DNREC has put an old version of runoff rules for construction sites back on the books, thanks to a Superior Court stay issued late last month.
The court told DNREC to put the 2013-14 version of its stormwater regulations back in place, weeks after a judge tossed out the more recent version of the law.
That was amid concerns that DNREC hadn't given the public enough time to read and comment on the 2014-15 update of the rules. They tell contractors and developers how to write up plans for managing runoff on construction sites.
But the court decision that overturned the regulations gave DNREC no direction on what to put in place instead. At first, the agency put the rejected rules back on the books on an emergency basis until they could hammer out next steps.
Now, the Superior Court has issued a stay to let DNREC use the previous version instead until a permanent replacement goes through the full public process. DNREC did not respond to requests for comment on how the 2013 law differed from the new one they had tried to pass.
The public process for trying again could include a special legislative hearing -- Sussex County Republicans have called for one to clear things up for development projects they say have been derailed without clear stormwater rules.
