The State of Delaware is actively working with federal and local partners to ensure all Delaware children and school staff have safe and clean drinking water. With the help of a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) with support from the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) began a sampling initiative in Delaware schools in October 2020 to identify the levels of lead within the drinking water system. During COVID-19 building closures, initial lead sampling tested buildings that had extended periods of stagnant water. During this time non-consumption water points were tested that are not expected sources of exposure for school communities.

DOE announced last month that it has contracted with a private firm, Batta Environmental Associates, Inc., a Newark-based environmental consultant, to retest all fixtures that initially tested at 7.5 ppb (0.0075 mg/L) or higher and all consumption points at schools statewide.  In December, Batta began resampling, which is anticipated to take several months to complete.  Results are being shared with the respective superintendents, charter leaders and facility leads as they are received from Batta, and districts/charters will be sharing results and any next steps with their respective communities.  Results and updates will also be posted on de.gov/schoolwater.

Currently, all fixtures that previously tested at or above 7.5 ppb (0.0075 mg/L) were either turned off or have signage that notes the water was not for consumption, as confirmed by school representatives and state survey teams. As resampling progresses, members of the school community may notice additional fixtures are turned off, replaced, or may notice filters being installed to reduce lead exposure in schools. All steps of removal, remediation, and replacement will be communicated by the districts/charters. DOE, along with a contracted subject matter expert from Johns Hopkins University, will work with DPH in providing technical support and guidance to schools and charters as they respond to any additional elevated levels of lead.

As stated above, the State of Delaware is actively working with federal and local partners to ensure all Delaware children and school staff have safe and clean drinking water.

According to the CDC, many sources can contribute to elevated blood lead levels including paint, soil, and drinking water. If you think that you or your child may have been exposed to lead, you should seek guidance from a medical provider. How long it takes to return an elevated blood lead level depends on the weight of the person, amount of exposure and other factors. In general, it takes repeated, ongoing exposure to create an elevated blood lead level.

Learn more about the state’s school water testing program at de.gov/schoolwater.

Media contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006

The Delaware Department of Education has contracted with a private firm to test the drinking water at schools across the state.

The State of Delaware is actively working with federal and local partners to ensure all Delaware children and school staff have safe and clean drinking water. With the support of a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DOE with support from the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) began a sampling initiative in Delaware schools in October 2020 to identify the levels of lead within the drinking water system.

The state identified some mistakes in its initial lead sampling, including testing buildings during COVID-19 closures and testing non-consumption sources, and the need to better communicate testing results.

Batta Environmental Associates, Inc., a Newark-based environmental consultant, will retest all fixtures that initially tested at 7.5 ppb or higher and all consumption points at schools statewide.

“It is critically important that we conduct additional water sampling that provides timely and accurate data regarding the quality of water that our students, staff, and school communities consume.  This is also an important step to help restore confidence for the public. We want our children, their families and our educators and staff to be able to concentrate on learning, assured that their buildings and water are safe,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said.

Resampling and retesting will start next week and will take about three months to complete. Results will be shared with the respective superintendents and charter leaders as they are received from the lab, and districts/charters will share results and any next steps with their respective communities.  Results and updates also will be posted on de.gov/schoolwater.

Currently, all fixtures that tested at or above 7.5 ppb were either turned off or had signage that noted the water was not for consumption, as confirmed by school representatives and state survey teams. Next steps on fixture usage and remediation will be determined based on the retesting results.  The signage will remain on those fixtures until schools receive additional information from the Department of Education or Division of Public Health.

Learn more about the state’s school water testing program at de.gov/schoolwater.

Media contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006

DNREC’s DuPont Nature Center at the Mispillion Harbor Reserve will close for the season Sept. 1 and reopen April 1, 2023 in time for the annual shorebird migration

The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve will close for the season effective Thursday, Sept. 1, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. The center is scheduled to reopen Saturday, April 1, 2023 for the busy spring and summer seasons attuned to the shorebird migration and horseshoe crab spawning. The center is owned and operated by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife and provides programming and exhibits about Delaware Bayshore aquatic life.

During the annual seasonal closure, the DuPont Nature Center’s accessible observation deck will remain open from dawn to dusk daily. The deck offers views of the Mispillion Harbor and surrounding saltmarsh and sandy beach habitat as well as a view of the Delaware Bay. Though the nature center is recognized as one of the best vistas on the East Coast for observing the spring shorebird migration, the viewing deck also provides excellent opportunities in the fall and winter months to view shorebirds to include dunlin, sanderlings and black-bellied plovers.

DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife reminds off-season visitors that the nature center deck will not be actively maintained while the center is closed. Visitors are advised to take weather conditions into consideration prior to accessing the deck.

The DuPont Nature Center is located on Mispillion Harbor near Slaughter Beach at 2992 Lighthouse Road, Milford, DE 19963. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information about the DuPont Nature Center and its programs, call 302-422-1329 or visit http://de.gov/dnc.

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 Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land. 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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DOVER (OCT. 23, 2021) – Out of an abundance of caution, the Division of Public Health (DPH) is advising residents of the Bethany Crest community near Millville to use bottled water for drinking and cooking while their water system is evaluated for a concentration of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that is near or at a health advisory level for PFAS in drinking water.

