Court upholds judge’s nixing of Delaware stormwater rules
By Stilfehler (Own work)
Delaware Supreme Court stands by judge’s ruling on stormwater regulations.
The Delaware Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by state environmental officials seeking to overturn a judge’s invalidation of sediment and stormwater regulations adopted over the past two years.
The court issued a two-paragraph order Friday upholding the ruling after hearing arguments Wednesday.
The judge determined last year that the regulations were invalid because they required adherence to technical documents that were not subject to public hearings or comment under the state’s Administrative Procedures Act.
An attorney for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control argued that the regulations setting compliance standards were properly adopted, and that the supporting technical materials were separate guidelines for reaching compliance that did not need to be formally adopted.
An attorney representing landowners, developers and contractors said the technical documents were essentially mandates.
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