Delaware court asked to overturn judge’s nixing of stormwater rules

State environmental officials are asking the Delaware Supreme Court to overturn a judge’s ruling that invalidated sediment and stormwater regulations adopted over the past two years.

The judge ruled 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 Administrative Procedures Act.

An attorney for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the regulations were properly adopted, and that the supporting technical materials are separate guidelines for compliance that did not need to be formally adopted.

State officials also argue that the plaintiffs who successfully challenged the regulations had no standing to bring the lawsuit because they did not suffer any actual harm.