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

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), along with state and federal partners, will hold a virtual meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 regarding ethylene oxide (EtO) – with the meeting’s focus on public health and safety concerns over Croda, Inc.’s EtO production in the New Castle area. Information will be presented by DNREC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Delaware Division of Public Health, and Croda Inc., which manufactures EtO at its Atlas Point facility.

The information will include health data, risk estimates, facility updates and ongoing activities to address the emissions from Croda’s EtO plant. Afterward, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered by staff from DNREC and partnering agencies, and by Croda officials. Questions also can be submitted prior to the virtual meeting by email to daqpermittinginfo@delaware.gov.

Additional information about EtO and the virtual meeting is available at de.gov/EtO.

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. 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

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DNREC’s Clean Transportation Incentive Programs offer rebates and incentives for electric and bi-fuel vehicles, as well as for the installation of public charging stations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision this week to reinstate a California waiver that contains more stringent emissions limits for passenger vehicles in 14 states, including Delaware, has drawn praise from Delaware’s leaders for helping curtail air pollution while improving air quality. Governor John Carney called it “a necessary action to restore California’s authority under the Clean Air Act” while Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Shawn Garvin said the ruling enabled Delaware to “take the wheel and better steer our very determined and ongoing efforts to improve the state’s air quality.”

EPA’s actions as directed by the Biden Administration put back in place the California waiver, which gave that state the ability to set vehicle emissions standards that are more stringent than federal requirements. Reinstating the California waiver gives other states the authority either to follow federal standards or to adopt the more stringent standards set by California. Delaware adopted California’s Low Emission Vehicle standards in 2010. Delaware and the other 13 states and the District of Columbia who have adopted the California emissions standards have reduced their greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant emissions while improving air quality, and also capitalized on the California waiver for helping mitigate the effects of climate change and sea level rise.

Having recently unveiled Delaware’s Climate Action Plan, which outlines strategies for the state to transition to zero-emission vehicles and energy-efficient transportation systems, Governor Carney hailed the EPA’s restoration of the waiver, which will again require automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as emissions of other harmful air pollutants.

“Delawareans, and all Americans, stand to benefit from putting cleaner cars on our roads and being proactive toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Governor Carney said. “Revoking the California waiver ignored the longstanding authority in the Clean Air Act for states to adopt California’s stronger vehicle emission standards. This is critical to Delaware for mitigating the impacts of climate change. Delaware is the lowest-lying state, and the transportation sector has become a significant contributor in degrading our air quality. This action puts us in position to move beyond that temporary roadblock toward a cleaner future – with cleaner air – for Delawareans.”

DNREC Secretary Garvin said that even after EPA rescinded the California waiver, Delaware remained focused on making progress toward improving air quality. For example, DNREC’s Clean Transportation Incentive Programs offer rebates and incentives for electric and bi-fuel vehicles, as well as for the installation of public charging stations.

“We continue to provide opportunities for clean vehicle ownership so that Delawareans can take an active role in improving our state’s air quality while also helping us take on one of the state’s major challenges to public health,” Secretary Garvin said. “Today we can thank the EPA for making the road ahead less cumbersome for our clean air future.”

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. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov or Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov.

$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.

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 Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. 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

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Competitive Grants to Install DC-Fast Charging Stations Will Facilitate Electric Vehicle Adoption and Improve Air Quality

Improving the availability of public charging stations for the growing number of electric vehicles on Delaware roads is the goal of a grant program announced this week by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

The public direct current, or DC-fast electric vehicle charging installation funding will provide up to 75% of the cost to build publicly available DC-fast charging stations for electric vehicles. DNREC expects to award one to three grants with the program’s $1.4 million funding.

Funding will be targeted to increase the availability of electric vehicle infrastructure in areas where access to fast charging stations is limited.

Transportation is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in Delaware. Today’s announcement follows closely on the heels of the release of Delaware’s Climate Action Plan, which outlines strategies and actions the state can take to reduce the emissions that cause climate change. Widespread adoption of electric vehicles and installation of charging infrastructure to support the growing number of electric vehicle drivers are key strategies in Delaware’s Climate Action Plan, available at de.gov/climateplan.

“Vehicle electrification is a leading strategy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our transportation system,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “By providing funding opportunities for businesses to install charging stations, we are combatting climate change, improving public health and providing new job opportunities.”

The funding builds upon Delaware’s Clean Transportation Incentive Programs, which include a suite of rebates for light-duty electric vehicles and Level 2 charging stations.

Proposals are due by April 15, 2022. Project funds will be administered by the DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy. Funding comes from the Environmental Mitigation Trust, which resulted from the state’s plan to use $9.6 million from the negotiated settlement between Volkswagen and the federal government.

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 Climate, Coastal and Energy uses science, education, policy development and incentives to address Delaware’s climate, energy and coastal challenges. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov or Jim Lee, JamesW.Lee@delaware.gov

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