Bethany Crest is a manufactured housing community with a small water system serving approximately 50 homes. On October 21, 2021, DPH received notice that a water sample collected on October 11 showed source water in the system serving Bethany Crest with a concentration of PFAS at 70 parts per trillion, which is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) health advisory level for these compounds in drinking water. This sample was of source water to the system, not the finished drinking water after treatment. The sample was collected as part of a proactive screening of public water sources throughout the state being conducted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). Two previous Bethany Crest samples in recent months had found concentrations near the advisory level, prompting repeat testing for confirmation.

The owner of the community and the operator of the water system were notified Friday and agreed to provide bottled water to residents as recommended by DPH as a precaution. Information on the finding was being distributed to residents Friday and Saturday.

DPH and DNREC are working with the operator of the Bethany Crest water system to test the finished drinking water going to homes to determine whether current treatment methods for the system may already be reducing the PFAS levels from the source water. Samples of finished drinking water from Bethany Crest, and samples of source water from other wells in the area, will be taken this weekend and submitted to a laboratory for analysis.

DPH is evaluating the Bethany Crest treatment system and will provide technical guidance for any needed upgrades or additions to the system for reducing PFAS. DNREC is conducting an assessment to identify potential sources of the contamination and to determine if other area wells show similar PFAS levels.

PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals used in industry and consumer products. Due to their extensive use in these products over time, PFAS are found in people, wildlife, and fish and are known as “forever chemicals” because some PFAS can stay in people’s bodies a long time and cause health problems with long-term exposure.

Letter expresses need to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney and the Governors of Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin issued a letter to the leadership of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees urging them to include provisions for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to protect citizens who would be affected by these substances.

Read the letter here:

Dear Chairman Inhofe, Ranking Member Reed, Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Thornberry:

As you instruct your conferees to consider the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we, the undersigned governors, would like to highlight several key provisions related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and urge you to include them in the final legislation.

PFAS are used in many nonstick coatings in consumer products, industrial processes, and firefighting foams often used by the military and at airports. These chemicals, which break down extremely slowly or not at all, can accumulate in our environment and in our bodies, and those that have been studied are associated with adverse health effects, such as liver damage, thyroid disease, and kidney and testicular cancers. Provisions in the current House and Senate measures will ensure the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) mitigates the impacts of PFAS contamination, require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to move more quickly to set PFAS health standards and protections, and provide much-needed resources and guidance as the federal government, states, and communities work to address contamination from these persistent substances.

At current and former military bases across the country, firefighting foam containing PFAS has been in use for many years to meet FAA firefighting standards at FAA controlled airports, and by extension at military airports. In many of these locations, PFAS have leached into groundwater, surface water, and nearby private wells used for drinking water. According to the Government Accountability Office, there are at least 401 military sites with known or suspected PFAS contamination.

As governors, we are evaluating responses appropriate for our states, including in some cases developing or setting drinking water standards for PFAS, and deploying state funds to test, investigate, and remediate PFAS contamination caused by government and industrial uses. Nevertheless, federal action is needed to address PFAS, including contamination in and around military sites.

Our Congressional delegations have worked diligently to include important provisions in the House and Senate bills to require the DoD and EPA to investigate, monitor and clean up PFAS contamination originating from DoD activities. It is clear that many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle understand the urgent need to act to address these toxic PFAS chemicals. As governors whose residents are affected by these toxics, we urge development of a package that includes the strongest provisions from both the House and Senate bills, including the following that would:

• Require EPA to set an enforceable, nationwide drinking water standard under the Safe Drinking Water Act for PFOA and PFOS within two years of enactment, while preserving states’ authority to enact their own, more stringent standards.
• Require the EPA to list PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) within one year.
• Require the EPA to revise the list of toxic pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to include PFAS and publish effluent and pretreatment standards.
• Phase out the use of PFAS in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) as quickly as possible.
• Urge the DoD to finalize cooperative agreements with states and partner with governors to test, monitor, remove, and remediate PFAS contamination originating from DoD activities, including at decommissioned military installations and National Guard facilities. Require that if a cooperative agreement is not reached within one year of the request from a state, the Secretary of Defense must report to Congress with an explanation of why an agreement has not been reached. Remediation should satisfy both federal and state/local remediation targets.
• Grant the National Guard Bureau access to specific environmental remediation program funding in FY 2020.
• Authorize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to develop advanced testing methods capable of detecting PFAS, and to conduct nationwide sampling for these chemicals – focusing first on areas near drinking water with known or suspected PFAS contamination.
• Require the DoD to treat and clean PFAS-contaminated water used for agricultural purposes.
• Require public disclosure, as part of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) annual reports, when environmental releases of about 200 PFAS chemicals occur – including PFOS and PFOA.

The FY2020 NDAA presents an opportunity to take historic steps forward to address PFAS contamination that is harming our states, and we ask you to include the strongest PFAS-related provisions in the final bill.

Sincerely,

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View and download a copy of the Governors’ letter.