HARRINGTON – DNREC’s Division of Energy & Climate teamed up with the Delaware Technology Student Association Thursday, April 26 to host 19 teams of middle school students from across the state for the 2018 Junior Solar Sprint solar-powered model car competition, with racers competing for top speed in time trials, as well as for awards in engineering design and creative design.

Students and educators representing 12 schools gathered in Harrington for the event, a Delaware tradition for more than 20 years in which students work with classmates and teacher advisors to build model cars powered by solar photovoltaic cells, better known as solar panels. When the Junior Solar Sprint competition came to a close, Pierre S. duPont Middle School of Wilmington was declared the all-around winner for combined speed, design, and presentation. Henry B. duPont Middle School of Hockessin came second, with Fred Fifer III Middle School of Camden third. (See additional Junior Solar Sprint results below.)

“Junior Solar Sprint challenges students to think about ways that we can meet our energy needs cleanly and securely,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “The best learning happens while students are having fun. They gain fond memories looking back – and career ideas looking forward.”

The Junior Solar Sprint competition is part of a national program from the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program. It encourages students to engage in problem-solving, teamwork, and creative scientific thinking to solve environmental challenges. This year’s competition took place as one event in the Delaware Technology Student Association 2018 State Conference, which drew several hundred students to compete in various science and technology challenges.

Participating schools in this year’s Junior Solar Sprint were:

• H.B. duPont Middle School, Hockessin
• P.S. duPont Middle School, Wilmington
• Cab Calloway School of the Arts, Wilmington
• Holy Cross School, Dover
• Fred Fifer III Middle School, Camden
• Beacon Middle School, Lewes
• Springer Middle School, Wilmington
• Postlethwait Middle School, Camden
• Central Middle School, Dover
• Gauger-Cobbs Middle School, Newark
• The Jefferson School, Georgetown
• Alfred G. Waters Middle School, Middletown

Competition Results
All-around winners for combined speed, design, and presentation:

• 1st place: Team #18, P.S. duPont Middle School
• 2nd place: Team #15, H.B. duPont Middle School
• 3rd place: Team # 9, Fred Fifer III Middle School

Top five teams in time-trial races:

• 1st place: Team #18, P.S. duPont Middle School
• 2nd place: Team #15, H.B. duPont Middle School
• 3rd place: Team #4, Beacon Middle School
• 4th place: Team #17, Holy Cross School
• 5th place: Team #23, Springer Middle School

Top five teams in creative design:

• 1st place: Team #6, Cab Calloway School of the Arts
• 2nd place: Team #16, Holy Cross School
• 3rd place: Team #23, Springer Middle School
• 4th place: Team #7, Central Middle School
• 5th place: Team #4, Beacon Middle School

DNREC would like to thank the 2018 Junior Solar Sprint sponsors: Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility, Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation, Delaware Electric Cooperative, Chesapeake Utilities, and CMI Solar.

For more information on renewable energy programs administered by DNREC’s Division of Energy & Climate, visit dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/energy-climate/renewable/.

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

Vol. 48, No. 95

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Rollback is detrimental to Delaware’s environment, economy and public health, Governor says

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Wednesday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider the agency’s planned revision of Light Duty Vehicle Standards for auto emissions because of adverse environmental, economic and health impacts for Delaware.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Monday his intention to roll back Light Duty Vehicle Standards, which in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fuel economy standards, require automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the fuel economy of cars and pickup trucks. As currently drafted, these regulations create fuel savings for drivers, promote a healthier environment, reduce dependence on imported oil, and also have led to a greater selection of clean-energy vehicle technologies for Delawareans to choose from.

“In Delaware, almost 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, and the reduction of emissions in this sector has become an important strategy for the state to mitigate the effects of climate change and to improve air quality,” said Governor Carney. “I am urging the Trump administration to reconsider their plan to roll back the Light Duty Vehicle regulations. Taking this action will be detrimental to the public’s health and quality of life, especially vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly.”

