Kent County and DNREC are signing an agreement to resolve past wastewater violations.
According to an order from the DNREC Secretary’s office, Kent County will be fined $400,000 due to “repeated Sanitary Sewer Overflow violations and repeated effluent violations” since 2017.
The order lists an incident from April 6th, 2022, where partially treated water was released into The Gut, a tributary of the Murderkill River. The order says this was a major event among the dozens of other overflows and incidents.
Kent County says its facility serves multiple municipalities, and those municipal water systems are decades old; A severe rainstorm during April of 2022 overwhelmed the treatment capacity and lead to the overflow.
Kent County and DNREC will now partner to undergo corrective action on the county's wastewater; half of the $400,000 will fund a project aimed at reducing future incidents, the other half going directly to the state.
“Kent County is committed to modernizing our wastewater system and protecting the health of our waterways,” said President Joanne Masten, Kent County Levy Court. “This agreement reflects our dedication to working with DNREC to achieve lasting solutions."
