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 Thursday, July 25 in preparation for the development of the 2019 Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving (DWSRF) Revised Project Priority Lists. The workshop begins at 2 p.m. in the Kent County Administrative Complex, Conference Room 220, 555 South 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 Wednesday, July 25 and are due by Friday, Aug. 30 to prepare the 2019 CWSRF and DWSRF Revised Project Priority Lists (PPLs). Projects must be listed on the CWSRF and DWSRF Revised PPL, 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

Vol. 49, No. 2

DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Watershed Stewardship will conduct a public hearing on proposed revisions to Delaware’s Sediment and Stormwater Regulations at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10 in the DNREC Auditorium, Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901. The revisions address the October 2015 Delaware Superior Court decision in Baker v. DNREC, legislative changes to the regulations, and recommendations of the Sediment and Stormwater Regulatory Advisory Committee.

The proposed regulation revisions can be found in the September 2018 Delaware Register of Regulations. The proposed revisions may also be viewed in person at DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building. For more information, or to make an appointment to see the proposed regulation revisions at DNREC’s Dover offices, please contact Elaine Webb, DNREC Sediment and Stormwater Program, at 302-739-9921 or email Elaine.Webb@delaware.gov.

Interested parties may present statements and testimony, either verbally or in writing, on the proposed regulation changes at the Oct. 10 public hearing. Comments may also be submitted in writing by Oct. 25. Written statements and comments on the proposed regulation revisions should be addressed to: Elaine Webb, DNREC Sediment and Stormwater Program, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, or submitted by email to Elaine.Webb@delaware.gov.

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

Vol. 48, No. 264

DOVER – DNREC Environmental Finance and the Division of Public Health Office of Drinking Water have extended the notice of intent (NOI) submission due date to Feb. 28 for all municipal governments, privately-owned businesses, wastewater and drinking water utilities, consultant engineers, and other interested parties.

Notices of intent for wastewater, drinking water, stormwater, and related infrastructure projects opened for solicitations Jan. 3 in preparation of the FY 2018 Project Priority Lists (PPLs). The NOI submissions are critical to the development of Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) FY 2018 Project Priority Lists (PPLs), as projects must be listed on PPLs to be considered for funding.

Detailed information about how and when to submit projects for funding consideration, project ranking criteria, project construction requirements, and how to apply for infrastructure planning grants is available on the DNREC Environmental Finance website.

For more information, please contact Greg Pope, DNREC Environmental Finance, at 302-739-9941 or Heather Warren, Office of Drinking Water, at 302-744-4817.

Vol. 48, No. 23

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DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 15 on several wastewater projects proposed by the City of Rehoboth Beach, including the city’s ocean outfall. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. at the Rehoboth Elementary School, 500 Stockley Street, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.

Rehoboth’s proposed wastewater projects include a pump station, a force main and an ocean outfall. The new pump station and a 24-inch force main are required to convey the treated wastewater to the ocean outfall and through diffusers located 6,000 feet offshore in water approximately 40 feet deep.

These proposed projects require several DNREC permits and approvals, including a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit, a Coastal Zone Management Act Federal Consistency Determination, a Subaqueous Lands Lease, Water Quality Certification, a Wastewater Facilities Construction Permit, and a Beach Preservation Coastal Construction Permit. Rehoboth’s permit applications and supporting documents, and a fact sheet and a draft NPDES permit are available on DNREC’s website.

The public hearing will receive comments from public speakers, with priority given to those who have preregistered followed by other speakers who choose to sign up at the public hearing. To preregister to speak at the hearing, please contact DNREC by e-mail or first class mail no later than Nov. 11 by Rehoboth_Wastewater_Comments@delaware.gov or via US Postal Service to:

John Schneider, DNREC
State Street Commons
100 W. Water Street – Suite 10B
Dover, DE 19904

