7 Del. C. § 6622: Promulgation of initial regulations.

(a) The Committee, working staff provided by the Department, shall review and approve the initial regulations before they are submitted to the Secretary. If the Secretary concludes that initial regulations, or any portion of such regulations, are inconsistent with Delaware law, the Secretary shall provide a reason and remand the regulations to Department staff and the Wetlands Regulatory Advisory Committee (“Committee”) for revision. However, if the Secretary concludes that the initial regulations developed by the Committee, and approved by a majority plus 1 of the Committee, are consistent with Delaware law, then the Secretary shall thereafter promulgate the initial regulations as proposed by the Committee under the procedures of Chapter 101 of Title 29.

(b) The Committee shall consider nationally recognized best practices and standards, as well as actions that surrounding states have implemented in the way of incentive programs, policies, and assumption of regulatory roles. The Committee shall also evaluate the permitting processes for activities regulated by state and federal agencies with the goals of reducing duplication, providing efficient 1-stop permitting, expediting voluntary wetland habitat project permits, and improving this State’s ability to account accurately for cumulative and individual impacts.

(c) The Department shall have no authority to promulgate regulations under this chapter until the initial regulations have been approved by the Committee and thereafter approved by the Secretary and promulgated under the procedures of Chapter 101 of Title 29. If no version of the initial regulations are approved by the Committee and submitted to the Secretary before August 1, 2027, the Department shall thereafter have full authority to promulgate initial regulations under the procedures of Chapter 101 of Title 29.

(d) Any subsequent regulations, including any amendments to the initial regulations, shall be promulgated under the procedures of Chapter 101 of Title 29 without need of approval by the Committee, although the Secretary must solicit input in any subsequent regulations from the Committee. The Committee must provide any input it might have within a 60-day period after solicitation from the Secretary.