8/9/2019 Sustainable Living for the 21st Century - Home Construction and Modification

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Conservation Committee Commentsby Rich Anthony, Conservation Chair

Many of the documents discussed below are available for

review in their entirety at the Chapters website:

http://delaware.sierraclub.org/indexNew.asp.

AIR QUALITY/ INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION

Clean Air Act Litigation:On July 23 the Chapter contacted Attorney General

Danberg and requested that the State file an amicus brief,

thereby joining twelve other states and several other envi-

ronmental organizations, including the national Sierra

Club, in an appeal to be heard before the U. S. Supreme

Court.

DNREC Regulations and Power Plant Permitting:The current energy crisis in Delaware surrounds the

following:

1) DNRECs new Regulation No. 1146 - ElectricGenerating Unit (EGU) Multi-Pollutant Regulation.

2) The retrofitting of the existing Indian River Power

Plant.

3) The construction of the second (new) power gener-

ating facility at NRGs Indian River site.

4) The cumulative impacts this proposal will have

upon the region in which it is located.

5) The precedents that will be set by this action for

decades to come.

ASSAWOMAN CANALOn July 18, Kenneth T. Kristl of the Mid-Atlantic

Environmental Law Center at Widener University filed anappeal on behalf of the Sierra Club to the Delaware

Supreme Court to reverse the June 2006 Court of

Chancery ruling authorizing dredging of the Assawoman

Canal.

COOL CITIESThe Energy subcommittee is busily promoting the

Sierra Clubs Cool Cities program (sierraclub.org/coolci-

ties) in Dover, Newark, and Wilmington. To join one of

the existing programs contact: Dover - Ron Zink, 302-

735-8996, Newark - Chris McCurdy, 302-838-5232, or

Wilmington - Chad Tolman, 302-478-3516. If you are

interested in promoting the program in a new area, con-

tact Chad or Rich Anthony, 302-6451732.

LAND USEKent County APFOs: On July 19 the Delaware Chapter

testified before the Kent County Regional Planning

Commission (RPC) in support of the proposed Adequate

Public Facilities Ordinances (APFOs). The RPC is to be

congratulated for its foresight in approval of APFOs. The

matter will now be forwarded to the Levy Court for a

public hearing.

Sussex County Land-Use Plan: With the Sussex County

Council poised to select consultants to create the

Comprehensive Land Use Plan updates, the Southern

Delaware Groups Land-Use Committee, the Citizens

Action Foundation, and the Sussex County League of

Women Voters, have requested that an infrastructurecapacity analysis be conducted and used as the baseline

data for the pending revisions. The organizations have

also called for the creation and implementation of APFOs.

Are you interested in joining the land-use reform

effort? Contact Rich Anthony, 302-6451732.

RED KNOT LITIGATIONOn June 6, under the Endangered Species Act, Julia

Huff of the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic filed a 60-

day notice of intent to pursue litigation against the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Commission on behalf of both the

Delaware and New Jersey Chapters of the Sierra Club.

The litigation pertains to listing the Red Knot as an

endangered species.WATER QUALITY

The Chapter has been contacted by the S. New Castle

County Alliance (SNCCA) regarding renewal and modifi-

cation of the NCC Department of Special Servicess sur-

face-water discharge permit, and amendment of its land-

treatment system permit for the Middletown-Odessa-

Townsend regional wastewater treatment plant water

farm. We support the actions of the SNCCA in taking this

issue before the Delaware Environmental Appeals Board

for a reversal or modification.

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How to build or modify a

home for sustainable living

will be demonstrated to younger

children at the Dover Public

Library on Wednesday, December

6, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., Jim

Ackers said.

The Sierra Club has a home-construction kit that

allows nearly 100 experiments showing how different

modifications will allow a family to live without exter-

nal power.

The Delaware Department of Energy has stated a

strong interest in the project and hopes to have the kits

located in each major library in the state.

If you would like to be a part of this great project,

contact Ron Zink at 302-735-8996. People are needed

to assemble the unit, make the presentation, and call on

libraries to create interest.

Power House: Sustainable Living For The 21st Century A Home Construction And Modification Demonstration