In accordance with the Clean Water Act and the Federal EPA’s implementing regulations and guidance, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has begun a Triennial Review of Delaware’s Surface Water Quality Standards. 

The review process opens the standards for review and update based on EPA Recommended Water Quality Criteria and stakeholder input. For example, past stakeholder input has led to increased protections in some watersheds and changes in protective criteria in others. These changes were based on reasoned proposals with facts and evidence and subject to stakeholder comment and EPA review. 

If stakeholders have issues they would like to see addressed in the Standards, this is the best time to bring them forward. 

The Review Process 

The process starts with a regulatory Start Action Notice, a proposed “strawman” draft of the regulation, and a stakeholder’s guide to that draft. These documents and other information are available on the Department’s website at dnrec.delaware.gov/watershed-stewardship/assessment/standards/ or by emailing the Department’s Water Quality Standards Coordinator, David Wolanski, at David.Wolanski@Delaware.Gov. Following this initial review, DNREC will formally propose appropriate updates to the current regulations under the Department’s protocols and procedures.

Questions and Comments 

Interested stakeholders should contact DNREC’s Water Quality Standards Coordinator at the email above or by phone at 302-739-9939 for questions or comments on this Triennial Review before Oct. 1, 2021. Shortly after October 1, 2021, DNREC will follow State protocols for promulgation of new or revised regulations as noted above.

Related Topics:  permitting and regulation, public comment, public notice, standards, surface water, water, water quality