Title 7, Conservation

§ 4509. Improvement of public lands. (a) The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control may make improvements to and on any public lands of this State and may expend any sums appropriated therefor on such lands. (b) The Department of Natural Resources and Environme…

§ 4510. Lease of public lands; forfeiture of lease. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control together with the Governor of this State, may execute and deliver, in proper form, a lease of any part of the public lands of this State, which public lands are under…

§ 4511. Lease of mineral rights in public lands; utility rights. The power granted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to lease the public lands shall include the right of the Department, together with the Governor of this State, to execute and delive…

§ 4512. Rent from lease of public lands. All funds received as rent in connection with the leasing of public lands under §§ 4510 and 4511 of this title shall be payable to the State Treasurer and kept by him or her in a special account known as the “Department of Natural Resource…

§ 4513. Prohibitions against leasing of oyster beds. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as authorizing or empowering the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to lease any land which is used as an oyster plantation, oyster bed or oyster bottom, nor sha…

§ 4514. Highways through public lands. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control may construct any roads leading to or through any public lands which are under the supervision and control of the Department; may make plans and specifications for the constructio…

§ 4515. Credit of moneys for Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. In order that the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control may carry out this chapter, all moneys, other than appropriated by the General Assembly, realized from the care and …

§ 4516. Public money expended for roads. No public money shall be expended under this chapter on any roads leading to or through any public lands of this State with privately owned lands abutting thereon unless and until the owners of the abutting lands have reached or entered in…

§ 4517. Power of Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. (a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall prohibit or limit in any way the power and authority granted unto the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to develop, establish and mainta…

§ 4518. Sale of public lands. (a) All lands to which this State directly or indirectly holds title, whether legal, equitable or both, shall be deemed public lands within the meaning of this chapter, except lands purchased or held by the State Housing Department for improvement an…

§ 4519. Title or interest in public lands obtainable only by deed, conveyance or written instrument. No title or other interest in real property belonging to the State shall be acquired by adverse possession, presumed grant or any means other than by a deed or conveyance or other…

§ 4520. Liability for costs and expenses incurred by State in defeating claims to public lands. (a) Any person who asserts a claim to any interest in any part of the public lands of the State for which a plot or description has been recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in and for …

§ 4521. Zoning and use. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, no state park, or any part thereof, open space as defined in § 7504 of this title, or other area acquired primarily for recreational use, shall be rezoned, neither shall there be a change in th…

§ 4522. Resident curatorship agreements The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, may execute and deliver an agreement that creates a nontransferrable life estate for individuals, or an agreement of up to 30 years in length for corporate or governmental entit…

§ 4523. Warner Grant Trust Lands. (a) For purposes of this section, “Warner Grant Trust Lands” means as established under Chapter 108 of Volume 62 of the Laws of Delaware, as amended by Chapter 99 of Volume 72 of the Laws of Delaware and 84 Del. Laws, c. 236. (b) The Department o…

§ 4701. Powers and duties [For applicability of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 182, § 2]. (a) The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control may do all of the following: (1) Select and acquire by gift, devise, bequest, purchase, and through the exercise of the …

§ 4702. Violations of rules and regulations; penalties. (a) Any person convicted of violating any rule or regulation promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control pursuant to this chapter shall be: (1) Fined not less than $50 nor more than $100, plu…

§ 4703. Fort Delaware State Park. (a) Pea Patch Island is declared to be a state park under the name of Fort Delaware State Park. (b) The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control shall repair Fort Delaware and shall thereafter maintain the same in a condition fit…

§ 4704. Trap Pond Project. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control shall supervise and maintain the area known as the Trap Pond Project, located in Sussex County, consisting of approximately 1,000 acres, as a state park.48 Del. Laws, c. 360, §§ 1, 2; 7 Del. …

§ 4705. Licensing agents; service charge; regulations. (a) The Department may authorize as many qualified persons as licensing agents as it deems necessary to effectuate the efficient distribution of state park permits. (b) Licensing agents may add a service charge to the require…

§ 4706. Zoning and use. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, no state park, or any part thereof, or other area acquired primarily for recreational use, shall be rezoned, neither shall there be a change in the use of any such lands requiring a variance or…

§ 4730. Short title. This subchapter shall be known, and may be cited, as “The Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Act.”79 Del. Laws, c. 361, § 1; 83 Del. Laws, c. 302, § 1;

§ 4731. Declaration of purpose. The General Assembly declares the following to be the policy and purpose of this subchapter: (1) The Fort DuPont Complex, located along the Delaware River adjacent to Delaware City, is currently underutilized but has enormous potential as a sustain…

§ 4732. Definitions. When used in this subchapter: (1) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation. (2) “Corporation” means the Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation to be established pursuant to § 4733 of th…

§ 4733. Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation. (a) There shall be established within the Department a body corporate and politic, with corporate succession, constituting a public instrumentality of the State, and created for the purpose of exercising essential go…

