DOVER, Del. – State Auditor Kathy McGuiness announced today the release of a new special report detailing the Auditor’s Office’s fraud hotline.

“The Fraud Hotline is a critical resource for the public to report concerns about their state government, and it also serves as a valuable resource for identifying areas of increased risk for fraud, waste, abuse, or misuse in our state,” said Auditor McGuiness.

The Special Report, “Auditor’s Office Fraud Hotline Summary Report of Fiscal Year 2022,” reviewed recent changes improve the economy and efficiency of the hotline and the Auditor’s Office’s implementation of a continual improvement process to better serve Delawareans.

“This office is committed to improving all parts of state government, and that includes reviewing our own processes and programs to identify additional value for the public who depend on our work. I am pleased our effort to expand reporting options and improving our communication efforts are yielding more public engagement,” said Auditor McGuiness.

The Fraud Hotline saw a substantial increase in reporting in FY2021 and demonstrates the subject of public tips tend to correspond with national issues and current events. FY2021 was the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, and the types of fraud tips received by our office mirror some of the most pertinent and discussed issues of the year.

Auditor McGuiness explains, “The Fraud Hotline received more tips in FY2021 than the prior 10 years combined, and a substantial number of those reports concerned the Department of Labor and the Office of Attorney General.” Auditor McGuiness continues to say, “These tips paralleled national and local discussions over criminal justice issues and concerns with Unemployment Insurance.”

The Fraud Hotline is a critical resource for the public to have their voice heard and address their concerns, but it also serves a practical purpose for improving how we identify issue areas.

“Thank you to the people who bring their concerns to our attention. We take these reports very seriously, and they help shape our annual audit plan,” said Auditor McGuiness. “These reports are a critical resource for improving accountability and transparency and providing better public service in our state.”

You can find the special report, “Auditor’s Office Fraud Hotline Summary Report of Fiscal Year 2022” here.

Learn about the Delaware State Auditor’s Office at https://auditor.delaware.gov

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Contact: Tori Parker, Deputy Auditor tori.parker@delaware.gov

HARRINGTON – After investigating an illegal dumping complaint made to DNREC’s Division of Community Affairs, Natural Resources Police officers with the Environmental Crimes Unit arrested a Harrington man Sept. 5 in connection with the incident in southern Kent County.

Rahmeen Floyd, 38, was charged with three counts of causing or contributing to the discharge of solid waste materials. He was arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 6 in Harrington, and released. Each charge carries a minimum fine of $500 and a maximum fine of $1,500 for first offense.

Residents are encouraged to report illegal trash dumping to DNREC’s Natural Resources Police Environmental Crimes Unit by calling the 24-hour environmental complaints line at 800-662-8802.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 48, No. 242

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HARRINGTON – Natural Resources Police Officers with DNREC’s Environmental Crimes Unit arrested a Greenwood man Aug. 21 for illegal dumping in Harrington.

Raymond H Wood, 32, was charged with causing or contributing to the disposal or discharge of solid waste materials, and transportation, storage, or collection of solid waste without a permit. Wood was arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 7 in Dover, Delaware and released on $200 unsecured bail.

His arrest comes following an investigation into a dumping complaint along Fisher’s Bridge Road in Harrington. Through investigative measures, Wood was identified as having been hired through a contracting company to remove and dispose the refuse that was later found dumped off Fisher’s Bridge Road.

The minimum fine for dumping is $500, up to $1,500 maximum. The fine for transportation, storage, or collection of solid waste without a permit is $100 for a first offense, plus the cost of an annual permit, $350.

Delawareans are asked to report illegal trash dumping to DNREC’s Natural Resources Police Environmental Crimes Unit by calling the 24-hour environmental complaints line at 800-662-8802.

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

Vol. 48, No. 234

DOVER – Delaware’s Recycling Public Advisory Council (RPAC) will meet at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 at the Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s Cherry Island Facility, 1706 East 12th Street, Wilmington, DE 19809. The RPAC meeting agenda can be found on the Delaware Public Meeting Calendar.

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 more information about RPAC, please visit the Advisory Council web page  or contact Jackie Howard, DNREC Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Section, at 302-739-9403.

