Committee Spotlight: Environmental

BY TYLER MICIK

The State Chamber’s Environmental Committee met in early April for their quarterly meeting and was joined by Senator Hansen, chair of the Senate Environment, Energy and Transportation Committee, and Representative Heffernan, chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee. Angela Marconi, director of the Division of Air Quality, and Sheeron Fuller, management analyst III, from DNREC also joined the meeting.

Marconi discussed the proposed Title V Fee legislation, which DNREC has been working on in coordination with the State Chamber. At the time of this writing, a draft bill that DNREC and the State Chamber agreed on was being circulated to sponsors. The proposed legislation contains no change to the base and user fees and a decrease in the program fee, which was set in 2020—the last time the fees were assessed. The fees expire and must be reauthorized by the General Assembly every three years. In 2020, the program fee was set at 30% of the combined fees. The proposed legislation reduces the program fee to 5%, meaning a reduction in fees for facilities in the program. Additionally, the legislation includes some clarifying edits to the language regarding committee structure and meeting schedule.

Senator Hansen and Representative Heffernan shared some of their policy priorities for this session and answered questions from committee members. Topics discussed included the Climate Change Solutions Act, net metering, Delaware’s application for a hydrogen hub, and a Department of Energy bill that Hansen plans to introduce, although the timing of that proposal is uncertain.

Lastly, the committee discussed two letters which the State Chamber sent to DNREC on behalf of the Chamber’s Environmental Committee at the end of March. The first was a response to DNREC’s draft policy for sampling and evaluation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil, groundwater, and surface water.

The second letter dealt with recommendations for Brownfields funding and accountability tracking. The Brownfields program is important because it helps developers clean up and place abandoned sites back into use, which could help create new jobs, increase property taxes, and protect natural resources and Greenfields that would be otherwise considered for development.

If you’re interested in learning more and would like to join the State Chamber’s Environmental Committee, please contact me at tmicik@dscc.com.