FINDINGS FOR THE
     DELAWARE COASTAL NONPOINT PROGRAM
                      

FOREWORD

     This document contains the findings for the coastal
nonpoint pollution control program submitted by the State of
Delaware pursuant to Section 6217(a) of the Coastal Zone Act
Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 (CZARA).  The findings are
based on a review of the Delaware Coastal Nonpoint Pollution
Control Program, July 1995 and supplemental material provided
by Delaware subsequent to the program submittal.  The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reviewed this
information and evaluated the extent to which it conforms with the
requirements of CZARA.

     NOAA and EPA commend Delaware on the substantial
amount of time and effort put into developing your program and
we appreciate the commitment you have shown to complete an
ambitious task with limited resources.  We will continue to work
with coastal states and territories to ensure that these findings
represent an accurate assessment of current state and territory
abilities and efforts to address coastal nonpoint source pollution. 
We recognize that there may be further administrative changes to
the coastal nonpoint program that will impact these findings and
we assure you that, once such changes are finalized, we will review
these findings in light of the changes and make any necessary
adjustments. 


APPROVAL DECISION

     NOAA and EPA approve the coastal nonpoint pollution
control program submitted by the State of Delaware pursuant to
Section 6217(a) of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization
Amendments of 1990, subject to certain conditions.  

     This document provides the specific findings used by
NOAA and EPA as the basis for the decision to approve
Delaware's program.  It also provides the rationale for the findings
and includes conditions that will need to be met for Delaware to
receive final approval of its program.  The timeframes associated
with conditions become effective on the date of the approval letter
for these findings.
INTRODUCTION

      This document is organized by the major nonpoint source
categories and subcategories identified in the section 6217(g)
guidance and the administrative elements identified in the program
guidance (including the boundary for the 6217 management area). 
Where appropriate, NOAA and EPA have grouped categories and
subcategories of management measures into a single finding.  The
structure of each finding follows a standard format.  Generally, the
finding is that the state program includes or does not include
management measures in conformity with the (g) guidance and
includes or does not include enforceable policies and mechanisms
to ensure implementation.  In some cases, the finding reflects that
the state has identified a back-up enforceable policy, but has not
yet demonstrated the ability of the authority to ensure
implementation.  For further understanding of terms in this
document, the reader is referred to the following:

Guidance Specifying Management Measures for Sources of
Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal Waters (EPA, January 1993)
Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program:  Program
Development and Approval Guidance (NOAA and EPA, January
1993)
Flexibility for State Coastal Nonpoint Programs (NOAA and EPA,
March 1995)

     The references in this document refer to the Delaware
Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program, July 1995 ("program
submittal").  NOAA and EPA have written this document as
succinctly as possible.  We have relied upon, but do not repeat
here, the extensive information that the State has included in its
program submittal.  Further information and analysis, including
material provided by Delaware subsequent to the program
submittal, is contained in the administrative record for this
approval decision and may be reviewed by interested parties at the
following locations:

EPA/Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
Assessment and Watershed Protection Division 
Nonpoint Source Control Branch
401 M St., SW (4503-F)
Washington, DC  20460
Contact:  John Kosco (202/260-6385)

NOAA/Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
Coastal Programs Division
SSMC-4, N/ORM3
1305 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD  20910
Contact:  Jim Mills (301/713-3117, x175)

EPA Region 3/Office of Watersheds (3WP11) 
841 Chestnut Building
Philadelphia, PA  19107
Contact:  Sarah Blackman (215/566-5720)     I.   BOUNDARY

FINDING:  Delaware has included the entire State as the
management area within which it will implement the coastal
nonpoint program.  Therefore, Delaware's boundary is sufficient to
control the land and water uses that have or are reasonably
expected to have a significant impact on the coastal waters of
Delaware.

     II.  AGRICULTURE

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance.  The State has identified
a backup enforceable authority but has not yet demonstrated the
ability of the authority to ensure implementation throughout the
6217 management area.

CONDITION:  Within two years, Delaware will develop a
strategy (in accordance with Section XIV, page 13) to implement
the agricultural management measures throughout the 6217
management area.

RATIONALE:  Delaware currently has a number of strong
voluntary programs that include practices to implement the
agricultural management measures.  For example, over 50% of
cropland is under some type of conservation tillage.  In addition,
Delaware's recently revised Section 319 management plan
includes milestones for implementation of management measures
in each of the agriculture subcategories.

