Committee Spotlight: Environmental Committee

BY TYLER MICIK

The State Chamber’s Environmental Committee met in early March and was joined by DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin and Angela Marconi, director of DNREC’s Division of Air Quality.

Marconi discussed HB 257, a proposal to increase Natural Minor (Reg. 1102) permitting fees. It would impact smaller emitters like dry cleaners and auto body shops. The current fees haven’t been adjusted since they were established in 1991 and only fund 25 percent of program’s costs.

DNREC planned to increase the fees in 2021. The State Chamber reacted by submitting a letter requesting that any increase be delayed until 2022 to support businesses recovering from the pandemic. DNREC took the State Chamber’s concerns into consideration and subsequently delayed introducing the proposal until this year. The State Chamber is now supportive of the proposed increase.

DNREC’s current plan is for the increase to occur in three phases. Phase one would take effect in January 2023 and increase fees to fund 50 percent of program costs. The second phase would propose to cover 75 percent and the third phase would suggest covering 100 percent of program costs. It also requires evaluations to occur every three years in which the Department will conduct a cost assessment and make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding fee adjustments.

The Division of Air Quality hosted a virtual workshop in February to talk about the proposal. To learn more and watch the recording, visit https://dnrec.alpha. delaware.gov/air/permitting/fee-initiative.

Secretary Garvin provided information about the Department’s partnership with DelDOT to allocate the $17 million in funds the state is set to receive over the next few years towards electric transportation infrastructure. He also shared plans for a new state-of-the-art DNREC lab and site readiness.

Last year the General Assembly passed SB 127, which created the Site Readiness Fund—a $10 million investment by Governor John Carney. The Fund’s goal is to accelerate site readiness and attract companies by making sites “shovel-ready”, meaning water, electric, and other utilities are brought near the site to accelerate the development process. This legislation was a goal of the Ready in 6 coalition.

Delaware may be small, but we can’t be small and slow. Being Ready in 6 means a project can be off the ground in no longer than six months. It is a key factor in site selectors’ decisions when determining where to locate and is essential for Delaware to remain competitive and create new job opportunities.

While this legislation goes a long way in helping establish shovel-ready sites, there is still much work to be done. The State Chamber supports these efforts and looks forward to advocating for changes in the permitting or regulatory barriers to economic development projects.