DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced that a draft report outlining recommendations for the formation and work plan of a Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC) for Coastal Zone Conversion Permits is now available for public review and comment. Comments on the draft report– prepared by the non-profit Consensus Building Institute (CBI) of Cambridge, Mass. – will be accepted through Jan. 19.
The report contains 13 recommendations for DNREC to consider as it establishes a Regulatory Advisory Committee to develop regulations for Coastal Zone Conversion Permits. The recommendations were informed by a series of interviews with stakeholders held in October and by two public workshops held in November. The report, available on the DNREC website at http://de.gov/conversionpermits, also contains a list of stakeholders interviewed by CBI and a summary of the public workshops.
Comments on the report can be submitted by emailing CZA_Conversion_Permits@state.de.us, by USPS mail addressed to CZA Conversion Permits comment, Attn: Kevin Coyle, 100 West Water Street, Suite 5A, Dover, DE 19904, or via online survey found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CZCPArac.
HB 190, the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act, was signed into law by Governor Carney in August. The Act authorizes DNREC to issue permits for construction and operation of new heavy industry uses within 14 existing sites of heavy industry use within the state’s Coastal Zone. It also authorizes DNREC to issue permits for the bulk transfer of products under certain circumstances. The Act requires DNREC to develop and promulgate regulations for the issuance of conversion permits by Oct. 1, 2019.