DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship is now accepting project proposals for matching grants for community water quality improvement projects. Delaware non-profit organizations, conservation districts, community organizations and homeowner’s associations are eligible to apply. Proposals must be received by 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Community Water Quality Improvement Grants assist in implementing projects or programs to improve water quality on developed lands with specific watershed improvement plans and strategies. Programs and projects selected will demonstrate innovative and sustainable methods, techniques, and/or practices for water quality improvements, with cost effective and measurable results. Projects will be recommended for funding by the Delaware Water Infrastructure Advisory Council through a competitive grant process.

Funding is anticipated to range from $25,000 minimum to $75,000 maximum for projects receiving a grant award in this cycle. This grant requires a 25 percent cash match which may be federal, state, or local cash. Applicants may submit up to two project proposals per grant cycle.

Proposals should be submitted by email to Sharon.Webb@delaware.gov with the subject line reading “Community Water Quality Improvement Grant.” Proposals submitted by email must be less than 10MB. Project guidelines and the application can be found on DNREC’s website on the Environmental Finance webpage.

For more information, please contact Sharon Webb at 302-739-9922.

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

Vol. 49, No. 209

DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Delaware Shellfish Program and Kent County Levy Court will conduct a week-long water quality study starting June 10 in the Murderkill River and Delaware Bay to evaluate the bay’s oyster beds. The study calls for applications of the red dye Rhodamine WT, which is commonly used in water quality and dispersion tests, and is not considered harmful to the public or the environment.

Weather permitting, application of the dye will be made at the Kent County Waste Water Treatment Plant near Frederica into a tributary of the Murderkill River to measure water flow and dispersion in waters where shellfish are harvested, according to DNREC’s Delaware Shellfish Program within the Division of Watershed Stewardship.

DNREC’s shellfish program utilizes a classification system that regulates the harvest of shellfish based on water quality, and which also assesses the potential risk to shellfish harvesting in the event of a wastewater spill. The goal of the red dye study is to help determine the potential impact to oyster beds in the possible event of a wastewater spill or other pollution event.

Dye applications are planned near late-evening low tide on Tuesday, June 11 and will continue until around noon the next day. As a result of the dye applications, portions of the Delaware Bay, Murderkill River and St. Jones River may turn reddish in color. The extent of water discoloration could be fairly widespread but should disperse within 48 hours.

The study – known as hydrographic dye dilution – will be conducted by DNREC in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Kent County Department of Public Works. Results will help to appropriately classify shellfish harvesting waters, assess risk, and facilitate emergency closure provisions in the event of a wastewater spill associated with extreme weather or natural disasters, such as hurricanes, nor’easters, or heavy flooding. Information collected will be used by the FDA and DNREC to evaluate potential water quality impacts and closure of shellfish growing areas in the Delaware Bay under such emergency situations.

For more information on DNREC’s Delaware Shellfish Program, please visit de.gov/shellfish.

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

Vol. 49, No. 145

-End-

DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is seeking public comment and input for the Delaware Draft Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP), the long-range plan for reducing pollutants that enter the state’s waterways and drain into the Chesapeake Bay. Delaware is among six Chesapeake Bay Watershed jurisdictions – along with Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and the District of Columbia – that have committed to a federal-state initiative to develop and implement an overall plan that will help restore the water quality of the Bay and its tidal waters by 2025.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is leading the effort to reduce pollution and has developed a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) that sets limits for major sources of nutrients and sediment entering the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal branches. A TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive and still meet water quality standards that protect humans and aquatic life. As part of the TMDL, each jurisdiction is required to develop a WIP that details specific steps to be taken to reduce nutrient and sediment and actions to maintain water quality standards in the future.

Currently, Delaware’s rivers and streams that flow into the Chesapeake Bay are burdened with pollution that depletes the health of these waterways and the Bay, and affects their productivity. Restoring water quality to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed will have far-reaching benefits for Delaware’s economic and environmental health.

Delaware remains committed to making improvements necessary for restoring our Chesapeake Bay tributaries. We continue to search for innovative ways to manage our stormwater and to improve the quality of our waterways,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “Protecting Delaware’s aquatic resources boosts our economy, provides recreational opportunities and improves overall quality of life for our citizens.”

There have been three phases of Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay WIP. Phase I and Phase II WIPs were developed and submitted to EPA in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Both the Phase I and Phase II WIPs describe actions and controls to be implemented by 2017 and 2025 to achieve applicable water quality standards. The Phase II WIP builds on the initial Phase I WIP by providing more specific local actions. Delaware met EPA requirements for both those WIP phases. The Phase III WIP has been developed based on a midpoint assessment of progress and scientific analyses. The Phase III WIP provides information on actions Delaware intends to implement between 2019 and 2025 to meet the Bay restoration goals. All three plans consider aspects of watershed management including ecological restoration, sustainability, conservation practices, stewardship, and training and outreach.

