Feb. 25, 2010
Vol. 40, No. 49

Contact:  Chief William (Chip) McDaniel, Environmental Crimes Unit, Division of Air and Waste Management, 302-739-9401; or Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

DNREC’s Environmental Crimes Unit releases 2009 enforcement statistics; Proactive patrols increased 35 percent safeguarding public health, safety and the environment

DNREC’s Environmental Protection Officers (EPOs) investigated 3,916 complaints in 2009, covering a wide range of violations and emergencies of Delaware’s air, waste and water that threatened public health, safety and the environment. EPOs are sworn police officers who enforce environmental laws, investigate violations and prosecute environmental crimes.

Officers on patrol handled 1,045 proactive pollution checks – a 35 percent increase over 2008. Water pollution discharges from residential, municipal and industrial sources represented the greatest number of complaints, a total of 545, followed by open burning (523) and illegal dumping (472).

“Over the past year, our department has stepped up efforts, and we are extremely proud of our hard working officers who dedicate themselves to protecting our environment and enforcing our laws,” said Secretary Collin O’Mara. 
 
EPOs also responded to individual complaints that included: 457 for spills; 333 for permit checks; 311 odors; 241 air pollution releases; 174 vapor recovery checks; 99 asbestos related; 38 erosion; 36 idling vehicles; 8 white powder/suspicious envelopes/packages; among other complaints.  In addition, 240 complaints were closed with the arrests of the violators, and 20 fugitives were apprehended with active arrest warrants from other police departments or courts.

“We investigated almost 15 percent more illegal dumping complaints this year,” said Environmental Crimes Unit Chief Chip McDaniel. “New digital surveillance cameras were directly responsible for prosecutions in 12 cases. The majority of these arrests would not have been possible without the new technology.”

EPOs and environmental scientists in DNREC’s Emergency Response Branch responded to 295 calls that included emergencies – oil spills and releases, transportation accidents and other potentially hazardous incidences.  

Following is a breakdown of the January through December 2009 statistics per county:

Total Complaints:  3,916
        
New Castle County:  2,148   
Kent County:  822                 
Sussex County:  946                                      

Total Enforcement Actions:  240

New Castle County:  124          
Kent County:  51           
Sussex County:  65

DNREC receives environmental complaints in three ways – from citizens who contact the agency’s Citizen Complaint and Emergency Response Line, through proactive patrols by EPOs, and from referrals from other regulatory programs and organizations. 

Citizens are encouraged to call the toll-free, 24-hour Environmental Complaint Line at 800-662-8802 to report an environmental complaint or emergency. Verizon Wireless customers in Delaware can reach the line by calling #367 on their cell phones.

EPOs  are trained to take innovative actions to solve problems, by working with other police departments and citizen groups to ensure safe and secure communities. The Unit offers a Community Policing Program which trains municipal and county police to identify environmental violations. A ride-a-long program and liaison with community groups is part of the unit’s education and outreach efforts.

Enforcement legislation, enacted in June 2008, raised the minimum fine for illegal dumping to $500. The minimum fine for most minor environmental violations increased to $100 for the first offense and adds the cost of a permit to the fine, if the violation included an activity without the appropriate permit. For each subsequent offense, the fine increases from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $1500.

For more information, contact Chief William McDaniel at 302-739-9401 or visit our web site, http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/whs/awm/Pages/Enforcement.aspx.