At least once a week, Derrick Caruthers heads down from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Dover office to Sussex County, where he’ll spend the day inspecting septic systems, mostly in manufactured home communities.

Caruthers, an environmental engineer in the DNREC Division of Water, is one of dozens of employees designated as “DNREC inspectors” — a descriptor rather than a title. It delineates those Department personnel who perform inspections, from septic systems to exhaust stacks to boilers, just to name a few.

These professionals proactively ensure business, landlords and property owners operate in compliance with permits and regulations and address complaints from the public as needed. In doing so, they keep people safe from boiler explosions, septic system leaks and air and water pollution, among other environmental hazards.

In the words of DNREC Environmental Justice Coordinator Dr. Katera Moore, they’re the “first line of defense,” putting a human face on the work DNREC is doing.

“They’re among our boots on the ground, our eyes to what’s happening in communities,” Moore said.

Take Caruthers, for instance. Many of the septic systems he checks out are at manufactured home communities in western Sussex County, far from central sewer lines. He’ll visit roughly 15 per week, which may seem like a lot but is only a fraction of the 130 or so systems he’s responsible for. Over the course of several months, he will visit all those sites to ensure everything is running smoothly.

A lot of systems fall into disrepair because of a lack of routine maintenance, he said.

It’s not uncommon for conditions to deteriorate when issues are not resolved timely. Many residents of manufactured housing in western Sussex are non-native English speakers, which poses another barrier to getting problems fixed, Caruthers said. DNREC is trying to help landlords and property owners provide better communication by translating information and web pages and making environmental justice a key area of focus.

“Sometimes, issues have been going on for years before a complaint’s actually received because they’re not 100% sure what their options are,” he said.

As an example, Caruthers pointed to a call he received from a friend of a resident of a manufactured housing community where the septic system has been overflowing weekly. The resident didn’t contact authorities sooner, but once Caruthers notified the owner about the problem, repairs were made.

He regularly checks back with this site and many others to ensure things are operating as they should.

“If I wasn’t doing that, there would still be a pond of wastewater in someone’s yard,” he said. “But we make sure people are heard and the fixes are made, and that’s partly why I like to do what I’ve been doing.”

He’s gotten to know a lot of manufactured-community residents and speaks with them on a regular basis to check how things are running and learn if there are any problems that need to be rectified. As one might imagine, the residents are usually just happy to have someone who listens and is willing to try to address their concerns.

While issues typically get fixed after Caruthers contacts the landlord or property owner, there is a process when they do not comply with program requirements or regulations. DNREC can issue a Notice of Violation, which is one step before a Secretary’s Order, a formal ruling that can contain penalties such as a fine. The goal of a Notice of Violation is to get the problem resolved and bring the site into compliance, fitting with DNREC’s ultimate goal of protecting human health and the environment.

Inspectors like Caruthers demonstrate that DNREC does want to help and is working to tackle issues in advance. The point of their work isn’t to give out fines but to get the issue resolved and keep the environment and community safe and healthy in the process.

“These unsung heroes are out there working hard at their duties every single day because they care,” Moore said.

Jason Sunde, program administrator for the Compliance and Permitting Section within the DNREC Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances, sees it similarly. Sunde’s section oversees solid waste, hazardous waste and the aboveground/underground storage tank program.

His staff of about 25 inspectors keeps a watchful eye on “everything from grocery stores to the Delaware City refinery,” he said, noting practically every business in the state deals with them in some way.

“A lot of times it’s not the glitz and glamour side of environmental work, but it is the down and dirty day-to-day making sure people are doing what they’re supposed to be doing for the protection of human health and the environment,” Sunde said.

Tara Grazier is also responsible for environmental protections, in this case the state’s scrap tire program. Grazier, a planner within the DNREC Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances, goes out to businesses that change tires, such as mechanics and car dealerships, to ensure tires are being properly disposed of by haulers with the right permits.

She spends up to three days a week out in the field. As for why Grazier’s job matters, that’s an easy one. Illegal dumping is a problem, especially in more rural parts of the state, and tires are not just an eyesore but a potential hazard that can cause fires.

“They’re a nuisance to get rid of once they’re stockpiled because they’re expensive to get rid of, so having the right tools in place to make sure they’re being handled properly is important,” she said.

Another inspector employed by the state is Jacob Jackson, an engineer with the DNREC Division of Air Quality. He monitors different facilities’ stack tests, which indicate if a site is releasing allowable levels of emissions and thus complying with their air permits.

He’s responsible for roughly 570 companies, which can range from facilities like the oil refinery to smaller places with just a boiler. He also investigates complaints from Delawareans involving smell and dust.

Like his fellow inspectors throughout DNREC, Jackson enjoys getting out to different sites, finding it interesting to be hands-on and learn about different industries.

All this work by DNREC inspectors contains an environmental justice component. DNREC describes environmental justice as the “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin or income, with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies; and the equitable access to green spaces, climate resilience, public recreation opportunities and information and data on potential exposures to environmental hazards.”

In other words, it’s about ensuring everyone has equal representation and protection, something that has sadly not always been the case, both in Delaware and across the nation. Too often, disadvantaged communities are saddled with unwanted land uses while being unable to access environmental benefits like parks and clean water.

The work of inspectors demonstrates that DNREC takes violations seriously and wants to ensure that everyone has access to clean air, water and other ecological services.

“This is definitely a prong of environmental justice that people do not realize we do. It demonstrates that we do equal enforcement proactively because we’re inspecting to avoid problems that need enforcement,” Moore said.

Related Topics:  environmental justice, health, inspections and maintenance, inspectors, outdoor delaware, people, pollution, science, waste and hazardous substances