California has a Clean Air Act waiver from EPA that allows it to set more stringent emissions standards. Delaware, along with 12 other states and the District of Columbia, has adopted the California standards for helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and mitigate the effects of climate change. The California waiver is being reexamined by EPA for possible elimination. Governor Carney said Delaware supports the continuation of the California waiver under the Clean Air Act.

“Greenhouse gas emissions are not only detrimental to public health, but they also speed up climate change impacts including sea level rise. Since Delaware is the lowest lying State, the effects of climate change and sea level rise will also negatively affect Delaware’s economy and the tourism industry,” said Shawn Garvin, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “However, despite EPA’s plan to revise light duty vehicle standards, the State will continue to manage programs and create policies that help with transportation innovation and further reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”

DNREC’s Division of Energy & Climate and Coastal Programs manages the state’s Clean Transportation Incentive Program, which provides rebates for electric and other clean vehicles. Since the start of this program in 2015, over 660 Delawareans and Delaware businesses have received rebates for electric vehicles, which reduce CO2 emissions in the state by approximately 2,000 tons annually.

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Related news:
U.S. Climate Alliance Statement on Weakening of Pollution Standards
Delaware Joins U.S. Climate Alliance to Uphold Goals of Paris Agreement
Governor Carney Releases Statement on Trump Administration’s Offshore Drilling Plan
Governor Carney Releases Statement on Call with U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke
Governor Carney, Atlantic Governors Issue Joint Letter to U.S. Department of Interior Opposing Offshore Drilling
Delaware to Sue U.S. EPA for Failure to Curb Out-of-State Air Pollution

DOVER – Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Shawn M. Garvin has issued a Conciliation Order by Consent to Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, LP addressing alleged violations of Delaware’s regulations governing air pollution. The order calls for a cash penalty of $600,000 from Sunoco and an additional $150,000 for an environmental improvement project. In addition, the DNREC order requires the decommissioning of an emergency flare at the company’s Claymont, Del. facility, by March 31, 2019, and sets out stipulated penalties if that decommissioning deadline is not met.

The order reflects that DNREC’s Division of Air Quality learned the emergency flare at the Claymont facility, adjacent to Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, LP’s Marcus Hook facility in Pennsylvania, had been modified without a permit to combust gas from other sources in a non-emergency capacity. In addition to alleged violations for the modification and operation of the flare without a permit, DNREC also found that the company violated the Department’s new source review requirements because of the increased emissions that resulted from the modified use of the flare, and violated reporting requirements by the company’s failing to notify DNREC of the modifications and emissions.

The DNREC order allows Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, LP to continue to use the flare to combust specific waste streams at specified emissions levels, in addition to emergency use. However, the flare must be decommissioned upon completion of construction of a new flare, to be located in Pennsylvania. Failure by the company to decommission the flare by the March 31 deadline as the DNREC order requires will result in payment of a stipulated penalty of $1,000 per day from April 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019. Operation of the flare after June 30, 2019, is not authorized in any way by the order and may subject Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, LP to additional enforcement action.

In addition to the $600,000 administrative penalty, Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, LP will pay $150,000 for an environmental improvement project that supports the transition of Delaware’s ambient monitoring network for air pollution from filter-based PM2.5 (particulate) monitoring to continuous monitors that will be located throughout the state.

The DNREC Secretary’s Order resolves each of the alleged air quality violations related to unpermitted modification and operation of the emergency flare by Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, LP. The conciliation order can be found on the DNREC website at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Info/Pages/SecOrders_Enforcement.aspx.

Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, LP, consented to and has signed the DNREC Conciliation Order by Consent No. 2018-A-0019.

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

Vol. 47, No. 59

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DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) announced today that it has reached two separate settlement agreements with the Delaware City Refining Company, LLC (DCRC) over environmental violations by the company’s refinery in Delaware City. The two settlement agreements – totaling $218,000 – are the culmination of a series of violations for the refinery.

“The Department is working to address all outstanding issues at the refinery,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “Moving forward, DNREC recognizes the importance of the Delaware City Refining Company taking steps to minimize future violations.”

