NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
 
For more information, contact Tom Barthelmeh, Wetland Restoration Program, 302-739-9921, or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.
 
Wetland restoration project completed on Greenwood farm
 
GREENWOOD (Nov. 18, 2010) – Last fall, poultry producer Doug Vanderwende attended a presentation about nutrient management and wetland restoration projects, prompting him to contact DNREC’s Drainage Program about a wetland project on his Greenwood farm. He provided a sketch that served as the basis for the project that was constructed last summer by the Sussex Conservation District and DNREC Drainage staff.

NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
 
For more information, contact: John Parker, DNREC Emergency Prevention and Response Branch, 302-739-9405, or
Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

NOTE: Please see TRI Fact Sheet that follows this press release.

Vol. 40, No. 387

Annual state TRI data and reports show decreases in emissions; companies' anti-pollution efforts, economic conditions are factors
Trend continues downward in Delaware since data first reported in 1998

DOVER (Nov. 18, 2010) – The annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data and reports for 2009 from Delaware’s industrial facilities as compiled by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control show a significant decrease in reported emissions over 2008 and continued trend in reduction since 1998 – a baseline year when TRI reporting requirements expanded significantly and more facilities began reporting to the program.

NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
For more information, contact: Robert Newsome, Site Investigation and Restoration Branch, 302-395-2600, or
Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

DNREC, other state and federal agencies to receive $27.5 million to restore Delaware River from 2004 Athos I oil spill impacts

DOVER (Nov. 15, 2010) – State and federal natural resource agencies including Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control have reached a settlement of $27.5 million for ecological restoration of the Delaware River following an oil spill six years ago from the tanker Athos I. DNREC, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey will collectively receive the funds from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) to implement 10 restoration projects, including three in Delaware.

Rice is the most important grain consumed by humans, providing more than one-fifth of the calories sustaining the world's population. By some estimates, however, global production of rice could feed an additional 60 million people, if it weren't for rice blast disease, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea.

This past summer, four students from the University of Delaware and two of its partner institutions in Delaware's National Science Foundation EPSCoR program, Delaware State University and Delaware Technical and Community College, found themselves on the front lines of the battle to defeat rice blast.

Those battle lines have been drawn on opposite coasts of the United States, through a collaboration between scientists in Delaware and at the University of California at Davis, the land-grant institution of the UC system. The students therefore split their summer internship between laboratories in both states.

Creating a clean energy economy, a top priority in the state and in the nation, will be the focus of a two-day conference at the University of Delaware in December.

Part of the University's Creating Knowledge-Based Partnerships series, the conference is scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 13-14, in John M. Clayton Hall
on the Newark campus. Online registration is now open.

The first day will include presentations and panel discussions, and the second day will feature several concurrent workshops.

The University of Delaware's Department of Geography is teaming up with the Delaware Geographic Alliance and various student organizations to celebrate Geography Awareness Week Nov. 14-20. This year the focus is on fresh water, and organizers are holding several events to increase awareness about this most precious limited resource.

One activity is a special call for the campus community to take the “Water Walk Challenge.” Many people throughout the world must walk nearly four miles to access water, and then must carry the heavy water back with them.

Individuals can simulate that experience by completing a 3.7-mile loop around campus or near their homes. To learn more and participate, visit the Water Walk Challenge website.

Matthew Oliver, assistant professor of oceanography in the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE), has been selected to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

“Science and technology have long been at the core of America's economic strength and global leadership,” said President Barack Obama in announcing the awards on Nov. 5. “I am confident that these individuals, who have shown such tremendous promise so early in their careers, will go on to make breakthroughs and discoveries that will continue to move our nation forward in the years ahead.”

The University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) has recently taken a leadership role in organizing and presenting at two international symposia in Beijing, China. Through an ongoing partnership with China Agricultural University (CAU), CANR officials say they hope to provide sound advice and direction for the latest agricultural issues in China.

In 2008, UD signed an agreement with CAU and the University of Pennsylvania Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, to participate in joint research and exchange activities.

The fourth International Symposium on Phosphorus Dynamic in the Soil-Plant Continuum (ISPDSPC) provided a forum for international scientists to share their latest research findings and knowledge on phosphorus dynamics and management in food-producing and other managed and unmanaged ecosystems.