As DNREC anticipates a large number of speakers, the Department accordingly will impose a five-minute time limit on each speaker. If you are unable or choose not to attend the public hearing, you may submit written comments in advance that will become part of the record. Written comments should be sent to the above contact addresses, preferably by email to Rehoboth_Wastewater_Comments@delaware.gov. The public comment period for written comments on the proposed City of Rehoboth wastewater projects began Oct. 15 and will end at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 2, 2016. If comments are submitted by USPS, they must be postmarked no later than Dec.2, 2016.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902, or John Schneider, DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship, 302-739-9939

Vol. 46, No. 368

DOVER – Governor Jack Markell today signed Senate Bill 253 that provides additional options and flexibility to developers, contractors and landowners for meeting standards that protect Delaware’s water quality and reduce flooding impacts under the state’s sediment and stormwater management program.

The legislation is the result of a collaborative effort between the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, state legislators, representatives of the development community, and members of DNREC’s Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC), which has been working to improve upon Delaware’s sediment and stormwater regulations that were adopted in 2014.

“Managing stormwater is a critical component in meeting our water quality goals and for assuring that people and property are protected from flooding in Delaware,” said DNREC Secretary David Small. “We also have learned over the past two years of implementing the regulations that there are a number of challenges in meeting these standards. This legislation continues to put a priority on protection of our water resources through additional, more efficient best management practices (BMPs), with the goal of lowering the cost of compliance for developers, contractors and landowners. We appreciate the cooperation from all of the stakeholders, the DNREC team and the General Assembly in reaching agreement on the legislation.”

The new legislation clarifies that the emergency sediment and stormwater regulations that are used currently will remain in force until comprehensive regulations are adopted. SB 253, sponsored by Senator Gerald Hocker (R-20th District) and Representative Tim Dukes (R-Laurel), allows for an alternative standard to be used in meeting requirements to manage the volume of stormwater runoff from a site and will enable the approval process for permits to be expedited.

Sen. Hocker said of the bill, “We knew we had major problems. Projects were being delayed and the costs associated with engineering for the projects were out of control. I met with representatives from DNREC along with homebuilders, engineers, and members of the farming community. We were able to come up with a compromise we feel everyone can work with, without compromising the environment.”

Rep. Dukes said that SB 253 rose above politics in becoming law. “This compromise measure is the result of how government should work with the people it serves. By enacting this legislation, we are recognizing that the 2014 stormwater regulations were too burdensome on the public,” he said. “Legislators, land owners, poultry farmers and developers came together at the table with DNREC, and worked cooperatively to reduce the regulatory burden while continuing to protect the environment. I am proud to be part of this effort and to have been the sponsor of this important measure in the House.”

What resulted from collaborative interests who addressed the state’s stormwater management issues was a bill that:

• Allows the use of additional BMPs that are determined to be functionally equivalent to existing BMPs under existing emergency regulations;
• Provides that DNREC develop standard plans to comply with the regulation for agricultural structures, including poultry houses that disturb less than 10 acres;
• Includes an exemption for stormwater management for residential projects under an acre, which is consistent with federal requirements;
• Allows applicants seeking approval of stormwater management plans to continue to utilize standards established in the current emergency regulations until new regulations are adopted;
• Extends the timeframes for an approved plan and redelegation of program elements from three to five years;
• Requires proposed regulations to comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and
• Waives the timelines of the Administrative Procedures Act so that emergency regulations can remain in effect while the Regulatory Advisory Committee continues to develop changes to the regulations and supporting technical documents.

The current emergency regulations were adopted on April 15 to provide certainty for the development community and to allow projects to continue through DNREC’s approval process without a gap in sediment and stormwater regulations following a court decision citing a procedural flaw in the adoption of the 2014 regulations. Under the state’s Administrative Procedures Act, emergency regulations are only allowed to be in place for up to 180 days. However, with SB 253 having become law by the Governor’s signature, DNREC will not publish the interim regulations that were to appear in the July Register of Regulations. The Department will now be utilizing the emergency regulations, along with the new provisions in SB 253, to review and approve stormwater management plans, pending promulgation of comprehensive new regulations currently being developed by the RAC and DNREC.

CONTACT: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9064

Vol. 46, No. 229