DNREC Holds Generator Improvement Rule Training Webinar

The DNREC Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances’ Compliance and Permitting section will host a Hazardous Waste Generator Improvement Rule training webinar April 19 and April 21 for the state’s large quantity generators of hazardous waste and for small and very small quantity generators of hazardous waste.

The training is being offered in two sessions – the April 19 session will focus on topics related to large quantity generators of hazardous waste, while the April 21 session will focus on small and very small quantity generators. Both two-hour afternoon sessions will cover changes to the Universal Waste Rule, used oil management, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Info industry application.

Information to register for both sessions can be found on the DNREC online calendar. Attendees are welcome to register for one or both sessions.

Both sessions will be recorded. Presentation materials and recordings will be available on the DNREC website after the training. The final amendments to Delaware’s Regulations Governing Hazardous Waste can be viewed online.

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

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DNREC Launches “Recyclopedia” to Increase Recycling

A new online resource to help Delawareans take the guesswork out of recycling has been unveiled by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. The new tool, Recyclopedia, helps the public and businesses determine the quickest and easiest ways to recycle materials that would otherwise go to a landfill.

The web-based application offers an easy-to-navigate, pictorial guide for more than 200 commonly used recyclables and where those can be recycled depending on the user’s ZIP code. Whether by computer, tablet, phone or other device, Delawareans and businesses can choose or search for an item and quickly find where it should be recycled.

“Recyclopedia is a new and exciting way DNREC is harnessing technology to reduce the amount of recyclables sent to our landfills,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “One of our challenges is confusion about what and how to recycle. Recyclopedia is a one-stop resource to help everyone know how to recycle right.”

The public can determine whether items should go in the trash, or to a curbside or drop-off location.

For example, conduct a search for milk jugs and learn they are “Acceptable” to put in a curbside recycling cart. The program also informs the user to keep the cap on the jug. A search for coffee cups shows they are “Not Acceptable” to put in curbside recycling. Batteries are “NOT Acceptable” either. Instead, batteries should be brought to a DSWA Household Hazardous Waste collection event. They can also find out where those solutions would be available depending on their ZIP code.

The DNREC Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances hired software developer iWasteNot Systems to develop Delaware’s Recyclopedia. The tool is dynamic, and based on both user interaction and DNREC staff research, will be updated regularly to ensure solutions and opportunities for recycling are up-to-date. It is available in more than 100 languages.

Learn more about Recyclopedia by visiting http://de.gov/recycling.

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

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DNREC to Host Public Hearing on Diamond State Port Corp.’s Proposed Container Port on Sept. 29

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will hold a virtual public hearing Tuesday, Sept. 29 on a proposal from the Diamond State Port Corporation (DSPC) to construct a new container port on the Delaware River at the DSPC property at 4600 Hay Road, Edgemoor, New Castle County.

The proposed container port project will require permits from both DNREC’s Division of Water and the Division of Waste of Hazardous Substances, as well as a Federal Consistency Certification from the Delaware Coastal Management Program within DNREC’s Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy, all of which will be presented for public comment in the Sept. 29 hearing.

The public may comment in writing prior to the hearing, or comment live during the virtual hearing, or submit written comments following the hearing until November 1, 2020.

Written comments may be submitted online, via email or mail from now until Nov. 1. Written comments are made available to the public on the hearing website as they are received.

Members of the public who wish to comment live during the virtual hearing must pre-register with the Department online or by phone no later than noon on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Live comments will be transcribed and will be publicly available soon after the hearing.

All comments receive equal weight. All comments will be reviewed by the hearing officer as she makes her recommendations on all pending matters associated with this proposed project to DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. Comments will also be reviewed by the Secretary as he makes a final decision on the applications. No recommendations or decisions on any matters currently pending before the Department are made at the time of the hearing.

All documentation and information about the proposed project and links to the upcoming hearing, including instructions on how to join, pre-register, and/or submit comments, may be reviewed at https://de.gov/portproject.

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 and Energy uses science, education, policy development and incentives to address Delaware’s climate, energy and coastal challenges. The Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances ensures Delaware’s wastes are managed to protect human life, health, safety and the environment. The Division of Water manages and protects Delaware’s water resources. For more information, visit the website and connect with DNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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

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DNREC Offers Yard Waste Management Guidance for Debris from Tropical Storm Isaias

After Tropical Storm Isaias and tornados spawned by the storm left a destructive wake through the state this week that included many downed trees and limbs, the cleanup has begun for many Delaware residents – and will include disposing of more yard waste than usual. Yard waste is banned from Delaware’s landfills so it cannot be placed in trash containers or recycling bins, but DNREC provides resources to help Delawareans manage their yard waste in ways that are protective of human health and the environment.

Yard waste typically consists of materials such as grass clippings, leaves, brush, small limbs (4” in diameter or less), Christmas trees or other vegetative materials. Downed trees or large branches should be cut into manageable lengths for pickup by waste haulers or for drop-off at yard waste sites. Other materials, which might have been lost to the storm or mixed into your yard waste debris such as fence posts, treated wood, plastic or metal items and trash should be separated from yard waste. DNREC reminds Delawareans that managing waste streams properly helps ensure that these materials are disposed of in an environmentally safe manner.

