DOVER, DE – The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will be accepting public comments on proposed fees for coastal zone conversion permits required under the Coastal Zone Act from Monday, Dec. 2 through close of business Tuesday, December 31, 2019. Comments may be emailed to CZA_Program@delaware.gov.
The fees, set by DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, apply to conversion permit applications, conversion permit modifications and annual cost of issued conversion permits. The fee for a conversion permit application is $15,000 and the fee for a conversion permit modification is $5,000. Additionally, the annual fee for coastal zone conversion permit holders is $1,500, to cover costs related to the required annual review of financial assurance and environmental offsets, as applicable, as well as other reviews over the life of the permit.
The Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act authorized DNREC to issue permits for construction and operation of new heavy industry uses at 14 existing former heavy industry use sites within the state’s coastal zone, and to set fees for those permits. Coastal zone conversion permits allow sites to return to active or more productive uses while ensuring the protection of natural resources.
DNREC’s CZA Program, within the Division of Coastal, Climate, & Energy, evaluated actual direct costs and estimated staff costs that will be necessary to evaluate and administer conversion permits, initially and on an ongoing basis. These fees approximate and reasonably reflect the costs necessary to defray the expenses related to this new permit.
For more information, including questions concerning the fees or requirements for obtaining a coastal zone conversion permit, contact Laura Mensch, DNREC’s Division of Climate, Coastal, & Energy, at 302-739-9283, or visit https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/coastal-zone-act/conversion-permits/.
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