     Several authorities provide for partial implementation of
the management measures.  For example, after January 1996, any
new operation must follow the Manure Management Guidelines
(which apply to confined animal facilities); withdrawals of more
than 50,000 gallons per day from surface or ground water supplies
require a permit (which addresses part of the irrigation
management measure); and restricted use pesticides are regulated
under Delaware's Pesticide Law (which addresses part of the
pesticide management measure).

     Delaware has the ability to require corrective action, in
cases where a water quality standard violation has been identified,
through the Water and Air Resources Act, 7 Delaware Code,
Chapter 60.  The State has proposed that this authority can be used
to require implementation of management measures and has
supported this proposal with a recent Cease and Desist order issued
by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control (DNREC) to a Sussex County operator.  However, the
State has not yet demonstrated the ability to ensure 
implementation of the management measures throughout the 6217
management area through the use of voluntary programs and its
back-up enforcement authority (Chapter 60).  Delaware has
proposed an agricultural compliance policy (see Volume II-D, Tab
10 of the program submittal) which the State would use for the
Agriculture category.  This compliance policy could serve as a
component of the strategy described in the condition above.





     III. FORESTRY

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance.  The State has identified
a backup enforceable authority but has not yet demonstrated the
ability of the authority to ensure  implementation throughout the
6217 management area.

CONDITION:  Within two years, Delaware will finalize and
implement the proposed Forestry Erosion and Sediment Rules and
Regulations.

RATIONALE:  Delaware's program submittal describes several
commendable voluntary initiatives, including A Guide for Forestry
Best Management Practices manual.  This manual specifies best
management practices that are in conformity with the 6217(g)
management measures.  The State also has back-up authority,
through Delaware's Forestry Law, to address water quality
problems that may result from silvicultural activities.

     New Castle County's Ordinance No. 90-316 ensures
implementation of some of the management measures in that part
of the State, but the proposed Forestry Erosion and Sediment Rules
and Regulations need to be promulgated to enable the State to
ensure  implementation throughout the management area.

     IV.  URBAN

     A.   NEW DEVELOPMENT

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance and includes enforceable
policies and mechanisms to ensure implementation.
 
RATIONALE:  Delaware has clearly defined requirements that
implement both the water quality and quantity aspects of this
management measure.  The State requires stormwater 
practices for new development that result in:  a) a minimum
removal efficiency of 80% of the total suspended solids from the
site and b) where wet ponds are used, extended detention that
results in the release of the first inch of runoff over a 24 hour
period.
          
     The program has been structured to allow delegation of
program elements to local 
governments or conservation districts.  Enforcement is the
responsibility of the State and occurs through referrals from the
delegated agencies or through citizen complaints.  7 Delaware
Code, Chapter 40, 4015(a)-(b) and the associated Section 16 of the
Delaware Sediment and Stormwater Regulations provide the
authority to levy penalties for violations of these rules, regulations,
orders or conditions imposed in an approved sediment and
stormwater plan.

     B.   WATERSHED PROTECTION and EXISTING
     DEVELOPMENT

FINDING:  Delaware's program does not include management
measures in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance but includes
enforceable policies and mechanisms that can be used to ensure
implementation.

CONDITION:  Within one year, Delaware will develop a process
to ensure full implementation of the elements of the watershed
protection and existing development management measures
throughout the 6217 management area.

RATIONALE:  In the program submittal, Delaware describes
watershed studies that are conducted in accordance with Section 9,
Criteria for Designated Watersheds of the Delaware Sediment and
Stormwater Regulations, and notes that the State is exploring the
use of a whole basin approach for the protection of water quality,
habitat and living resources.  Subsequent to the program submittal,
Delaware provided a Draft Framework Document on the Whole
Basin Management Program.  While this approach looks promising
in coordinating a number of agency activities within the State, the
program has not yet been implemented and the management
strategies that may arise from this effort have not yet been
developed.  Depending on the extent to which these strategies
incorporate the elements of the watershed protection and existing
development management measures, they may provide useful tools
to ensure implementation.

     While Section 9 provides a possible starting point to
address these measures, only the Dover/Silver Lake watershed has
been designated under this provision.  This effort also does not
completely address the elements of the existing development
management measure since it does not include a schedule to
implement appropriate controls.  Under Section 9, a designated
watershed study can only be initiated upon the recommendation of
a Conservation District, county, municipality, or State agency. 
There are limitations in both the geographic scope and the specific
requirements of Section 9 and the whole basin approach.  Delaware
needs to further develop approaches that will ensure the
implementation of these management measures in watersheds
throughout the 6217 management area.

