Environment

This Act allows for the composting of yard waste, food residuals, and other organic materials on property zoned for agricultural purposes. County governments may limit the square footage allowed for this activity, but must allow for at least 5000 square feet per 4 acres of property.

This Act updates the electric vehicle rebate program administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in light of changes to federal policies and market forces affecting electric vehicle deployment. The bill provides the Department with additional flexibility to set rebate amounts and improve programmatic offerings. The bill also allows enhanced rebates for an eventual program targeting lower income families.

This Act extends the Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program annual fees for facilities in Delaware, which have historically expired and been reauthorized by the General Assembly every 3 years. Existing statutory authorization to collect fees sunsets December 31, 2026. This legislation updates the fee assessments based on the work of the Title V Operating Permit Program Advisory Committee and makes additional clarifying updates. For 2027-2029, the total fee will be comprised of a base fee, user fee, and a program fee. Base fees are based on the number of staff hours spent on the source’s permitting, compliance, and enforcement activities, while the user fee is based on the source’s air emissions. The program fee will be assessed based on the total base and user fees. This Act authorizes the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to collect Title V annual fees for calendar years 2027 through 2029 at which point the authority sunsets and would need to be reauthorized.

This Act exempts food served in Level IV and Level V correctional facilities from restrictions on the use of polystyrene foam food service packaging. Scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2025, § 3004Q of Title 16 prohibits food establishments from providing ready-to-eat food in polystyrene foam food service packaging. This prohibition would create significant hardships and increase costs for the Department of Correction (“Department”), which uses polystyrene foam food service packaging in the course of providing over 14,000 meals per day to Department inmates.