The Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee was created by the Delaware General Assembly to guide implementation of the Wetlands Stewardship Act, signed by Governor Matt Meyer on July 21, 2026, which establishes Delaware’s first comprehensive state program to protect non-tidal wetlands.

The Committee is tasked with assisting the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in amending the existing Delaware Wetland Regulations (7 DE Admin. Code 7502) as required under the Wetlands Stewardship Act, reviewing the first three years of implementation of those regulations, and providing a final report with recommendations for legislative or regulatory improvements to the wetlands program.

The Committee must submit draft regulations to the Secretary of DNREC by August 1, 2027. The Secretary will review the draft for consistency with state law and submit it to the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for publication in the Register of Regulations and the normal public process for amending regulations, including opportunities for public feedback.

Contact, Comments and Connection Information

For more information, please contact Ashley Norton at Ashley.Norton@delaware.gov or 302-739-9149.

To provide written comments throughout the process to the RAC and DNREC, please email them to DNREC_Wetlands_RAC@delaware.gov.

For updates on Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee, including meeting notices and webpage updates, please subscribe to the Advisory Committee email list. Send a blank email (no subject line and no signature) to listserv@listserv.delaware.gov with only the following in the body of the email:

Subscribe DNREC_WETLANDS_RAC [Your Name]

Membership and Meetings

Committee Membership

The membership of the Regulatory Advisory Committee is set out in the legislation, which calls for a committee of 25 members, including representatives from each county government, from the agricultural industry, from the environmental advocacy community, from the development sector, from higher education and from related professional organizations.

Co-Chairs

Emily Knearl, of The Nature Conservancy, and Mike Reimann, of the Home Builders Association of Delaware, have been chosen as co-chairs by the members of the committee.

Member List

Committee Meetings

Meetings of the Committee and its subcommittees are open to the public. They are posted on the DNREC Calendar of Events and on the Delaware Public Meeting Calendar.

Recordings of each meeting are posted on YouTube as they become available.

Meeting Schedule

October 7, 2026 -- Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee Meeting

October 2, 2026 -- Wetland Definition Subcommittee of the Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee

October 1, 2026 -- Exceptional Value Wetlands Subcommittee of the Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee

September 9, 2026 -- Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee Meeting

July 31, 2026 -- Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee Meeting

Subcommittees

The Wetland Stewardship Act allows the Co-Chairs of the Regulatory Advisory Committee to create subcommittees (work groups) to help the committee do its work. It requires that each be chaired by a committee member.

The subcommittee topics are:

• Wetland Definition (Chair: Jim McCulley)
• Exceptional Value Wetlands (Chair: Christophe Tulou)

The subcommittees are technical in nature and will provide recommendations and options for the full committee to consider in their discussions and decisions.

All subcommittee meetings are open to the public and posted online with Regulatory Advisory Committee meetings. Public comments are accepted at all subcommittee meetings.

Related Documents and Links

Delaware Administrative Procedures Act

Delaware Wetland Regulations (7 DE Admin. Code 7502)

2026-2030 Delaware Wetlands Program Plan

DNREC Wetlands Monitoring and Assessment

DNREC Wetlands and Waterways

Related Topics:  boards and commissions, permitting and regulation, regulatory advisory committee, water, wetlands