What DNREC asks Delawareans to do for better management of yard waste:

Make sure yard waste and normal trash are separated so that they can be collected properly.
Utilize one of the many drop-off locations statewide for yard waste if you don’t have curbside collection. A list of sites can be found at http://de.gov/yardwaste.
Consider working with your Homeowners Association or your neighbors to rent a chipper or hire a landscape company to mulch all fallen tree limbs and brush in your neighborhood and then put that mulch to use across your home landscape.

What should Delawareans not do with their yard waste:

Do not burn yard waste! Open burning is prohibited in Delaware during this time, and punishable by fine of $500 to $1,500 plus court costs.
Yard waste should not be mixed with other waste that goes into your trash cart.
Do not deposit your yard waste in vacant lots or open space areas. This is illegal dumping and will be prosecuted by DNREC’s Environmental Crimes Unit.

Check with your hauler or municipal or county government to see if additional or different yard waste schedules for pickup are available due to extenuating circumstances from the recent tropical storm. Additionally, some haulers or communities might have specific established guidelines to follow for yard waste pickup.

Report environmental violations, including trash dumping, to the DNREC Environmental Crimes Unit by calling the 24-hour toll-free hotline at 800-662-8802 or text ECUTIP to TIP411 (847411).

Information about yard waste management can be found online at de.gov/yardwaste or by calling DNREC’s Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances at 302-739-9403. Information about open burning can be found online at https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/air/open-burning/ or by calling DNREC’s Division of Air Quality at 302-739-9402.

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

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DNREC Mirror Lake clean-up earns more national acclaim; innovative approach reduces pollutants in the Christina River

DOVER, Del. – For Earth Day 2020, DNREC announced it has successfully used an innovative approach to reduce polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in two Delaware waterways. Newly released scientific data are validating the new method of sequestering pollutants with activated carbon, which render them unavailable for uptake by fish and other aquatic organisms.

The first success was with an activated carbon product called SediMite™ at Mirror Lake in Dover in 2013. The project is featured in a new article co-authored by several project participants, including two DNREC scientists, and published in the May issue of Journal of Environmental Engineering. The article, titled “Full-Scale Application of Activated Carbon to Reduce Pollutant Bioavailability in a 5-Acre Lake” presents a summary of the monitoring data collected at the site between 2013 and 2018. Highlights include an approximate 80% reduction in PCB concentrations in sediment porewater, which is the water trapped between grains of sediment in the bottom of a water body. The study also found an approximate 70% reduction in PCB concentrations in Mirror Lake’s resident fish.

“The recognition by the Journal of Environmental Engineering reflects how Delaware is on the leading edge of environmental technology, an area that DNREC is exploring more and more” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “Mirror Lake was a successful pilot, so DNREC’s team sought a second opportunity to try the technology.”

The A Street Ditch project became a focus for DNREC’s Watershed Approach to Toxics Assessment and Restoration (WATAR) Team after samples confirmed that drainage ditch sediments were a continuing source of PCBs to the Christina River. The project, in coordination with cleanup efforts at the adjacent South Wilmington Wetland Park site, provided an opportunity to evaluate an enhanced carbon sequestration technology developed by DNREC’s partners at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

The enhanced technology involves the use of SediMite™ with the addition of PCB-destroying micro-organisms (inoculant). In theory, the activated carbon will sequester PCBs, as shown in Mirror Lake. However, the micro-organisms (which exist naturally in the environment in much smaller numbers) will effectively degrade the PCB molecules over time. Initial results, collected only 5 months after the inoculated Sedimite™ was applied to the ditch sediments, show that total PCB concentrations in the top layer of sediments across the A Street Ditch study area dropped by an average of 25%. In addition, surface water PCB concentrations across the site area have dropped by an average of 35%. Most impressive is concentrations of total PCBs in sediment porewater have dropped by an average of 64%. Additional monitoring will occur in July 2020, and again in July 2022.

Another harbinger for clean water in Delaware is that sequestering or destroying legacy PCBs – the primary risk driver for most of the fish consumption advisories issued by DNREC and the Delaware Division of Public Health – prevents these contaminants from entering the food chain. With increasing confidence in these innovative sediment remediation technologies, DNREC is beginning to plan for larger-scale projects, in key watersheds across Delaware, with similar water quality impairments.

“What these projects have achieved brings the longstanding goal of clean water for all Delawareans a little closer,” said Secretary Garvin. “DNREC’s dedicated scientists and staff are committed to improving water quality and making smarter use of resources at our disposal, including the technology that has driven both the Mirror Lake and A Street Ditch projects.”

DNREC’s A Street Ditch pilot project was supported by $188,000 in Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) funds and a $30,000 US Environmental Protection Agency multi-purpose grant. For more information, view the DNREC YouTube video about the WATAR team’s A Street Ditch pilot and another video on the Mirror Lake project or visit the DNREC website.

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. For more information, visit the website and connect with DNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Micahael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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