On March 9, 2017, DNREC issued to DCRC a Notice of Administrative Penalty Assessment and Secretary’s Order, alleging that DCRC violated a 2013 order by shipping crude oil from the its Delaware City terminal to locations other than the Paulsboro, N.J., refinery owned by its corporate parent, PBF Energy. DNREC found that 17 shipments were made to other facilities in 2014, contrary to DCRC representations made in support of an air pollution control permit application from the company in 2013, and contrary to information provided to DNREC by DCRC in February 2016.

In this settlement, DCRC has agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty. Additionally, DCRC has agreed to seek a Coastal Zone Act Status Decision prior to making any future shipments of crude oil from the Delaware City refinery to a location other than their refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey, consistent with Rule 7.0 of the Regulations Governing Delaware’s Coastal Zone.

The Delaware City refinery was also cited for NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit violations for exceeding effluent limits from the period December 2014 through August 2017. The DNREC-DCRC settlement agreement for NPDES violations includes an administrative penalty of $118,000. To offset a portion of the penalty, DCRC has elected to perform an Environmental Improvement Project approved by DNREC. The project consists of shoreline stabilization activities at the nearby Fort DuPont complex.

Both settlement agreements can be found on the DNREC website. The DNREC-DCRC agreement to the $100,000 penalty for air violations is at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Admin/Documents/03-05-18-DNREC-DCRC-settlement-agreement-Air.pdf, and the $118,000 agreement for NPDES permit violations is at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Admin/Documents/03-05-18-DNREC-DCRC-settlement-agreement-Water.pdf.

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

Vol. 48, No. 48

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Agency to provide opportunity for public input from Delawareans and other East Coast citizens on EPA’s proposal

WILMINGTON – Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will host a public meeting Monday, Jan. 8, 2018 to provide an opportunity for Delawareans and citizens of other East Coast states to comment on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to repeal the federal Clean Power Plan (CPP). The DNREC-sponsored listening session will begin at 10 a.m. at the Chase Center on the Riverfront, 815 Justison Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.

The goal of the Clean Power Plan is to reduce carbon pollution from coal-, oil-, and natural gas-burning power plants, all of which have been scientifically-proven as contributing to climate change. As the lowest lying state in the nation, Delaware already is experiencing the detrimental effects of climate change, and both Delaware and the nation will be further impacted by EPA’s proposed repeal of the plan. Because EPA has refused to provide a reasonable venue for Delawareans and others along the East Coast to voice their opinions on the proposed CPP repeal, DNREC has chosen to conduct a listening session enabling that opportunity. The EPA has held a public hearing only in Charleston, W. Va., and though additional hearings are planned for the Midwest and California, none are to take place on the East Coast. Comments from the Delaware public meeting will be submitted in the form of a transcript on behalf of all who speak on the proposed repeal to EPA’s federal docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355.

“EPA should not take action to repeal this important rule without first hearing from our citizens – and Delaware has stepped up to host this public meeting because EPA is not offering a reasonable venue for citizens’ voices to be heard,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “The Clean Power Plan offers the states a vital and flexible tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s fossil-fuel burning power plants. We are hosting the meeting to afford the public the opportunity to participate in the EPA’s decision-making process that will directly impact their lives and environment.”

The federal Clean Power Plan – formally known by its EPA title “Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units (EGUs)” – was promulgated on Oct. 23, 2015. On Oct. 16, 2017 the EPA proposed repealing it. More details about the Clean Power Plan can be found on EPA’s website, including the final rule, technical analyses, and other supporting information.

DNREC’s Division of Air Quality, which is hosting the listening session for comment on the CPP, anticipates limiting each speaker to five minutes, but time may be adjusted, depending on the number of people who register to speak. Those who still wish to speak are asked to register by emailing Valerie Gray (Valerie.Gray@delaware.gov).

For updated information on the CPP meeting and for more information on DNREC’s climate and greenhouse gas mitigation programs, please visit the Clean Power Plan webpage on the DNREC website. More information about the meeting and listening session is available on the Delaware Public Meeting Calendar.

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

Vol. 48, No. 3

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