15-Day Input Period to Begin Jan. 3 Seeking Ideas for How the Trust Can Help Support Water Quality Improvements

With the Delaware Clean Water Trust Oversight Committee having adopted the final draft version of the Strategic Plan along with an annual report, a 15-day public input period which is to begin Jan. 3 offers an opportunity for Delaware residents and interested parties to tell how they feel the trust can support water quality improvements in the state with funding through the Delaware Clean Water Act.

The committee was created by the Clean Water for Delaware Act to advise the Governor and the General Assembly, provide oversight of Clean Water Trust funding and finances, and publish an annual report and strategic plan for clean water. The committee oversees the Clean Water Trust account.

The Clean Water Trust account includes bond appropriations for clean water, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and the Resource, Conservation, and Development funds for water quality and water-related projects. Part of the process for publishing the strategic plan and annual report includes providing the public the opportunity to offer input and suggestions for consideration in subsequent updates to the plan and future annual reports.

Since Clean Water Trust funding touches almost every aspect of water quality improvement and water-related projects in the state – including infrastructure for drinking water, stormwater and wastewater; drainage programs; waterway management and beach preservation, and many other projects funded by state and federal resources such as the conservation reserve enhancement program, conservation cost-sharing and tax ditches – the 15-day input period provides the public a chance to submit thoughts and ideas that might be used by the Trust in the years ahead.

This is particularly advantageous for the public since the Clean Water Trust also works with Governor Carney’s Clean Water Initiative for Underserved Communities that is a major component of DNREC’s environmental justice work with the state’s low-income, disadvantaged and underserved communities.

The 2023-2027 strategic plan, the FY22 annual report, as well as the input form can be found at de.gov/cwi. Public input and ideas are encouraged to shape future updates to the plan for trust priorities and strategies.

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 Environmental Finance team administers Delaware’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, making funding available to municipalities, the private sector, nonprofit organizations and individuals. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

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

###

DDOA Invites Public Comment on Its FY2022–FY2025 Strategic Plan

Wilmington, Del. (March 5, 2021) – The Delaware Division of the Arts (DDOA) invites public comment through March 14, 2021 on the final draft of its new four-year strategic plan. Public feedback is critical in finalizing the plan on behalf of constituents across the state. The Division envisions “a future when every person and community in Delaware has access to, and appreciation for, the diversity, richness, and transformative power of the arts.”

Members of the public can access both the draft plan for FY2022-FY2025 and the public comment submission form by visiting https://arts.delaware.gov/strategic-plan/. After reviewing the draft document, members of the public can offer feedback or comments during the public review period, before the Division finalizes the plan for approval by the Delaware State Arts Council.

Since October 2020, the Delaware Division of the Arts, the Delaware State Arts Council, and planning consultants from the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement have conducted focus groups, regional meetings, individual interviews, and online surveys. The process engaged more than 400 people representing a wide range of backgrounds to learn more about how the arts can help to enrich Delaware’s communities.

The result is a strategic plan designed to help the Division target its resources in effective and productive ways over the next four years, with a particular focus on expanding its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in programming, services, and outreach.

About the Delaware Division of the Arts
The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.

The strategic plan for FY2022 – FY2026 to be released in March 2021

Dover, Del. (October 8, 2020) – The Division has partnered with the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement to develop a new strategic plan for FY2022–FY2026 that identifies and incorporates the ideas, issues and initiatives of Delaware’s arts community including its artists, organizations, audiences and educators.

This strategic plan will reinforce and recognize the value of the arts as it relates to economic prosperity, education, strong communities, and individual health and wellbeing.

A primary focus in this planning process will be to identify ways in which the Division can better serve and elevate the arts sector in an equitable manner to cultivate expanded diversity and inclusion in programming, access, and allocation of resources.

The public input process will include one-on-one phone and virtual interviews with individuals, focus groups, multiple online surveys and virtual town halls.

October 2020 (by invitation only)

November 2020 (open to the public)

In late February 2021, a draft of the Division’s new Strategic Plan for FY2022-FY2026 will be released for public input, and in March 2021, the final plan will be formally approved by the Delaware State Arts Council and printed and published on the Division’s website at arts.delaware.gov/strategic-plan/.

###

Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

Image:

The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.

DOVER, Del. – With public input sessions beginning next week to create Delaware’s plan to mitigate, adapt and respond to climate change, most Delawareans believe climate change and sea level rise are happening, and a majority say the state should act now to address both issues, according to a survey commissioned by DNREC’s Division of Climate, Coastal & Energy.

Residents surveyed also support a range of key strategies to reduce climate change and respond to rising sea levels. The survey, supervised by the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication, was conducted in late 2019 by Standage Market Research with the results announced today by DNREC.

