned medium trucks were delayed to due COVID-19 and will be completed in the fall of 2022. DNREC also announced an RFP in the fall for installation of direct current, or DC-fast electric vehicle charging stations.

Comments and questions may be made in advance of the Feb. 15 public meeting. They will be considered for DNREC response during the meeting. Contact and login information is available on the DNREC online calendar at de.gov/dnrecmeetings. Additionally, written questions will be received by the DNREC Division of Air Quality until Feb. 22.

The solicitation can be found on the state Office of Management and Budget website. The final phase of Environmental Mitigation Trust funds are expected to be awarded during the second half of 2022. More information on the Environmental Mitigation Plan is available at de.gov/vwmitigation.

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

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DNREC Releases NCCo Community Air Monitoring Results

Community Meetings to Be Held on Claymont and Eden Park Studies June 22 and 23 to Help Determine Path Forward for Improving Air Quality

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has released final reports on two community air quality-monitoring projects for the Eden Park and Claymont communities in New Castle County. Drawing on the results from the two reports, DNREC will work with these communities to help them become less susceptible to air pollution and thus improve the quality of life for their residents.

“These types of studies support DNREC’s efforts to improve air quality in communities that may be disproportionately affected by sources of air pollution,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “Our adoption of targeted mitigation measures to reduce these emissions – which the air quality monitoring projects will help determine – will improve the quality of life for these impacted communities in Delaware.”

The DNREC Division of Air Quality launched the multi-year and multi-pollutant Eden Park study to investigate air quality based on community concerns of high levels of dust and other pollutants. DNREC found the amount of most types of air pollution at low levels and that air quality in Eden Park comparable to air quality found at other state monitoring locations in New Castle County and in Wilmington. However, while localized to the community, the amount of dust in Eden Park was confirmed to be higher.

Further analyzing the dust composition, DNREC concluded there were three main types of dust identified: concrete dust, soil dust, and dust from tire/brake wear. The concrete dust was the largest component when dust levels were highest. Using this information, the Department has been actively working with local industry to develop and implement mitigation measures to reduce dust in the Eden Park community.study

The Claymont study was conducted to investigate citizen concerns focused on volatile organic compounds (VOC) that could originate from the nearby Claymont/Marcus Hook, Pa. border where several industrial facilities are located.

The study shows that VOC concentrations in Claymont were very low and similar in both specific compounds and amounts as measured by the monitoring station in Wilmington.

DNREC will hold virtual community information meetings later this month to discuss the results of the Eden Park and Claymont studies. The Claymont community meeting is scheduled for June 22 at 6 p.m. The Eden Park meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 23. For more information about the meetings, including how to sign up for and attend them virtually, please visit the DNREC Events Calendar. More information about the studies and air quality reports can be found on the DNREC website at https://de.gov/airstudies.

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

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