DOVER – Nominations are being accepted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control through March 23 for individuals interested in serving on the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC). The committee will comprise 15 to 21 members, representing different stakeholder interests and areas of technical expertise related to Delaware’s Coastal Zone.

The Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor John Carney in August 2017. The Act authorizes the permitted use of 14 existing industrial sites in Delaware’s Coastal Zone for new heavy industry, construction, operation, and – in certain approved cases – bulk product transfer. The Act requires DNREC to develop and promulgate regulations for issuance of conversion permits by Oct. 1, 2019. The RAC will provide guidance and feedback to DNREC on the development of these regulations.

The committee structure was determined by using extensive public feedback collected from stakeholder interviews, public workshops, and verbal and written public comments.

“Delaware’s Coastal Zone is important to and valued by Delawareans in many different ways,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “We want people from all communities, organizations, and interests to feel that their voices are being heard in this process, and we encourage individuals to nominate themselves or others to become part of this committee.”

A nomination form and a conflict-of-interest disclosure form are required for each nominee. Forms can be found on DNREC’s alpha website, or can be obtained by contacting the DNREC’s Division of Energy & Climate at 302-735-3480, or by emailing CZA_Conversion_Permits@delaware.gov. Coastal Zone Conversion Permit RAC nominations should be sent by US Mail to DNREC Division of Energy & Climate, Attn: Susan Love, 100 West Water Street, Suite 5A, Dover, DE 19904 or by email to CZA_Conversion_Permits@delaware.gov. For more information, please visit de.gov/conversionpermits.

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

Vol. 48, No. 53

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DOVER – Nominations are now being accepted for membership on the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act Regulatory Advisory Committee, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. The committee will comprise 15 to 21 members, representing different stakeholder interests and areas of technical expertise related to Delaware’s Coastal Zone. Nominations are due by March 23.

The Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor John Carney in August 2017. The Act authorizes the permitted use of 14 existing industrial sites in Delaware’s Coastal Zone for new heavy industry, construction, operation, and – in certain approved cases – bulk product transfer. The Act requires DNREC to develop and promulgate regulations for issuance of conversion permits by Oct. 1, 2019. The Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC) will provide guidance and feedback to DNREC on the development of these regulations.

The committee structure was determined by using extensive public feedback collected from stakeholder interviews, public workshops, and verbal and written public comments.

“Delaware’s Coastal Zone is important to and valued by Delawareans in many different ways,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “We want people from all communities, organizations, and interests to feel that their voices are being heard in this process, and we encourage individuals to nominate themselves or others to become part of this committee.”

A nomination form and a conflict-of-interest disclosure form are required for each nominee. Forms can be found on DNREC’s alpha website, or can be obtained by contacting the DNREC’s Division of Energy & Climate at 302-735-3480, or by emailing CZA_Conversion_Permits@delaware.gov. Coastal Zone Conversion Permit RAC nominations should be sent by US Mail to DNREC Division of Energy & Climate, Attn: Susan Love, 100 West Water Street, Suite 5A, Dover, DE 19904 or by email to CZA_Conversion_Permits@delaware.gov. For more information, please visit de.gov/conversionpermits.

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

Vol. 48, No. 34

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DOVER – Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will hold two public workshops this month seeking input as DNREC begins the regulatory process for developing regulations for the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act, which Governor John Carney signed into law in August. The act requires the Department to develop and promulgate regulations for the redevelopment of 14 heavy-industrial use sites in Delaware’s Coastal Zone by Oct. 1, 2019. The workshops will provide the public an opportunity to comment on the process the Department will use to develop regulations for the conversion permits DNREC will issue for sites to be redeveloped.

The two workshops will be held:

• Wednesday, Nov. 29, at the Kingswood Community Center, 2300 Bowers Street, Wilmington, DE 19802, and
• Thursday, Nov. 30, at Delaware City Fire Hall, 815 5th Street, Delaware City, DE 19706.

Both workshops will begin at 6 p.m.

“The workshops provide an open forum for everyone wanting to express their thoughts and concerns about the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act regulatory process,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “The Coastal Zone is an important part of Delaware and our environment. The State is committed to having an open and inclusive process, which starts with defining what the process will look like. The workshops are the Department’s first opportunity to listen to input from our citizens about the best way to implement the revisions to the Coastal Zone Act.”

Information gathered at the workshops will be compiled by the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), a non-profit organization collaborating with DNREC and the State of Delaware to ensure that regulations are developed by the Department with transparency and openness during the regulatory process. CBI was chosen by the State because it played a similar role in Coastal Zone Act regulations developed in the late 1990s. The information gathered at the workshops will be used by DNREC to help the Department establish a Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC), which will help guide development of Coastal Zone Conversion Permit regulations.

Both workshops will follow the same agenda. The first part will include informative presentations about legislative changes to the Coastal Zone Act (which originated as House Bill 190 before it was signed into law as the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act by the Governor) followed by an opportunity for public comment. During the second half of the workshop, all who attend will be asked to participate in breakout groups focused on establishing the RAC and the role that committee will have in formulating regulations.

The information gathered by CBI in stakeholder interviews and comments made at the public workshops will not be used in drafting conversion permit regulations, but are intended to gather input on the strategy DNREC might use in developing regulations in an open and transparent manner. Information gathered during the workshops and from CBI’s stakeholder interviews will be compiled in a report for DNREC and made available for public review when complete.

For more information on the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act, please visit de.gov/conversionpermits. To stay updated on the regulatory process for developing the conversion permit, you can also subscribe to the Coastal Zone Act email listserv by sending a blank email to join-dnrec_coastal_zone@lists.state.de.us.

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

Vol. 47, No. 241

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