Governor Carney’s Statement on President Trump’s Order to Review Offshore Drilling Restrictions

WILMINGTON, Del.Governor John Carney released the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order that would review offshore drilling restrictions put in place by the Obama Administration:

“President Trump’s order is disappointing, and would reverse important restrictions put in place by the Obama Administration,” said Governor Carney. “Delaware does not support any exploration or extraction of fossil fuels from the Atlantic Ocean. To risk our coastal economy and natural resources on offshore drilling for oil and gas would also imperil our state’s environmental and economic health. A new fossil fuel industry on the Atlantic Coast would trigger a cascading of secondary impacts and increased carbon emissions. It would require a vast network of pipelines, increased barge and tanker traffic, and associated industrial development in sensitive coastal areas, including construction of new refineries with supporting infrastructure and increased truck and rail shipments. Delaware’s coastal resources directly or indirectly support some 60,000 jobs and almost $7 billion in economic production from tourism to industry to commercial fishing. We should be investing in our beaches and our parks, and taking steps to protect our coastline from the impacts of climate change, not taking these kinds of unnecessary risks.”

 

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Additional closure needed to assist beachnesters at the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park

LEWES – On March 1, the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park was closed for migratory and beach nesting shorebirds. The closed sections, including a stretch of ocean beach and dunes, and a half mile along the bay shoreline, were marked with PVC poles and twine with flagging for visibility.

The closure benefits threatened and endangered beachnesters and migratory shorebirds, including red knot, piping plovers, oystercatchers, least terns and other wildlife.

This week, the closure will be extended approximately 100 yards south toward the Point parking area crossing. In addition, another adjustment to the southern boundary may occur as early as May 14.

The nesting habitat on the ocean side will reopen on Sept. 1, while the bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.

DNREC’s Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish & Wildlife and Watershed Stewardship have been working together since 1990 to implement a management plan to halt the decline of beachnester and migratory shorebird populations. The Point has been closed annually since 1993.

Vol. 47, No. 80

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Water Infrastructure Advisory Council to hold public hearing and meeting on April 19 in Dover

DOVER (April 4, 2017) – The Delaware Water Infrastructure Advisory Council (WIAC) will hold a public hearing and meeting beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 19 in Conference Room 220, Kent County Administrative Complex, 555 South Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901.

Public Hearing Agenda

  • Overview of the Draft Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Project Priority Lists (PPLs) and Intended Use Plans (IUPs)
  • WIAC and Public Comments
  • Public record will remain open until May 22, 2017.

Council Meeting Agenda

WIAC – Informational

  • WIAC’s Bond Bill Presentation and Remarks
  • Town of Frankford – Drinking Water Agreement Overview
  • President’s FY 2018 Budget Cuts for USDA, Rural Development

New Business

WIAC vote to approve Draft CWSRF and DWSRF FY 2017 PPLs and IUPs DWSRF Loan Requests

  • City of Wilmington – Transmission and Distribution Main Improvements Phase II
  • City of Harrington – Water Main, Storage Tower and Well Improvement Project

CWSRF Loan Requests

  • Sussex County – Rt. 54 Septic System Elimination project
  • Town of Laurel – Supplemental Loan Request – 6th Street Storm Water Project

Statewide Wastewater Facilities Assessment Update proposal
Drinking Water Matching Planning Grant requests
Clean Water Project Planning Advance request – City of Newark
Community Water Quality Improvement Grant requests
Surface Water Matching Planning Grant – extension request

Reports
Administrators’ Reports
Subcommittees’ Reports

For more information about WIAC, please call 302-739-9941.

Media Contact: Melanie Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 47, No. 75                                                                                  -30-


Fort Miles Artillery Park to add 90 mm anti-aircraft gun to collection

DOVER – A World War II model M2 90 mm anti-aircraft gun is scheduled to be delivered to the Fort Miles Artillery Park in Cape Henlopen State Park on Thursday, March 30, through a partnership between DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation and the Fort Miles Historical Association.

The gun came from the collection at the National Electronics Museum in Linthicum, Md., which determined the Fort Miles Artillery Park was the best-suited location for permanent placement because of its reputation for interpretation.

“The Fort Miles Historical Association is dedicated to bringing in important World War II artifacts to the artillery park which benefits Delawareans and visitors alike,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “We salute the association’s commitment to remembering ‘The Greatest Generation’ that served at the Fort, who kept our country safe during WWII. This latest acquisition also contributes to Delaware’s tourism industry and helps boost our economy by adding to the artillery park’s historic appeal.”

This type of 32,000-pound anti-aircraft gun was used on ships in both the European and Pacific theaters during WWII. It could fire either high explosive or armor-piercing shells weighting 24 pounds at a rate of about 25 rounds per minute. These projectiles would leave the muzzle at a velocity of 2,700 feet per second and were capable of hitting land or water-based targets up to 11 miles away, or aircraft flying up to 34,000 feet in the air.

Unlike the other guns in the collection on display in the park, the M2 is the only type that was actually used at Fort Miles. “This was a model that was actually used at Fort Miles towards the end of the war,” said Jim Hall, chief of cultural resources for the Division of Parks & Recreation. “We know they were being used here for top-secret research starting in early 1944 that involved the ‘Proximity Fuze’ – the development of which none other than Gen. George S. Patton believed was second only in importance to the atomic bomb in bringing victory to the Allied Forces.”

Hall said a radio transmitter inside the “fuze” of an artillery shell sent out and received radio signals, constantly calculating distance – proximity – so that the shell would detonate when it was near a plane or tank instead of making direct contact with the target. Fort Miles served as the proving ground for this highly-classified technology prior to its being deployed during WWII.

Prior to installation in the Artillery Park, onsite restoration of the gun by Fort Miles volunteers should be completed this fall.

Vol. 47, No. 70

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Governor Carney’s Statement on Senate Confirmation of Shawn Garvin

“Thank you to the members of the Delaware Senate for confirming Shawn Garvin to Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. We need to continue to protect Delaware from the threats of climate change, to work with our farmers to help them operate in more environmentally friendly ways, and to invest outside, in our beaches and our tourism economy. With important environmental issues to address in our state and his extensive background, I know he will be a strong leader.”

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The Delaware Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Shawn M. Garvin as the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control:

Shawn M. Garvin was confirmed to serve as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, leading the state department tasked with protecting and managing the state’s natural resources, protecting public health, providing outdoor recreational opportunities, and educating Delawareans about the environment.

Garvin was appointed in November 2009 by President Barack Obama to serve as Regional Administrator of Region III of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Since that time, he has overseen the agency’s work in the region, which includes the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.

Garvin previously had been the Senior State and Congressional Liaison for the EPA’s Region III office. Earlier, he served as an aide to then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden and as Executive Assistant to former New Castle County Executive Dennis Greenhouse.