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

Decrease in air toxicity is recorded, but releases are higher for water and land

DOVER – The annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data report from Delaware’s industrial facilities as compiled by DNREC’s Emergency Prevention and Response Section show continued progress by the state in reducing toxic releases into the environment, with an overall decrease in toxic waste of 14 percent from 2015 statistics when compared to 2014 figures. The latest report also indicates that there’s still work to be done, however: While TRI data recorded a decrease in onsite releases to air, onsite releases to both water and land increased – all as compared to the state’s TRI figures for 2014, the most recent year for DNREC’s compiling the data.

Total onsite releases were up 23 percent in Delaware for 2015 – with releases to air down 12 percent, releases to water up 32 percent, and releases to land up 62 percent. Onsite releases represent only a very small portion of total TRI reported waste. For 2015, about 1 percent of the total-reported TRI waste was released onsite, while 2.6 percent was transferred off-site for treatment or disposal, and 96.3 percent was managed onsite through treatment, energy recovery, and recycling operations by the facilities generating the waste. Total waste for 2015 was down 14 percent compared with 2014.

Although overall onsite releases are up for 2015 TRI reporting, Delaware has seen a 61 percent reduction in toxic releases over the last 18 years – since 1998, when TRI reporting requirements were expanded to include a larger list of reporting facilities. The reporting of nitrate compounds released to water again had a major impact on the overall onsite releases, accounting for 81 percent (3.7 million pounds) of the total onsite releases. Releases for nitrate compounds were up by 837,000 pounds compared to 2014.

Increases in production and closure of facilities also had an impact on TRI reporting for 2015 – a year when the state’s Production Index (PI) for all Delaware facilities was 1.07, which signified a seven percent increase in production over 2014. Facilities report a Production Index (PI) for each chemical used in production, along with TRI release and waste management data. Because the PI is the amount of production or activity directly associated with demand for the chemical being reported, it provides one way to estimate the impact of the economy on TRI data. PI is reported as a number, representing the ratio of how production increased or decreased compared to the previous year. A facility reporting an increase of 10 percent would report its PI as 1.10, while a facility reporting a decrease of 10 percent would production as 90 percent of the previous year, a PI of 0.90. A facility having the same production level as the previous year would report the PI as 1.0. For 2015, of 184 reports by Delaware facilities with PIs, 68 reported increases in production and 104 reported decreases. The remaining 12 PI reports had a 2015 production level equal to the previous year. All told, the average PI reported was 1.068 – again, when rounded off, a seven percent increase compared to 2014’s production level.

The major changes impacting the increases and decreases for the year are covered below in the Delaware TRI summary and in greater detail throughout the report.

Releases to air, land and water in Delaware are permitted by DNREC under rigorous environmental standards at both the national and state level. Permits granted by the department allow for limited discharge of pollutants within these standards that have been established both for minimizing impacts to the environment and risks to public health.

Please refer to the following factsheet for background on TRI and a summary of the 2015 TRI data. (The full TRI 2015 report and data are available at:
http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/SERC/Pages/Reports.aspx.)

FACTSHEET
Delaware Toxics Release Inventory
2015 Data and Report

What is TRI?
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available data set containing information reported annually since 1987 for toxic chemicals manufactured, processed, or otherwise used by certain facilities in Delaware and throughout the United States. TRI was established in 1986 under Title III, Section 313, of the Federal Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA 313) to provide information to the public about the presence and release of toxic chemicals in their communities. Title III is also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

Who must report?
Facilities that are required to the government under TRI must meet the following criteria:
1) The facility must be covered under specific listed North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, or be a federal facility. Primarily, these NAICS codes include manufacturing facilities, oil and coal fired electric facilities, and bulk petroleum terminals.
2) The facility must have 10 or more full time employees.
3) The facility must manufacture or process over 25,000 pounds or otherwise use over 10,000 pounds of a TRI chemical. The list of reportable TRI chemicals includes of 595 individual chemicals and 31 chemical categories. Certain chemicals, such as persistent bio-accumulative toxins (PBTs), have lower reporting thresholds.