On March 3, 4 and 5, public input sessions will be held to provide an opportunity for Delawareans to learn more about how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and better prepare the state for climate impacts. Workshop attendees will also have a chance to provide their thoughts on choices the state can make to more effectively take action on climate change. These workshops are the start of public interaction in creating Delaware’s Climate Action Plan, which will review what’s being done in Delaware to reduce the impacts of climate change that the state already is experiencing, such as sea level rise and increased flooding in some areas, and to provide a comprehensive “road map” of steps to help mitigate those impacts on Delaware communities.

“More and more Delawareans are experiencing the impacts that climate change and sea level rise are having on our state, and this survey shows they support actions to reduce this growing threat,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “The next step for Delawareans is to take part in conversations to help Delaware decide where and how we must act.”

The key findings of the survey include:

• Delawareans believe in climate change. Three in 4 Delawareans (77 percent) are completely or mostly convinced that climate change is occurring, and 70 percent say the state should take immediate action to reduce its impact. Almost as many (71 percent) are completely or mostly convinced that sea level rise is happening, and almost two-thirds (63 percent) say we should take immediate action to reduce its impacts.
• More Delawareans have personally experienced or observed local impacts of climate change. Fifty-six percent report personal experience with the impacts of climate change, compared to 53 percent from a 2014 survey sponsored by DNREC. Meanwhile, a growing proportion of Delawareans (47 percent) now say they have personally experienced sea level rise. That figure represents a 19-point increase from the 2014 climate survey (28 percent) and a 25-point increase from a 2009 survey conducted by Responsive Management (22 percent).
• Delawareans are concerned about the future of climate change. A combined 56 percent of Delawareans think climate change will personally harm them a great deal (21 percent) or a moderate amount (35 percent). That grows to a combined 77 percent when respondents were asked if they think climate change will harm future generations a great deal (61 percent) or a moderate amount (16 percent).

“Future generations will judge us based upon the actions we take today,” Secretary Garvin said. “Failure to take action now increasingly locks us into a future with increased flooding, more intense heat waves and threats to our quality of life.”

Standage Market Research interviewed a representative sample of 1,126 registered Delaware voters for the study either by telephone (601 respondents) or online (525 respondents). Interviewees were selected through random sampling. Statistical results are weighted by demographic factors to reflect population values. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is ± 2.9 percentage points.

A full report of the survey results will be released in March.

Three Climate Action Plan public input sessions are planned next week, one in each county, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. each evening. The first session will take place Tuesday, March 3, at the CHEER Community Center, 20520 Sand Hill Road, Georgetown. The session will move to the Wilmington Public Library, 10 East 10th Street, Wilmington, DE 19801, on Wednesday, March 4, and a final session will take place Thursday, March 5, at Del Tech’s Del-One Conference Center, 100 Campus Drive, Dover, DE 19901.

View the complete summary report of the climate perceptions survey at de.gov/climatesurvey.

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 Climate, Coastal & Enedrgy 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 @DNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov

###

DOVER – The fourth and final open house to gather public input on creating a master plan for the future of White Clay Creek State Park in Newark will be held 4-7 p.m., Monday Aug. 20, at Deerfield, 507 Thompson Station Road, Newark, DE 19711.

DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin announced in May that DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation is beginning the process of creating a master plan for the future of the park and will be holding four open houses this summer to gather public input before a plan is drafted.

The Aug. 20 open house will focus on current and future recreational opportunities in the park, seeking public input on topics such as disc golfing, camping, concerts and events, hunting, fishing, visiting historic sites, and various types of trail use. Displays showing existing recreational opportunities will be provided for discussion, and staff will be available to answer questions. The open houses are an opportunity for members of the public to convey what they enjoy about the park and what concerns or ideas they might have for the future. This is an important, initial step in the planning process.

Following the Aug. 20 open house, the Division will begin to create a draft master plan, and hold an open house or workshop on that draft plan. The Division will then refine the draft master plan, and hold a formal public meeting before a final plan is adopted. The open house for the preliminary draft master plan and the formal public meeting for the final draft master plan are expected to be held this fall and winter. The Division will announce these events in advance.

White Clay Creek State Park is the second-largest park in DNREC’s park system. The park hosts more than 322,000 visitors each year and contains the most trail miles. The park also holds popular summer concerts, a well-attended summer camp program, the high school cross-country state meet, and other events. Visitors enjoy birding, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, and horseback riding.

The public is encouraged to participate in a brief online survey to provide initial comments. It will close near the end of August for analysis. A second survey with more specific questions will be developed and announced in late summer/early fall. To submit general comments, please email DNREC_WCCmasterplan@delaware.gov, or write to DNREC-DPR, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, Attn: WCCSP Master Plan.

The public is also encouraged to visit http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/parks/Information/Pages/White-Clay-Creek-State-Park-Master-Plan.aspx for the latest information and updates, and to check back frequently for the latest news and draft documents for review once developed.

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

Vol.48, No. 222