Division of Air and Waste Management

Mission

Our mission is to optimize the air resources and waste management practices within Delaware by working cooperatively with citizens and businesses to protect public health, welfare and the environment.

Key Objectives

• Reduce exposure to hazardous substances, including carcinogenic substances, in the ambient environment.
• Prevent exceedences of air quality standards for particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, one-hour ozone and reduce hazardous air pollutants by adopting EPA’s “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Source Categories.
• Attain eight-hour ozone standard statewide and PM2.5 standard in New Castle County by 2010.
  Maintain an air quality network adequate for providing representative and accurate data for ambient concentrations of ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
  Promote effective and sustainable cleanup and reutilization of Brownfields in conjunction with community land use plans.
• Increase residential solid waste recycling to 30 percent by June 2006.
• Provide timely and appropriate response on a 24-hour basis to citizen complaints and environmental emergencies and enforce compliance for other Health and Safety Objectives.

What We Do:

• Monitor Delaware’s air quality & regulate all emissions to the air - from open burning to smokestacks
• Plan for -- and respond to -- environmental incidents
• Regulate the handling, transfer, storage and disposal of solid, infectious and hazardous waste
• Regulate above and underground storage tanks and boilers
• Oversee the remediation of sites that have been contaminated by hazardous chemicals
• Enforce Delaware’s environmental laws and regulations