DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

Division of Air and Waste Management

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

On April 15, 2004, the United States Environmental Protection Agency designated Delaware's Sussex County as Non-Attainment for meeting the 8-hour national ambient air quality standard for Ozone. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Air Quality Management Section has drafted language to include Sussex County in the Ozone Season Open Burning Ban as well as expand the open burning ban timeframe from June 1st - August 31st in the current regulation, to May 1st - September 30th, and to clarify the prohibitions in the existing regulation and their interaction with other applicable laws and regulation.

The changes mentioned above constitute the primary amendments to the regulation. However, due to the expansion of the burning ban statewide, the format of the entire regulation required changing because the prohibitions that were attributable to certain areas no longer exists. As a result, the approach taken to the amendment is to delete the existing regulation in its entirety and adopt a new version. Except for the expansion detailed above, the only changes made are to clarify the implementation of the regulation, based on experience of staff, and are not intended to be more stringent.

Public Hearing scheduled January 31, 2007 beginning at 6:00 pm DNREC Auditorium, Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901. Contact Valerie Gray (302) 739-9402, December 14, 2006. Email - Valerie.gray@state.de.us.