     Delaware's Wetlands Act provides the State with the
authority to preserve and protect public and private coastal
wetlands and prevent their despoliation and destruction.  The
Subaqueous Lands Act provides for the protection of subaqueous
lands and the regulations promulgated under this Act include
specific requirements for preferred shore erosion control methods,
assessment of environmental impact, and application of the Public
Trust Doctrine.  These authorities provide Delaware with the basic
tools to reduce the generation of nonpoint source pollutants that
result from development activities and to protect waterbodies and
other sensitive areas.  NOAA and EPA encourage Delaware to
consider other appropriate tools such as establishment of vegetated
stream buffers and land use planning and zoning techniques that
can be used to ensure implementation of these management
measures.

     Delaware's Coastal Ocean Management, Planning, and
Assessment System (COMPAS) program may also provide tools
that can be used to implement these management measures. 
Depending on how data and analysis products are compiled and
used, there may be applications of geographic information that can
be used to site development to protect the natural integrity of
waterbodies and natural drainage systems.





     C.   SITE DEVELOPMENT

FINDING:  Delaware's program does not yet include management
measures in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance but includes
enforceable policies and mechanisms that can be used to ensure
implementation.

CONDITION:  Within three years, Delaware will incorporate
provisions into the State Sediment and Stormwater Regulations
that integrate the provisions of the site development management
measure into the site development plan, an approved sediment and
erosion plan or a similar mechanism.
          
RATIONALE:  The Sediment and Stormwater Regulations do not
directly address the protection of areas that provide important
water quality benefits (such as natural drainage features and
vegetation) or areas particularly susceptible to erosion and
sediment loss and do not include provisions for limiting
impervious areas.   Delaware notes in the program submittal that
preserving natural drainage features and natural depressional
storage areas, minimizing imperviousness, reducing the hydraulic
conductivity of impervious surface areas, performance criteria and
clustering are used as site planning practices but does not
document how these practices are incorporated on a consistent
basis into approved sediment and stormwater management plans.
The plan requirement provides a mechanism to ensure
implementation but the contents of the plans do not incorporate all
of the elements of the management measure.

     D.   CONSTRUCTION SITE EROSION AND SEDIMENT
     and CHEMICAL CONTROL

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance, except for construction
site chemical control, and includes enforceable policies and
mechanisms to ensure implementation of these management
measures.

CONDITION:  Within one year, Delaware will complete revision
of the State Sediment and Stormwater Program Erosion and
Sediment Control Handbook to include construction site chemical
management practices that are consistent with the elements of the
construction site chemical control management measures. [NOTE:
This condition also applies to the construction site chemical
control management measure for roads, highways and bridges and
the chemical and pollutant control management measure for
hydromodification]

RATIONALE:  Delaware has a well-developed erosion and
sediment control program that is in conformity with these
management measures.  Activities that result in land disturbance of
5,000 square feet or greater must submit an erosion and sediment
control plan and obtain a permit from the Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Control or its delegated authority       
(7 Delaware Code, Chapter 40,  4003(a) and Section 8,1. of the
Delaware Sediment and Stormwater Regulations).  These
requirements are enforced under the Delaware Code, Chapter 40,
4015(a)-(b) and Section 16 of the Delaware Sediment and
Stormwater Regulations.  Finally, Section 10 2.B of the Delaware
Sediment and Stormwater Regulations requires that all erosion and
sediment control plans comply with the Erosion and Sediment
Control Handbook.

     Delaware notes in the program submittal that, although the
goals of the construction site chemical control management
measure are not currently covered by existing State law or
regulation, the State is engaged in the process of revising the
Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook.  The revised Handbook
will include chemical management practices for construction sites.

     E.   NEW and OPERATING ONSITE DISPOSAL
     SYSTEMS (OSDS)

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance, except for the need to
inspect OSDS at a frequency adequate to ascertain whether OSDS
are failing.  Delaware's program includes enforceable policies and
mechanisms to ensure implementation of the management
measures.

CONDITION:  Within three years, Delaware will amend its
program by adding provisions to address the inspection of
operating OSDS.

RATIONALE:  Chapter 60 and the State's Regulations Governing
the Design, Installation, and Operation of On-site Wastewater
Treatment and Disposal Systems provide the Department with the
authority to regulate new and operating systems throughout the
State.  The regulations require permits from DNREC to construct,
install, replace, or modify any OSDS.  Notification and/or
inspection requirements for new OSDS provide an effective
mechanism to ensure that OSDS are sited and installed to minimize
impacts.  Although the State appears to lack a specific requirement
for the installation of OSDS that reduce the total nitrogen loadings
by 50 percent in nitrogen sensitive areas, Sections 6.05020 and
7.02010(ii), which require greater isolation distances and/or
minimum performance standards where additional protection is
needed, indirectly address this management measure component.
                         
