SPONSOR: Sen. Hansen & Rep. Phillips DELAWARE STATE SENATE 152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 86 REQUESTING THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TO UPDATE THEIR 2022 REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE ON OPTIONS FOR A NONTIDAL WETLANDS PERMITTING PROGRAM.
SPONSOR: Sen. Hansen & Rep. Phillips
SPONSOR: Sen. Hansen & Rep. Phillips
SPONSOR:
Sen. Hansen & Rep. Phillips
DELAWARE STATE SENATE
152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 86
REQUESTING THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TO UPDATE THEIR 2022 REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE ON OPTIONS FOR A NONTIDAL WETLANDS PERMITTING PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, Senate Joint Resolution No. 2 as amended by Senate Amendment No. 1 (SJR 2), passed by the 151 st General Assembly and enacted in 2021, required the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to conduct an analysis of the administrative, fiscal, and legal requirements to support a State nontidal wetlands program; and WHEREAS, SJR 2 required DNREC to prepare a report on the findings, structure, and resource needs to support a State nontidal wetlands program and submit the report to the Governor and General Assembly within one year of enactment; and WHEREAS, the report, titled Options for a Nontidal Wetland Permitting Programs (SJR 2 Report), was submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly on September 30, 2022; and WHEREAS, the SJR 2 Report recognized Delawares reliance on a combination of state and federal regulations for nontidal wetlands; and WHEREAS, the SJR 2 Report found that uncertainties at the federal level, including multiple legal challenges and court decisions, and the continuous changing of the scope of federal jurisdiction over nontidal wetlands has led to a lack of consistency and confusion for landowners and the regulated public, and substandard protection of nontidal wetlands which, in turn, has led to a loss of acreage and the valuable natural functions wetlands provide; and WHEREAS, the SJR 2 Report recognized that, as of the writing of the report, the federal government was in the process of changing the regulations once again through a rulemaking proceeding and the Supreme Court had before it a pending case ( Sackett vs. EPA ) revising the federal governments wetlands jurisdiction, thus finding that the legal, administrative, and fiscal requirements of a Delaware nontidal program could not be fully determined within the SJR 2 Report; and WHEREAS, the federal government rulemaking as mentioned in the SJR 2 Report has concluded and the Supreme Court has decided the case of Sackett vs. EPA , so a revision of the analysis and recommendations reached in the SJR 2 report is now appropriate. BE IT RESOLVED, by the Senate of the 152 nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is requested to update the analysis and recommendations presented in the SJR 2 Report utilizing the new information provided by the most recently promulgated federal wetlands regulations and the results of the Supreme Court case, Sackett vs. EPA , by September 30, 2023.
WHEREAS, Senate Joint Resolution No. 2 as amended by Senate Amendment No. 1 (SJR 2), passed by the 151 st General Assembly and enacted in 2021, required the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to conduct an analysis of the administrative, fiscal, and legal requirements to support a State nontidal wetlands program; and
WHEREAS, SJR 2 required DNREC to prepare a report on the findings, structure, and resource needs to support a State nontidal wetlands program and submit the report to the Governor and General Assembly within one year of enactment; and
WHEREAS, the report, titled Options for a Nontidal Wetland Permitting Programs (SJR 2 Report), was submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly on September 30, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the SJR 2 Report recognized Delawares reliance on a combination of state and federal regulations for nontidal wetlands; and
WHEREAS, the SJR 2 Report found that uncertainties at the federal level, including multiple legal challenges and court decisions, and the continuous changing of the scope of federal jurisdiction over nontidal wetlands has led to a lack of consistency and confusion for landowners and the regulated public, and substandard protection of nontidal wetlands which, in turn, has led to a loss of acreage and the valuable natural functions wetlands provide; and
WHEREAS, the SJR 2 Report recognized that, as of the writing of the report, the federal government was in the process of changing the regulations once again through a rulemaking proceeding and the Supreme Court had before it a pending case ( Sackett vs. EPA ) revising the federal governments wetlands jurisdiction, thus finding that the legal, administrative, and fiscal requirements of a Delaware nontidal program could not be fully determined within the SJR 2 Report; and
WHEREAS, the federal government rulemaking as mentioned in the SJR 2 Report has concluded and the Supreme Court has decided the case of Sackett vs. EPA , so a revision of the analysis and recommendations reached in the SJR 2 report is now appropriate.
BE IT RESOLVED, by the Senate of the 152 nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is requested to update the analysis and recommendations presented in the SJR 2 Report utilizing the new information provided by the most recently promulgated federal wetlands regulations and the results of the Supreme Court case, Sackett vs. EPA , by September 30, 2023.
SYNOPSIS This Senate Concurrent Resolution requests that the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control update the analysis and recommendations presented in the Senate Joint Resolution No. 2 Report utilizing the new information provided by the most recently promulgated federal wetlands regulations and the results of the Supreme Court case, Sackett vs. EPA, by September 30, 2023. Author: Senator Hansen
SYNOPSIS
This Senate Concurrent Resolution requests that the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control update the analysis and recommendations presented in the Senate Joint Resolution No. 2 Report utilizing the new information provided by the most recently promulgated federal wetlands regulations and the results of the Supreme Court case, Sackett vs. EPA, by September 30, 2023.
Author: Senator Hansen