What is reported?
Facilities submit reports to Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the waste management activities for the covered TRI chemicals. These activities include:
1) Direct releases onsite to the environment. These releases are to air, water, and land.
2) Waste managed onsite, which includes recycling, treatment, and energy recovery.
3) Waste managed offsite, which includes recycling, treatment, energy recovery, or disposal.
Data from Delaware facilities is compiled by DNREC and the results are summarized in an annual report. A national analysis of the TRI data is provided by EPA’s annual report. It is noteworthy that TRI only requires reporting of releases and waste management activities, but not amounts used. The control of those releases is achieved separately through a variety of DNREC and EPA permits, laws and regulations.

Delaware 2015 TRI Results Summary
For 2015, 59 facilities submitted reports for 90 different chemicals. Approximately 4.6 million pounds were reported as being released onsite, an increase of 849,000 pounds or 23 percent compared to 2014. Of this amount, approximately 29,000 pounds were released to land, while 712,000 pounds were released to air, and approximately 3.9 million pounds were released to water.

Onsite Releases
• To Land: Onsite releases to land increased by 11,000 pounds (62 percent) compared to 2014.

• This increase was primarily attributable to the Delaware Army National Guard training site range in New Castle, with its first-time TRI reporting of 16,000 pounds of lead released to land – which was 55 percent of the state’s total releases to land. (This site did not report previously because of troop deployments; the training site range has not been used extensively in recent years.)
• Lead was also the largest reported release to land, with 99.8 percent of the lead releases to land reported by the National Guard training range. A National Guard spokesman told DNREC that “The Delaware Army National Guard Rifle Range follows a lead management plan, and is in the process of changing to lead-free” ammunition, noting “should the site ever be converted for another use in the future, the range will be remediated in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal laws.”

• To Air: Onsite releases to air were down approximately 93,000 pounds (12 percent) compared to 2014.
o Reductions in releases to air were reported by several companies, with the largest decrease being reported by Chemours Edge Moor of carbonyl sulfide, down 89,000 pounds compared to 2014. This reduction was primarily due to this facility’s ceasing production in September, 2015.

• Though sulfuric acid was reported as the largest release to air at 226,000 pounds, with most of it being released by PBF Energy’s Delaware City refinery, the total figure represented a 73,000-pound reduction by the refinery compared to its 2014 sulfuric acid emissions to air.

• To Water: Total onsite releases to water increased by approximately 931,000 pounds (32 percent) compared to 2014.

• The increase in releases to water was primarily due to increases of nitrate compound releases reported by the Delaware City refinery, up 622,000 pounds compared to 2014. NOx was scrubbed out of the refinery’s air emissions and diverted to water.
• Nitrate compounds were also reported as the largest release to water at 3.7 million pounds, with 3.4 million pounds (90 percent) released by the Delaware City Refinery and 318,000 (8 percent) released by Perdue Farms Georgetown.

Offsite Transfers
• Waste transferred offsite decreased by 1.3 million pounds (10 percent) compared to 2014. Reductions in offsite recycling, offsite disposal, offsite treatment, and offsite energy recovery offset increases in releases to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).
• Largest Change: The largest reduction reported was for offsite disposal of manganese compounds by Chemours Edge Moor, due again to this facility’s ceasing operations in September of 2015 – down 776,000 pounds compared to 2014.
• Largest Chemical Reported: Lead compounds were the largest reported chemical amount transferred for offsite recycling at 4.3 million pounds, with 2.55 million pounds reported by the Johnson Controls Battery Plant and 1.76 million pounds reported by the Johnson Controls Distribution plant, both facilities located in Middletown.

Onsite Management
• Waste managed onsite decreased by 73.6 million pounds (15 percent) compared to 2014. Decreases in onsite treatment and onsite recycling were partially offset by a small increase in onsite energy recovery.
• Largest Changes: Multiple facilities reported increases and decreases of over a million pounds for onsite management compared to 2014. The largest reduction reported was for onsite treatment of hydrogen sulfide by PBF Energy’s Delaware City refinery, with a reduction of 72.7 million pounds compared to 2014. The largest increase was for the onsite treatment of hydrochloric acid by Chemours Edge Moor, up approximately 1.3 million pounds compared to 2014.
• Largest Chemical Reported: Hydrogen sulfide was also the largest reported chemical amount managed onsite, with 360.9 million pounds being treated onsite, with the majority of that amount being reported by the Delaware City refinery.

Media contact: Debra Nielsen, DNREC Emergency Prevention and Response Section, 302-739-9405; or Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 47, No. 31

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