DOVER – Delaware’s Recycling Public Advisory Council (RPAC) will meet at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22 at the DelDOT building in the Felton-Farmington conference room located at 800 Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901.

The Recycling Public Advisory Council was enacted into law by Senate Bill 234 in May 2010, and charged with advising the Governor’s Office, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority on all aspects of recycling, including: development of grant criteria and selection of applications; a methodology for measuring recycling rates; and possible outreach activities designed to achieve higher recycling rates for the state.

For more information, please visit the RPAC webpage on the DNREC website, or contact Adam Schlachter, DNREC Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances’ Compliance and Permitting Section, at 302-739-9403.

For more information about the quarterly RPAC meeting, including the agenda, please go to https://publicmeetings.delaware.gov/Meeting/65167.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

DOVER – Delaware’s Shellfish Advisory Council will meet at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 7 in the DNREC Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

The Council will discuss the Delaware Bay oyster stock status and 2020 oyster harvest quota, 2020 blue crab population outlook, possible revisions to shellfish aquaculture regulations and other topics. For more information, including the meeting agenda, visit the Delaware Public Meeting Calendar at https://publicmeetings.delaware.gov/Meeting/63873.

For more information on Delaware fisheries, please call DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

DOVER – Environmental Finance within DNREC’s Office of the Secretary and the Delaware Division of Public Health will host a State Revolving Loan Fund public workshop Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in preparation for the development of the 2020 Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving (DWSRF) Project Priority Lists. The workshop begins at 10 a.m. in the Kent County Administrative Complex, Conference Room 220, 555 S. Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901.

The workshop will inform and provide municipal government representatives, privately-owned businesses, wastewater and drinking water utilities, consultant engineers, and other interested parties with detailed overviews of the CWSRF and DWSRF programs. The combined-program workshop will provide attendees with an accurate and efficient source of information for requesting financial assistance for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure project needs.

Notices-of-Intent (NOI) for wastewater, drinking water, stormwater, and related infrastructure projects will be solicited starting Monday, January 6, 2020, and are due by Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, to prepare the 2020 CWSRF and DWSRF Project Priority Lists (PPLs). Projects must be listed on the CWSRF and DWSRF PPLs, respectively, to be considered for funding. Workshop attendance is required by applicants and/or their consulting engineering firms who plan to apply for CWSRF and DWSRF assistance.

Workshop participants will learn about the following CWSRF and DWSRF program changes and infrastructure financing tools:

• One-stop loan application process for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure project assistance
• Land conservation and water quality improvement loan sponsorship programs
• Source water protection loans for drinking water supplies
• Wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater facilities matching planning grants
• Community water quality improvement grants
• Asset management plan development incentives
• Project planning advances
• Expanded eligibilities for privately-owned businesses

In addition, detailed information will be presented at the workshop about how and when to submit projects for funding consideration, project ranking criteria, project construction requirements, and how to apply for infrastructure planning grants.

To reserve a place at the workshop, please contact Laura Rafferty, DNREC Environmental Finance, by emailing Laura.Rafferty@delaware.gov or phone: 302-739-9941.

Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Reminder for the week: Waterfowl hunters, check your gear for prohibited lead shot, ensure your boats are weather and safety ready

DOVER – To achieve public compliance with laws and regulations through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, DNREC’s Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between Dec. 2-8 made 2,239 contacts with hunters, anglers, boaters, and the general public, issuing 12 citations. Officers responded to 44 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public. A Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and Michael N. Castle Trail.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police in the Community

• On Dec. 7, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers discussed their role and reviewed safe hunting practices, hunting laws, and what to expect when checked by an officer in the field with attendees of a Hunter Education Class held at the Little Creek Hunter Education Training Center.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Actions

• On Dec. 4-5, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers and Wildlife Section staff responded to reports of black bear sightings in and near Wilmington, and worked with multiple agencies with the intent of capturing and relocating the bear. The bear evaded capture and appears to have left Delaware as there have been no recent documented sightings.

Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:

Wildlife Conservation: Possession of unlawfully taken game – antlerless deer (1), failure to check antlerless deer within 24 hours (1), failure to tag antlerless deer (1), removing antlerless deer parts prior to checking (1), and trespass to hunt (1).

Fisheries Conservation: Commercial: Failure to tag oysters (1).

Public Safety: Possession, purchase, ownership, or control of a firearm, deadly weapon, or ammunition by a person prohibited (3) and failure to display required hunter orange during a firearms deer season (1).

Other: Driving with a suspended or revoked license (1) and driving at an unreasonable speed (1).

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recognizes and thanks the majority of anglers, hunters, and boaters who comply with and support Delaware’s fishing, hunting, and boating laws and regulations. The public are encouraged to report fish, wildlife, and boating violations to the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580 or through the DENRP Tip app on a smartphone, which can be downloaded free of charge by searching “DENRP Tip” via the Google Play Store or the iTunes App Store. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030, going online to http://de.gov/ogt, or using the DENRP Tip app. Verizon customers can connect to Operation Game Theft directly by dialing #OGT.

Are you AWARE?
With the last 2019 regular waterfowl hunting season split opening today, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind waterfowl hunters to continue to check their hunting gear bags, coats, boats, and any other gear to make sure they are not carrying lead shot.

Non-toxic shot, as approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is required for all waterfowl hunting within the State of Delaware. There are no exceptions. For a list of currently approved non-toxic shot types visit http://flyways.us/faq/what-type-shot-approved-non-toxic-us.

Also, if you are waterfowl hunting from a boat, please ensure that you have all the required safety equipment and cold weather equipment and supplies on board.

For more information on waterfowl hunting and boating safety requirements in Delaware, click on 2019-2020 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DEFWNRPolice/.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Twitter, https://twitter.com/DE_FW_NRPolice.

Contact: Sgt. Brooke Mitchell, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913, or 302-382-7167.

LONG NECK – DNREC’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section is preparing for the upcoming dredging of a vital channel for Delaware boaters, Massey’s Ditch, which is the main waterway connecting Rehoboth Bay to Indian River Bay. The northern portion of the waterway known as Baker’s Channel will also be dredged as part of the project. Baker’s Channel is the alternate route for boaters to take to get from Rehoboth Bay to Indian River Bay when Massey’s Ditch becomes impassible due to shoaling.

In preparation for the project, DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship channel-marking crew is removing all aids to navigation (buoys) from Baker’s Channel. Over the last several years, numerous buoys from Baker’s Channel have been lost during the winter, due to icing and extreme weather conditions, and it has become very expensive to continue to replace them. The channel-marking crew will return in the spring prior to the boating season to restore these navigational aids.

The Massey’s Ditch dredging project will begin early next month, and be completed by the end of February. When the project is complete, Massey’s Ditch will be dredged to a width of 100 feet and a depth of 7.5 feet. About 100,000 cubic yards of material – almost completely comprised of sand – will be dredged, and pumped to the north side of Indian River Inlet to help replenish the beach at Delaware Seashore State Park in order to protect against erosion and storm damage.

For more information, please call the Division of Watershed Stewardship, 302-739-9921.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902