To develop Delaware‘s Draft Phase III WIP for the watershed’s future, a Phase II review and revision was led by an interagency workgroup made up of representatives from numerous stakeholder groups, including Delaware’s Department of Agriculture (DDA), Department of Transportation (DelDOT), the state’s Soil and Water Conservation districts, the University of Delaware and the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance. The draft plan identifies partners, program locations, actions, and the resources needed to reach milestones and meet implementation goals for 2025. The wide-ranging collaboration and cooperation that went into the plan continues with DNREC seeking additional public participation and input on the Draft Phase III WIP.

Public comments will be accepted from April 12 through DNREC close of business (4:30 p.m.), Friday, June 7, by time-stamped email to DNREC_DelawareCBWIP@delaware.gov, or by US Postal Service mail postmarked no later than June 7 to: Attn. Chesapeake WIP, DNREC Nonpoint Source Program, 100 Water Street, Suite 6B, Dover, DE 19904.

More information about the Phase III WIP can be found on the DNREC website. Download a draft of Delaware’s Draft Chesapeake Bay Phase III WIP. Provide comments and input, using an online form.

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation, in partnership with the Kent County Conservancy, announced today that it has secured two wetland parcels formerly owned by the McClements family of Dover, to become part of the Fork Branch Nature Preserve. The two parcels, one almost three acres in size, the other just over 2½ acres, are located adjacent to the Anne McClements Woods tract of the 247-acre Fork Branch Nature Preserve. Both properties were donated by the children of Dr. James and Anne McClements, Mary Jane, Nancy, Jimmy, Walter and Bill McClements, in their parents’ memory.

The land donation was initiated by the Kent County Conservancy, a local non-profit preservation organization, working with DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation, which accepted the donation in memoriam to the McClements, and expanding the Fork Branch Nature Preserve.

DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin joined Governor John Carney and other officials last year, at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fork Branch Trail, located in the Anne McClements Woods tract of the Fork Branch Nature Preserve, which is open with free access to visitors.

The two donated parcels for the Fork Branch Nature Preserve are located on Kenton Road. One parcel, entailing a stream bed, is 2.93 acres, while the other is also a wetland area of 2.69 acres. The McClements’ family gift of the two parcels will help protect and buffer the preserve’s wetland habitats, and the wildlife species the habitats support.

“These additions to the preserve do not just expand its boundaries, but will also help Delaware achieve the state’s broader goal of improved water quality and healthy wildlife habitat,” said Secretary Garvin. “We thank the McClements family for supporting these efforts, and the Kent County Conservancy, for being instrumental in facilitating the donation of the two parcels to the State of Delaware.”

“The Fork Branch watershed has been our highest preservation target,” said Gerald Street, president of the Kent County Conservancy. “We were delighted to facilitate this public-private partnership. The McClements family continues to set a magnificent example of how this can work. We also appreciate the support and advocacy of Tom Burns, who worked with the conservancy on behalf of the McClements family.”

The Fork Branch Nature Preserve is one of Dover’s last remaining natural areas, and is known to contain a unique stand of old growth American beech, a wooded stream corridor, and several rare and threatened plant species. The preserve is located near the corner of Kenton and West Dennys roads, along the Maidstone Branch in the St. Jones River watershed.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 49, No.11

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship is now accepting project proposals for matching grants for community water quality improvement projects. Delaware non-profit organizations, conservation districts, community organizations and homeowner’s associations are eligible to apply. Proposals must be received by 4:30 p.m. Oct. 24.

Community Water Quality Improvement Grants assist in implementing projects or programs to improve water quality on developed lands consistent with specific plans developed for watershed improvements. Programs and projects selected will demonstrate innovative and sustainable methods, techniques, and/or practices for water quality improvements, with cost effective and measurable results. Projects will be recommended for funding by the Delaware Water Infrastructure Advisory Council through a competitive grant process.

Funding for projects receiving a grant award in this cycle is anticipated to range from $25,000 minimum to $75,000 maximum. This grant requires a 25 percent cash match which may be federal, state, or local cash. Applicants may submit up to two project proposals per grant cycle.

Proposals should be submitted by email to Sharon.Webb@delaware.gov (Subject: Community Water Quality Improvement Grant). Proposals submitted by email must be less than 10MB. Project guidelines and the application can be found on DNREC’s website on the Environmental Finance webpage.

For more information, please contact Sharon Webb at 302-739-9922.

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

Vol. 48, No. 256