All Roll Calls
Yes: 79 • No: 1
DelawareSB 9153rd General Assembly (2024–2026)Senate
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PROTECTION OF WETLANDS.
Sponsored By: Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic)
Signed by Governor
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
14 provisions identified: 10 benefits, 1 costs, 3 mixed.
Farms and home upkeep get exemptions
The law exempts ongoing farming on land farmed or showing intent to farm during the prior rolling 10 years. It also exempts Agriculture Department-permitted forestry and conservation practices during an eligible conservation program contract. Hunting, fishing, trapping, duck blinds, wildlife nesting structures, authorized mosquito control, navigation aids, and boundary stakes are exempt. Listed drainage features and qualifying artificial ponds or borrow pits are also exempt. Ponds and borrow pits, including stormwater ponds, cannot be built along an intermittent or year-round stream or within regulated wetlands. Exempt foot bridges can be no wider than 3 feet, only as long as needed, and have no added features. They must reach upland or an exempt structure—not a water body or dock. Normal home gardening and landscaping must be noncommercial and cannot turn wetlands into upland or a different wetland type.
Landowners face broader wetland permit rules
The law covers all tidal and nontidal wetlands in Delaware, using accepted federal and regional methods to define them. Activities need a wetlands permit unless an exemption applies. Applicants must prove whether their proposed work is in wetlands. Expanding or extending an existing wetland use also requires a permit unless regulations exempt it. The law repeals the former Nontidal Wetland Standards chapter upon enactment; most replacement provisions take effect when initial regulations are adopted.
Applicants get simpler wetland approval steps
Initial regulations must create a Delaware Wetland Screening Tool to identify wetlands, rate their functions, and oversee professionals using it. Most onsite screening is intended to take less than one day with minimal equipment; Presence/Probable Absence Studies are excepted. Regulations must reduce duplicate state and federal permit steps and enable joint applications or one-stop permitting where possible. State wetlands permits no longer require prior local zoning approval, including for expanded uses; this does not remove separate zoning obligations. A wetlands permit can support eligibility for a state or local development incentive, but does not guarantee it.
Federal permits reduce overlapping state requirements
Activities in nontidal wetlands outside Exceptional Value Wetlands are exempt from state wetlands rules when a federal Nationwide Permit authorizes them. The federal permit must be in effect in Delaware, and any required state water quality certification must be received. A separate exemption removes Chapter 72 requirements for federally authorized activities in private nontidal underwater lands, with the same certification requirement. That separate exemption takes effect 60 days after enactment.
Short wetland walkways avoid state permits
Short wetland walkways are exempt from state wetlands requirements when no federal authorization is needed. They cannot be in Exceptional Value Wetlands. The maximum length is 300 feet in nontidal wetlands or 150 feet in tidal wetlands.
Small wetlands can qualify for exemptions
Nontidal wetlands totaling 0.50 contiguous acres or less can be exempt from further state wetlands regulation. The wetland area can cross property lines; the limit is not separate for each parcel. A department-certified professional must confirm that the wetlands are neither Unique nor high-function wetlands. The department must set the certification process and high-function assessment method by regulation. For this exemption, high-function status is assessed independently of whether land supports or could support listed endangered or threatened species.
Wetland applicants get clearer decision deadlines
The department must tell applicants within 30 days whether an application is complete and identify missing information. Applicants then have 30 days to provide it. Within 120 days of a complete application, the department must approve, deny, or explain an extension with reasons and an expected timeline. The 120-day deadline excludes applications involving identified violations, mitigation-plan approval, or a permit hearing. Denials must give specific reasons and explain how the application fails to meet the wetlands law.
Public wetland maintenance gets targeted exemptions
Specified work performed by or with government or conservation district assistance is exempt from state wetlands rules. Atlantic Coastal Plain work must be in nontidal wetlands with a contributing drainage area under 800 acres; designated public contractors also qualify. Other exemptions cover nontidal maintenance, reconstruction, or retrofitting that meets Delaware erosion and sediment control standards. Agricultural drainage ditches must originate in uplands and follow reasonable drainage standards; exempt pond construction and maintenance must involve upland ponds. When developing wetland protection practices, the Secretary must consult soil conservation districts and the Agriculture Department, and may consult other agencies.
Simpler permits for low-impact wetland projects
The Secretary must create general permits to simplify approval of common or environmentally helpful activities with minimal impacts. Activities considered include voluntary habitat restoration, utility lines, certain pilings, educational signs, public-use structures, and individual-property walkways. They also include one community water-access structure per multi-unit or multi-home community. Each permit must state whether it covers tidal wetlands, nontidal wetlands, or both; the department decides whether public-use projects qualify. Piling permits must consider spacing, waterbody-bottom replacement, harm to aquatic functions, and building support; walkway and community-access permits carry designated conditions.
