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DNREC outlines parks, brownfields, dredging and Cape Henlopen water needs; asks for continued capital support
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Summary
Secretary Greg Patterson told the bond committee DNREC is managing hundreds of parks, trails and monitoring programs and flagged funding needs: a new environmental lab, continued brownfields reimbursements, debris‑pit remediation, and a requested $400,000 planning study to map and phase full replacement of Cape Henlopen's aging water system.
Secretary Greg Patterson and division directors presented the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s FY27 bond priorities, describing a broad portfolio of assets and several near‑term capital needs.
Patterson said DNREC manages roughly 95,000 acres of parks and wildlife areas, more than 700 buildings and an extensive infrastructure portfolio that includes 42 dams, 174 pedestrian bridges and 270 miles of trails. He highlighted a recent $5,000,000 state‑funded replacement pool at Killens Pond (a 14,000‑sq‑ft facility expected to open by Memorial Day) and an environmental lab south of Smyrna, paid largely with ARPA funds and partially by bond funding, that increases in‑state capacity for PFAS tests and eDNA species detection.
On brownfields, Patterson said reimbursements exceeded available funding this fiscal year; the program relies in part on a fuel‑wholesale tax formula that has produced less revenue than projected. He warned that DNREC stopped accepting brownfield reimbursement requests in April because funds were exhausted and expects only about $1,000,000 of reimbursements to be available at the start of the next fiscal year.
Members asked about Cape Henlopen State Park’s water infrastructure after a major leak that produced an unusually large water bill. Parks Director Matt Ritter told the committee the distribution system dates to World War II and a $400,000 engineering and planning study is needed to map the network, determine phasing and estimate costs for a likely full replacement. Committee members suggested epilogue language could be used to secure that planning money.
DNREC also summarized work on debris pits and brownfields: 15 properties remediated this fiscal year, 20 shovel‑ready, and 61 identified debris pits remaining; the department is using multiple contractors to increase throughput. On dredging, Steve Williams (watershed stewardship) said DNREC is coordinating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pursue Indian River Bay channel dredging and that the Corps has identified up to $14,000,000 in River and Harbors Act funds to program into FY27/FY28 planning.
Why it matters: DNREC’s capital portfolio covers recreation, water quality, flood and storm resilience, and remediation. Aging infrastructure at major parks, the need to finish brownfield reimbursements and dredging for navigability have both local economic and public‑safety implications.
What’s next: the committee will weigh DNREC’s requests during FY27 budget deliberations; members flagged interest in epilogue language for Cape Henlopen planning and continued attention to dredging coordination with federal partners.