DOVER, Del. – The Delaware Department of Agriculture is urging all pesticide applicators that plan to use dicamba this growing season to check the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) online Bulletins Live! Two system on a monthly basis before spraying. This new online system allows agriculture and other pesticide users to easily determine where pesticide use limitation areas (PULA) exist due to the protection of endangered species.

“I would encourage farmers and other pesticide applicators to print a copy of the bulletin and carry it with them during the application. In case they get questioned, this verifies that they have checked the website before the application,” said Christopher Wade, DDA Pesticides Section Administrator. “Since the bulletin and the corresponding maps are only valid for a month, applicators need to complete this process every month.”

Currently, Sussex County is the only county in Delaware with Dicamba Pesticide Use Limitation Areas. The online system provides a more detailed view of where the PULA is located compared to receiving a county level impact that is not truly county-wide.

To make it easy to find, the Delaware Department of Agriculture has linked the Bulletins Live! Two online system to their webpage at https://de.gov/pesticides. Users will need to enter in their address into the search bar and if there is an effective PULA identified it will be displayed in a pink color. Clicking on the PULAs will reveal a summary of the products, codes, and limitations required.

Dicamba is an herbicide that can be applied to the leaves or soil to control annual and broadleaf weeds in grain crops and pastures. If the pesticide label directs the applicator to the online Bulletins Live! Two system, then the applicator is required to follow the pesticide use limitation(s) found in the Bulletin for the intended application area, pesticide active ingredient or product, and application month.

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Media Contact: Stacey Hofmann, (302) 698-4542, Stacey.Hofmann@delaware.gov

DOVER – Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has filed a petition for review in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals seeking review of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of Delaware’s and Maryland’s Clean Air Act Section 126(b) “good neighbor” petitions. Delaware’s Section 126 petitions seek to reduce the amount of air pollution generated elsewhere that crosses into Delaware.

“EPA was unfairly dismissive of our Section 126 petitions, and we are now seeking a court order requiring EPA to reconsider our petitions that we feel, if acted upon, will help reduce the amount of air pollution that crosses our borders from neighboring states,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “Both the public health of our citizens and Delaware’s economy are at stake.”

Delaware’s petition for review, filed Nov. 5, was consolidated by the DC Circuit Court with petitions filed by Maryland and environmental groups that also seek review of EPA’s decision to deny Delaware’s and Maryland’s Section 126(b) petitions earlier this year. The DC Circuit Court is now asked to rule on whether EPA followed proper procedures in reaching its decision to deny the Section 126(b) petitions and whether the evidence of record supports EPA’s denial. The court’s decision is expected sometime next year.

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

Vol. 48, No. 309

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Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn, along with a group of 26 states, counties, and cities, has formally objected on behalf of Delaware to the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to reverse the country’s Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan, put in place by the EPA under President Obama, is the first nationwide limit on climate change pollution from existing fossil-fueled power plans.

The Clean Power Plan is the culmination of a decade-long effort by partnering states and cities to require mandatory cuts in the emissions of climate change pollution from fossil fuel-burning power plants under the Clean Air Act. In its comments (found at https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/cpp_replacement_comments.pdf), the coalition of states and municipalities stresses the overwhelming scientific evidence of human-induced climate change and its increasing impacts, and the corresponding need for the EPA to perform its duty under the Clean Air Act to set nationwide limits on power plant emissions of climate change pollution.

“The replacement rule proposed by President Trump’s EPA turns its back on the success of Delaware and other states in reducing carbon pollution from power plants, and instead will uncork the power plants’ smokestacks and let them put more pollution in our air,” Attorney General Denn said. “Plus, the proposed rule contains factual inaccuracies, analytical errors, and legal flaws, and as a result would be unlawful if adopted.”

The EPA’s own analysis predicts that, compared to the Clean Power Plan, the so-called “Affordable Clean Energy” Rule could result in over 60 million tons more climate change pollution.

The comments were spearheaded by the attorney general of New York submitted on behalf of the attorneys general from Delaware California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota (by and through its Minnesota Pollution Control Agency), New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the cities of Boulder (CO), Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and South Miami (FL), and Broward County (FL).

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Tuesday issued the following statement on the Trump Administration’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan. The goal of the Clean Power Plan is to reduce carbon pollution from coal-, oil-, and natural gas-burning power plants, and combat the threat of climate change.

“Delawareans up and down our state are already experiencing the effects of climate change and sea level rise. Delaware is the lowest-lying U.S. state, and 17,000 homes here are at permanent risk of inundation. Rising average temperatures and stronger storms pose risks to our $8 billion agricultural industry and threaten our natural resources. And unchecked air pollution presents health risks for all Delawareans.

“The Clean Power Plan set national targets for carbon emission reductions, but provided flexibility for the states to determine how best to achieve these targets. We have worked hard in Delaware to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and partner with other states in addressing pollution that feeds rapid climate change. This proposed replacement of the Clean Power Plan will make our efforts to reduce carbon pollution more difficult, and will remove a strong incentive for state and federal governments to work together to clean up our air.

“Put simply, it’s a bad idea to abandon any tool we have to fight climate change together. Through the U.S. Climate Alliance, we are already working with states to uphold the goals of the Paris climate agreement. But today, I join leaders across our country in calling on the Trump Administration to abandon this new proposed rule and reinstate the Clean Power Plan so we can provide the global leadership necessary to confront this threat.”

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Related news:
Governor Carney Urges EPA to Reconsider Proposal to Freeze Vehicle Emission Standards
Governor Carney: EPA can’t let other states pollute Delaware’s air
Governor Carney Urges U.S. EPA to Reconsider Rollback of Vehicle Emission Standards
Governor Carney, Atlantic Governors Issue Joint Letter to U.S. Department of Interior Opposing Offshore Drilling
Governor Carney Requests Meeting With Secretary Zinke to Discuss Offshore Drilling Plan
Governor Carney Urges U.S. EPA to Reconsider Repeal of Clean Power Plan

EPA plans to freeze fuel-economy requirements at 2020 levels

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Thursday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its proposal to freeze federal vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency standards, and revoke the right of states to protect their citizens from harmful air pollution.

The proposal’s adoption would mean Delawareans breathe more polluted air while the state loses ground in the fight against climate change and sea level rise, and motorists pay more at the pump. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced Thursday the proposal to roll back Light Duty Vehicle Standards which, in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fuel economy standards, require automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the fuel economy of passenger vehicles.

EPA plans to freeze gas-mileage and fuel-economy requirements at 2020 levels, and remove California’s ability to determine its own vehicle regulations for greenhouse gas emissions. Rescinding California’s authority is particularly troubling because 12 states, including Delaware, and the District of Columbia, have adopted California’s more stringent emission standards, which help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and mitigate the effects of climate change.

“Delaware is committed to expanding the ability of our citizens to choose clean vehicles,” said Governor Carney. “I urge the EPA and the Trump Administration to reevaluate this proposal, which impedes states’ rights and authority to improve air quality, and to consider the long-term economic and environmental impacts from a freeze on vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency standards. Delaware intends to fight this proposal, which would lead to serious setbacks in the state’s efforts to clean up our air and stimulate job creation through clean technology deployment.”

“EPA’s proposal would further thwart our efforts to achieve better air quality and, just like what Delawareans face in out-of-state pollution crossing our borders, would be detrimental to public health, and hurt Delawareans in our wallets, too,” said Shawn M. Garvin, Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “But whatever the outcome of EPA’s proposal, Delaware will continue to manage environmental programs and enact policies that foster transportation innovation and further reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state.”

The State of Delaware adopted California’s Low Emission Vehicle standards in 2010.

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