The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), along with state and federal partners, will hold a virtual meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 regarding ethylene oxide (EtO) – with the meeting’s focus on public health and safety concerns over Croda, Inc.’s EtO production in the New Castle area. Information will be presented by DNREC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Delaware Division of Public Health, and Croda Inc., which manufactures EtO at its Atlas Point facility.

The information will include health data, risk estimates, facility updates and ongoing activities to address the emissions from Croda’s EtO plant. Afterward, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered by staff from DNREC and partnering agencies, and by Croda officials. Questions also can be submitted prior to the virtual meeting by email to daqpermittinginfo@delaware.gov.

Additional information about EtO and the virtual meeting is available at de.gov/EtO.

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 Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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

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Strategic Plan Comments Sought in Jan. 25, Feb. 2 and Feb. 10 Virtual Meetings

The Delaware Clean Water Trust Oversight Committee will host three virtual public information sessions to hear from Delaware residents and businesses about how the trust should support water quality improvements with historic dedicated funding through the Delaware Clean Water Act, signed into law last fall by Governor John Carney.

The Clean Water Trust input and information sessions are set for 9 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 25; 1 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 2; and 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 10. More information about the Clean Water Trust sessions can be found on the DNREC online calendar, de.gov/dnrecmeetings.

The Delaware Clean Water Trust oversees $50 million in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget as a funding source for water quality and water-related projects. The trust’s strategic plan will be the major topic of discussion at the virtual public meetings, as DNREC and the trust oversight committee seek input on the strategic plan through public comment. The committee was created by the Clean Water for Delaware Act to advise the Governor and the General Assembly, provide oversight of the Clean Water Trust account, and publish an annual report and strategic plan for clean water.

A draft of a strategic plan framework is available at de.gov/cwi and will be presented at the meetings, but only as a starting point for public discussion. Public input and ideas are needed and encouraged to form the basis of the plan for Trust spending.

Clean Water Trust funding will touch 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 Clean Water Trust also works with Governor Carney’s Clean Water Initiative for Underserved Communities that is a major component of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s environmental justice work with the state’s low-income, disadvantaged and underserved communities.

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, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov or Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will provide an overview and updates on the White Creek maintenance dredging project in Sussex County during a public information session set for 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. The project is now in the engineering phase. More information about the project and the link to join the public update session can be found at de.gov/dnrecmeetings.

Since White Creek was last dredged in the early 2000s, shoaling has increasingly impacted navigation in the waterway that connects Indian River Bay to the Assawoman Canal, and, ultimately, Little Assawoman Bay. DNREC’s second virtual public meeting on the project will provide a status update, information on the design concept, and the DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Management Section strategy to use dredged sediment to restore and enhance coastal wetland areas close to the waterway.

Meeting attendees can also provide comments and ask questions about the proposed project during the meeting. Questions may be submitted in advance using the online form for the project. Closed captioning services also will be provided during the meeting.

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 Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov