2011 marks the 40th anniversary of Delaware's Coastal Zone Act - landmark legislation that banned heavy industry from the state’s oceanfront, inland bays and wetlands and became the model for similar laws around the country and around the world. Friday, Widener Law and its Environmental Law Center celebrate that anniversary by hosting a day long examination of the act entitled "The Delaware Coastal Zone Act at 40: Past, Present and Future".
Widener Law professor and co-director of Widener's Environmental Law Center Jim May believes the act has stood the test of time over 40 years. "Storms come and go and the seasons change, and the Delaware Coastal Zone Act is still there," said May, who served as chairman for the event's planning committee.
But May says the event will also look at contemporary issues surrounding the Coastal Zone Act, including areas the 40 year old law does not address. "How should it address wind energy farms? How should it address other kinds of green technologies? How should it address brownfields? Should it address residential and commercial developments, which it doesn't address at all right now. Many states [laws] do," said May.
The event features former U.S. Rep Mike Castle (R-Delaware) as its keynote speaker. Castle, then a state senator, was among the 20 co-sponsors of the bill in the Delaware General Assembly. "[Castle] was among those on the ground floor when the Coastal Zone Act was being negotiated and he has stories to tell."
There will also be a screening of the Michael Oates-produced documentary "Delaware’s Coastal Zone Act: An Evolving Legacy" that DFM News featured in a June story and a town hall style question and answer session. The public is invited, but space is limited.
This week, DFM News sat down with May to discuss the law - which safeguards a swath of land 115 miles long and two miles wide along Delaware's coast, its impact over the last 40 years and its future.
Widener Law examines Delaware's Coastal Zone Act's 40 year history and legacy
James R. May, Widener Law School professor and Co-Director of Widener's Environmental Law Center talks to DFM News about Delaware's Coastal Zone Act, forty years later.
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