County and conservation district discuss new steps after March construction discharges; staff to return with targeted recommendations

County staff and representatives of the Sussex Conservation District briefed the Sussex County Council on April 8 about sediment discharges from active construction sites during a late‑March rainfall event and described a three‑part path forward that includes education, improved enforcement and potential regulatory changes.

County Administrator Andrew Lawson opened the topic with drone photographs of two construction sites where turbidity and sediment had left building sites and entered nearby waterways. Lawson noted the incidents occurred on active construction parcels and asked district staff to explain causes and potential fixes.

Jessica Watson, who manages the district’s sediment and stormwater program, told the council that the March event delivered roughly 4 inches of rain in about two hours and that “sediment erosion controls are really only good for about a 1 inch rainfall event. They will become overwhelmed, and as you saw, there will be breaches.” She described typical controls—silt fence, staged sediment traps and perimeter measures—and said those practices can be exceeded during concentrated high‑intensity storms or where critical infrastructure (for example, a pond outfall) is still under construction.

Watson described a suite of possible responses: tighter construction‑phase sequencing (for example, smaller increments of disturbed acreage before stabilization), stronger site‑specific erosion controls such as “living walls” or armoring at vulnerable outfall locations, increased use of flocculants (chemical coagulants) as an end‑of‑pipe treatment in emergency situations, and more rapid deployment of portable filtration systems. She emphasized limits and tradeoffs: flocculation can drop suspended fines but requires chemical handling and supplier capacity; dredging or trying to remove settled material from receiving waters can itself create turbidity and is costly.

David Baird of the Sussex Conservation District and Hans Medlar (county staff) told council members that local topography is a major driver of sediment transport: steeper slopes and concentrated flow paths create higher velocities and greater sediment loads than flatter areas on the county’s west side. Medlar said the county can update Chapter 95 (the county stormwater ordinance) to require additional or different erosion‑control measures in steeper or more erosion‑prone areas and to adjust calculations for sediment traps and sequencing of disturbed acreage.

Council members raised enforcement and liability questions. Several council members said they want a county approach that (1) protects receiving waters, (2) is applied consistently across agricultural, residential and commercial activity, and (3) avoids unintended consequences such as exemptions that would leave problem sites unregulated. County and district staff noted agricultural operations with formal conservation plans are treated differently under current law and that any ordinance changes should be drafted in consultation with DNREC and the district.

Council direction: The Sussex Conservation District and county staff agreed to work with DNREC and other stakeholders to produce specific, site‑sensitive recommendations for improved sediment and stormwater controls and enforcement. Staff said they will return to council with recommendations and implementation options (including changes to county chapter 95 and operational enforcement steps) and suggested a roughly two‑month timeline for an initial set of proposals.

Direct quote in context: Watson cautioned, “If you get a significant rain event, which we did have mid‑March, it was roughly about 4 inches of rain in 2 hours. That is a significant rainfall event…sediment erosion controls are really only good for about a 1 inch rainfall event.”

Ending: Council asked staff and the conservation district to prepare concrete options—technical and regulatory—that would be workable in Sussex County and to return with those recommendations for council consideration.