Pollution Prevention Act

Del. Code tit. 7, ch. 78
in effect

Del. Code tit. 7, § 7802 Findings and purpose.

(a) The General Assembly finds that: (1) Whenever possible, the generation of waste should be reduced or eliminated as expeditiously as possible, and that waste that is generated should be recovered, reused, recycled, treated or disposed of in a manner that minimizes any present or future threats to human health or the environment; (2) There may exist many promising technologies for the reduced generation of waste, for recovery, reuse, recycling and treatment of waste; and (3) Financial commitments by public agencies and private industry for the expeditious development and implementation of waste reduction, recovery, reuse, recycling and treatment technologies depends upon further research as well as credible and timely demonstrations of economic viability, technical feasibility, environmental acceptability and reliability of this technology. (b) Therefore the General Assembly declares: (1) The purposes of this chapter are to enhance the protection of human health and the environment, and to establish a multi-media Pollution Prevention Program which will demonstrate and facilitate the potential for pollution prevention and waste minimization in Delaware through focusing on the following objectives: a. Targeting industries and locations for technical assistance; and b. Providing pollution prevention, education and outreach; and (2) That it is the policy of this State, in concurrence with the Delaware Environmental Legacy Report, that waste that is generated should be, in order of priority, reduced at its source, recovered, reused, recycled, treated or disposed of so as to minimize the present and future threat to human health and the environment. (c) It is the intent of this chapter to complement and be enforced in conjunction with other laws.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 7803 Definitions.

As used in this chapter: (1) “Department” means the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. (2) “Implementation Committee” means the Pollution Prevention Implementation Committee. (3) “Multi-media” means all environmental media including, but not limited to, workplaces within facilities, water, land and air. (4) “Person” means any individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, federal agency, corporation (including a government corporation), partnership, association, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state or any interstate body. (5) “Pollution prevention” means any practice which: a. Reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment (including fugitive emissions) prior to recycling, treatment or disposal; and b. Reduces the hazards to public health and the environment associated with the release of such substances, pollutants or contaminants. The term includes equipment or technology modifications, process or procedure modifications, reformulation or redesign of products, substitution of raw materials and improvements in housekeeping, maintenance, training or inventory control. The term “pollution prevention” does not include any practice which alters the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of the volume of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant through a process or activity which itself is not integral to and necessary for the production of a product or the providing of a service. (6) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the referenced state department or a duly authorized designee. (7) “Trade secret” means any information concerning production processes employed or substances manufactured, processed or otherwise used within a facility which the Secretary of the Department has determined to be propriety information. (8) “Waste” means, but is not limited to, those substances defined as such under Delaware Codes, or the regulations promulgated thereunder: air pollution as defined in § 6002 of this title; hazardous waste as defined in § 6302 of this title; industrial waste as defined in § 6002 of this title; liquid waste as defined in § 6002 of this title; other wastes as defined in § 6002 of this title; refuse as defined in § 6002 of this title; rubbish as defined in § 6002 of this title; sewage as defined in § 6002 of this title; and solid waste as defined in § 6002 of this title.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 7804 Pollution Prevention Program.

(a) The Department shall establish the Implementation Committee and appoint the members thereof. (1) The Implementation Committee shall be composed of, but not be limited to, the following individuals or their designee: a. The Secretary of the Department; b. [Repealed.] c. The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture; d. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget; e. The President of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce; f. The Secretary of Education; g. The General Manager of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority; h. A representative of the League of Local Governments; i. A representative of the Chemical Industry Council; j. A representative of Delaware State University; k. A representative of Delaware Technical and Community College; l . A representative of the University of Delaware; m. A representative from the private solid waste collection industry; n. A representative of civic organizations; and o. A representative of an environmental organization. The Implementation Committee will be chaired by the Secretary of the Department and be staffed by the Department. The members of the Implementation Committee are appointed for a period of 1 1 / 2 years and shall meet at least monthly during this period. (2) The Implementation Committee shall select the target industry and location for the initial technical assistance program. The Committee shall evaluate the technical assistance program 1 year after the program commences or upon completion, whichever is earlier. The Committee shall then select a second target industry or location for the technical assistance program. (b) (1) The objectives of the Pollution Prevention Program shall be: a. Targeting industries and locations for technical assistance; and b. Providing pollution prevention education and outreach. (2) These objectives shall be accomplished through implementation of, but not be limited to, the programs outlined in this section. a. Technical assistance. 1. The Department shall create a multimedia waste reduction assistance program to provide technical assistance to targeted industries, focusing on small companies within the industry because, for the most part, they do not have the economic or technical resources necessary to acquire recommendations on how to effectively minimize their wastes. The program will be made available to other industries which request assistance. The overall objective of the multi-media opportunity audit program is to reduce or recycle, to the maximum extent practicable, all waste streams within an industry. 2. [Repealed.] b. Pollution prevention education and outreach. 1. The Department shall increase public awareness of the need for individual and community based pollution prevention programs by conducting educational workshops and industry seminars. 2. The Department shall produce a pollution prevention newsletter to be distributed to industry and the public. (c) An annual report on the Pollution Prevention Program shall be provided to the Governor and the General Assembly. The report shall include an evaluation of current programs and plans for implementation of any additional programs, including information on potential benefits, who should be responsible for implementing them, how much they will cost, and how they might be financed.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 7805 Trade secret protection.

All trade secret information, written, verbal or observed, obtained pursuant to this chapter by the Department or any other state agency will be held as confidential unless such information is already a matter of public record or disclosure is required by law. Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the disclosure of information by the Department to any officer, employee or authorized representative of the state or federal government concerned with effecting this chapter. Prior to disclosure of trade secret information to an authorized representative who is not an officer or employee of the state or federal government, the person providing the trade secret information may require the representative to sign an agreement prohibiting disclosure of such information to anyone not authorized by this chapter or the terms of the agreement. Such agreement shall not preclude disclosure by the representative to any state or federal government officer or employee concerned with effecting this chapter. Any person who, by virtue of obtaining access to confidential trade secret information and knowing that disclosure is prohibited, knowingly and wilfully discloses the information to any person not entitled to receive it shall be in violation of this chapter and subject to disciplinary actions provided by the Merit Rules, including dismissal.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title7/c078/index.htmlFetched: 6/28/2026

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