§ 4734. Subcommittees. (a) The Board may create subcommittees as needed to assist the Corporation in fulfilling its purposes and obligations. Each subcommittee shall have a Director of the Board serve as Chair and may include persons that are not directors of the Board. (1)-(6) […

§ 4735. Powers of the Corporation. The Corporation shall have on July 23, 2014, and upon its creation as provided for herein the powers listed in this section. The Corporation shall be empowered, without limitation and notwithstanding any other laws to: (1) Adopt bylaws, rules, r…

§ 4736. Powers and duties of executive director; deputy executive director. (a) An executive director shall be selected by a majority vote of the Board. The Board shall require executive director candidates to undergo a credit and criminal history background check. The executive …

§ 4737. Initial duties of Corporation. On or before June 30, 2015, the Corporation shall, at a minimum: (1) Select and hire a qualified executive director; (2) Perform or have performed such tests, studies, examinations, and evaluations upon the lands of the Fort DuPont Complex a…

§ 4738. Continuing duties of Corporation. (a) The Corporation shall prepare and submit an annual report of its activities during the previous year to the Governor and the Chair and Co-Chair of the Capital Improvement Committee of the General Assembly by January 1 of each year. Su…

§ 4739. Open meetings and public records. The Fort Dupont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation and its Board are “public bodies” for purposes of Chapter 100 of Title 29.83 Del. Laws, c. 302, § 1;

§ 4740. Liberal construction of subchapter. This subchapter, being necessary for the prosperity and welfare of the State and its citizens, shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes hereof.79 Del. Laws, c. 361, § 1; 83 Del. Laws, c. 302, § 1;

§ 4901. Properties under jurisdiction of Department of State. The Department of State shall have the full and complete care and supervision of the DeVries Monument, at Lewes, Delaware, the Zwaanendael Museum, at Lewes, Delaware, and such other buildings, memorials or parks as com…

§ 4902. Memorial to sailors. (a) The Department of State may have constructed in the Town of Lewes a memorial to sailors which may be either a building, monument, park or other appropriate construction, and which shall be given an official name by the Department of State, when it…

§ 4903. Funds and appropriations; expenditures. Any funds received from other than state appropriations may be paid to the Secretary of Finance who shall keep the same in a separate fund or account, and such funds shall be used only for the purpose of carrying out this chapter.Co…

§ 5101. Memorial cemetery. The public lands hereinafter described are set aside and designated as a memorial cemetery for the burial of sailors and shall be maintained solely for that purpose. The cemetery shall be known as the Unknown Sailors’ Cemetery and shall include the foll…

§ 5102. Agency in charge of cemetery; powers. The Delaware Society for the Preservation of Antiquities, a corporation of the State, is the state agency or authority of the State designated to carry out this chapter. The Society shall provide for the care and maintenance and the r…

§ 5301. Duties of the Department of State. The duties of the Department of State relative to archaeology within the State are as follows: (1) To sponsor, engage in and direct archaeological research in this State and to encourage and coordinate archaeological research undertaken …

§ 5302. Rules, regulations and guidelines. The Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, with the approval of the Department of State, may formulate and adopt such rules, regulations, standards and guidelines as it deems necessary for the effective execution of its purposes un…

§ 5303. Purposes. (a) The General Assembly finds that: (1) Archaeological resources in or on state lands are an integral and irreplaceable part of the State’s heritage; (2) Archaeological resources are valued as nonrenewable resources that provide educational, scientific, social …

§ 5304. Definitions. (a) “Abandoned shipwreck” means any shipwreck to which title has been voluntarily given up by the owner or by the owner not taking action after a wreck incident to claim title. (b) “Archaeological investigation” means any surface collection, subsurface tests,…

§ 5305. Authority to enhance, preserve and protect archaeological resources. (a) The title to all archaeological resources in or on State lands, including those in or on subaqueous lands, is hereby declared to be under the exclusive domain and control of the State. Further, as pr…

§ 5306. Jurisdiction and inter-agency cooperation. (a) When an archaeological resource is located within the jurisdiction of another state agency, the Division shall coordinate the review and evaluation of permit applications issued pursuant to § 5309 of this title to ensure conf…

§ 5307. Restriction or closure of public access. (a) The Division may temporarily restrict or close public access to any archaeological resource and its surrounding location or context in or on State lands, including subaqueous lands, and including public beaches notwithstanding …

§ 5308. Permit required. No person may excavate, collect, salvage, recover, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface any archaeological resource or its surrounding location or context, located in or on state lands, including subaqueous lands, without first having obtained a p…

§ 5309. Permit application. (a) Any qualified person may apply to the Division for a permit to conduct archaeological investigations on state lands. The application must contain information that the Division considers necessary, including information concerning the time, scope, l…