Stakeholders help shape new wetland rules
The law creates a department-supported, 25-member wetlands advisory committee, with its first meeting due by August 1, 2026. Committee-approved initial regulations are due to the Secretary by August 1, 2027. The Secretary must return rules that conflict with state law and issue committee-approved rules that comply. If no approved version is submitted by that deadline, the department can issue initial rules without committee approval. Later rules need no committee approval, but requested committee input is due within 60 days. The committee reviews the first three years of implementation and submits its final report within one year after that review period. Certain committee provisions take effect upon enactment; most substantive provisions begin when the initial regulations are adopted.
Voluntary tidal habitat restoration gets relief
Qualifying voluntary tidal wetland restoration is exempt from state wetlands rules. Eligible operators are Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, federal agencies, and nonprofits acting for either. A federal Nationwide Permit in effect in Delaware must authorize the work. Construction must serve only habitat restoration and produce a net increase in aquatic habitat functions and services. Projects required to offset habitat impacts under federal, state, or local permits do not qualify.
Wetland objections and appeals face limits
To require a public hearing, a written objection must arrive within 20 days after a permit application is advertised. The requester must know the application, explain its likely impact, and show a substantial connection to that impact. People whose interests are substantially affected can appeal the Secretary's decision to the Environmental Appeals Board. Appeals are due within 20 days after receiving the decision or its publication, whichever happens first. Online publication on the department's website counts.
Small wetland projects get default approvals
A Default General Permit covers qualifying disturbances of no more than 0.50 cumulative acres of nontidal wetlands. The wetlands cannot be Exceptional Value Wetlands. The permit is issued automatically if the department neither approves nor denies a complete application within 120 days. Automatic approval does not apply to applications involving identified violations or a permit hearing. The permit requires mitigation measures to offset wetland impacts.
Stronger wetland protection, tighter development rules
The law requires extra protection for Exceptional Value Wetlands, including limits on activities and protective practices for allowed work. Permit reviews must consider watersheds, nearby land uses, flood risk, and public access. Regulations must track both individual and combined permit impacts. Mitigation strategies must aim for no overall loss of wetland area or function, support climate resilience, and strongly encourage preservation. Mitigation banks, restoration funds, and fee programs are options—not required programs—and mitigation obligations can add project costs.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Stephanie L. Hansen
Democratic • Senate
Cosponsors
Alonna Berry
Democratic • House
Stephanie T. Bolden
Democratic • House
Eric Buckson
Republican • Senate
Frank Burns
Democratic • House
Daniel Cruce
Democratic • Senate
Mara Gorman
Democratic • House
Krista Griffith
Democratic • House
Debra Heffernan
Democratic • House
Kyra L. Hoffner
Democratic • Senate
Russell Huxtable
Democratic • Senate
Larry Lambert
Democratic • House
S. Elizabeth Lockman
Democratic • Senate
Eric Morrison
Democratic • House
Edward S. Osienski
Democratic • House
Sophie Phillips
Democratic • House
Marie Pinkney
Democratic • Senate
Cyndie Romer
Democratic • House
Ray Seigfried
Democratic • Senate
Claire Snyder-Hall
Democratic • House
David P. Sokola
Democratic • Senate
Laura V. Sturgeon
Democratic • Senate
Bryan Townsend
Democratic • Senate
Roll Call Votes
Senate vote • 7/1/2026
Passed (2/3 required)
Yes: 20 • No: 0
House vote • 7/1/2026
Passed (2/3 required)
Yes: 39 • No: 1
Senate vote • 6/10/2026
Passed (2/3 required)
Yes: 20 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Signed by Governor
7/21/2026GovernorPassed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
7/1/2026SenatePassed By House. Votes: 39 YES 1 NO 1 ABSENT
7/1/2026HouseAmendment HA 1 to SB 9 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
7/1/2026HouseAmendment HA 1 to SB 9 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
6/24/2026SenateReported Out of Committee (Appropriations) in House with 4 On Its Merits
6/23/2026HouseAssigned to Appropriations Committee in House
6/18/2026HouseReported Out of Committee (Natural Resources & Energy) in House with 8 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits
6/17/2026HouseAssigned to Natural Resources & Energy Committee in House
6/11/2026HousePassed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
6/10/2026SenateAmendment SA 1 to SB 9 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 18 YES 3 ABSENT
6/10/2026SenateReported Out of Committee (Finance) in Senate with 2 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits
5/20/2026SenateAssigned to Finance Committee in Senate
5/7/2026SenateReported Out of Committee (Environment, Energy & Transportation) in Senate with 7 Favorable
4/15/2026SenateAmendment SA 1 to SB 9 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
4/9/2026SenateIntroduced and Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate
3/31/2026Senate
Bill Text
Current
3/31/2026
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