The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) continues its effort to raise permitting and licensing fees in addition to its 7.4% requested budget increase.
For at least three years, DNREC has sought legislation to change 155 of the agency’s fees, including 101 increases, 45 new fees and nine decreases.
New DNREC Secretary Greg Patterson says his team’s legislative proposal may be slightly different than former Secretary Shawn Garvin’s, but he noted to the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) these increases are vital to the department.
“I suspect most of you have heard some of the rationale for it — that most of them have not been increased since 1991, that as salaries increase for positions that are not funded by the General Fund, that needs to be taken out of the ASF side so that all of our employees share in those pay raises," Patterson said to committee members, additionally noting the rising cost of technology and equipment, climate change and emerging contaminants and supporting environmental justice communities.
DNREC’s fee revenue is categorized as “appropriated special funds” – or ASF – and makes up 52% of the department’s budget, while only 22% comes from the state’s general fund.
If Patterson’s fee package adheres closely to Garvin’s proposal, the changes are expected to add $8 to $9 million to DNREC’s base budget of $160 million.
JFC Vice Chair Trey Paradee suggested for the majority of the fees, a simple time value money calculation is made to make the increases more digestible to the General Assembly and the public, which Patterson said he’d take into consideration.
As for DNREC's proposed 7.4% general fund increase, the bulk of the growth will help cover employee salaries and benefits, but the department is also requesting $10,000 for the Delaware Environmental Laboratory.
The new lab will be located in the Public Health Campus on the south side of Smyrna and was largely funded by $27 million worth of ARPA funds with an additional $1 million from the state for outfitting the lab.
Patterson says the new lab will be replacing a series of outdated labs within the agency’s headquarters, primarily used for water testing.
“The elevator shaft is complete, the steel has started going up and completion is scheduled for January 2026. But the one piece that we still need budget wise is $10,000 for security once it opens."
Additionally, the department is requesting $73,400 to annualize two full-time staff positions, a Natural Resources Police accreditation and standards captain and a Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife captain.
Patterson also took the time to update committee members on the Indian River Inlet replenishment project after last year’s dune breaches.
He says sand pumping concluded on Feb.18, ensuring the beach will last through the summer until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can add 300,000 more cubic yards of sand in July or August.
He says following the Corps involvement, the beach should be able to withstand the next six to eight years.
DNREC reported over 7.4 million state park visitors for Fiscal Year 2024 and is expecting 7.5 million visitors for Fiscal Year 2026.
