Environmental groups from around Delaware gathered at Wilmington's DuPont Environmental Education Center on Friday afternoon to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the Coastal Zone Act, signed into law by the Governor Russell Peterson.
The Coastal Zone Act was designed to protect up to two-miles inland along the First State’s 150-miles of coastline by restricting future industrial development and requiring environmental improvement as a prerequisite for any development permits, preserving Delaware's wetland and shoreline habitats.
This act was the first of its kind in the world and is praised by many as model for other environmental laws that followed, both in Delaware and other coastal states.
Widener University law professor Jim May says that the requirement of mitigating any possible environmental impacts that can't be avoided is what makes the Coastal Zone Act truly unique.
"There is still no law like it anywhere," said May. "We researched every state law in the country and we researched law all around the world to find a law that's like it and there isn't one. I'm not saying it's better than any other law, but it is different and I believe that it is better in certain ways."
But May says the Coastal Zone Act was not as widely appreciated when it was first passed in 1971.
“The law was vigorously opposed by industrial developers in general and all the pressure he was getting from the folks 100-miles west of here in DC from the President of the United States and his Chief of Staff," said May. "The law passed anyway by one vote and has withstood, like few laws of its type do.”
Executive Director of the Delaware Nature Society Brian Winslow believes that the act served as inspiration for environmental groups, both in Delaware and in other coastal states, and provides permanent protection of Delaware’s valued coastal resources generations of visitors.
“Those visitors won’t know the names, they won’t know the people but they will appreciate the resources," said Winslow. "Our generation has bequeathed a priceless treasure. Our job is to use, enjoy, cherish, and most importantly protect it.”
May added that the law wasn’t perfect, leaving much to be done by DNREC and the then newly created Industrial Control Board.
43 years later, many suggest the act needs updating to better deal with new technology, residential and commercial development, and climate change issues.
DNREC and several First State environmental groups will be hosting events all weekend to celebrate the anniversary.
For a complete list of events, visit the Delaware Sierra Club’s website.