     The regulations also authorize the Department to conduct
inspections of OSDS (3.22000).  Delaware's On-site Wastewater
Treatment and Disposal System Regulations specify that all
property owners are jointly and severally responsible for
maintaining, repairing and/or replacing their systems as necessary
to assure proper operation of the system.  Civil penalties imposed
by the Superior Court provide an enforcement mechanism to
ensure implementation of these requirements.  The State, however,
lacks a program to ensure that periodic inspections occur at a
frequency adequate to ascertain whether an OSDS is failing or has
failed.  The State has established a program that provides low
interest loans to owners of failing systems through the State Loan
Revolving Fund.  In addition, the Delaware Inland Bays
Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan includes an
action plan for septic systems that will reduce the nonpoint source
impacts from operating systems by installing central sewer
systems.  These efforts are commendable, however there remains a
need to more broadly inspect operating systems to ascertain where
there may be failures.

     F.   POLLUTION PREVENTION

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance.
           
RATIONALE:  Delaware has provided materials documenting
that its program addresses all of the elements specified in this
management measure.  The list includes educational materials
addressing small businesses, lawns and gardens, OSDS, and pet
waste.  NOAA and EPA encourage Delaware to continue to
develop its pollution prevention program to more fully address all
aspects of this management measure.  Areas the State may wish to
target include illicit discharges to storm drains and turf
management.
          
     G.   ROADS, HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance, except for construction
site chemical control, and includes enforceable policies and
mechanisms to ensure implementation.

RATIONALE:  The Delaware Department of Transportation
(DelDOT) is responsible for the location, design, and maintenance
of roads, highways, and bridges.  The DelDOT Location and
Environmental Studies Section coordinates planning and
development of highway systems with all appropriate regulatory
agencies at federal, State, and local levels.  DelDOT has been
delegated the authority to implement the Sediment and Stormwater
program for construction projects, including review and approval
of sediment and stormwater control plans.  DelDOT can take
enforcement action through referrals to DNREC or through in-
house stop work procedures. DelDOT also performs construction
inspections and maintenance reviews of existing stormwater
facilities, which can be used to identify needs to upgrade highway
runoff systems.     

     The State is revising the Erosion and Sediment Control
Handbook which will incorporate guidance on construction site
chemical controls, including those for roads, highways, and
bridges.  The condition described above for the construction site
chemical control management measure will ensure that Delaware's
program includes management measures for roads, highways and
bridges in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance (see condition on
page 5).

     V.   MARINAS AND RECREATIONAL BOATING

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance and includes enforceable
policies and mechanisms to ensure implementation.

RATIONALE:  DNREC is the agency responsible for
implementing State marina regulations and issuing permits for new
and expanding marinas.  The marina regulations require a permit
for construction of any new marina with five or more slips, any
vessel maintenance yard adjacent to the water, and any boat
launching ramp.  Permit requirements address the protection of
subaqueous lands, wetlands, shellfish beds, and requirements for
sewage pumpout facilities and 
marine sanitation devices.  All marina siting and design measures
are addressed by the permit.  Permit violations are subject to
penalties and fines.

     The Delaware Marina Guidebook, developed as part of the
marina regulations, provides information on the permitting process
and technical guidance on marina siting, design, operation, and
maintenance.  Delaware's marina regulations require that new,
expanding, and existing marinas develop and implement an
operation and maintenance (O&M) plan.  The marina regulations
and O&M plan combine to implement practices addressed by each
of the 6217(g) management measures.  The O&M plan must be
submitted to DNREC for reapproval every three years or any time
the marina ownership or leasehold changes.  The State's Marina
Operation and Maintenance Guidance document provides guidance
on developing an O&M plan.  The State's 
Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook provides guidance on
prevention and control practices at construction sites.

VI.  HYDROMODIFICATION

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance and includes enforceable
policies and mechanisms to ensure implementation of the
measures, except the program does not include (I) management
measures for chemical and pollutant control at dams, for protecting
surface water quality and habitat from the effects of dams, and for
surface water withdrawals; and (ii) a process to address nonpoint
source problems caused by eroding streambanks and shorelines. 

CONDITION:  Within one year, Delaware will develop a process
to ensure full implementation of management measures for
protecting surface water quality and habitat from the effects of
dams and surface water withdrawals.  Within one year, Delaware
will also develop a process to address eroding streambanks or
shorelines causing nonpoint problems which are not reviewed
under existing authorities, and to ensure full implementation of
management measures for eroding shorelines and streambanks. 

RATIONALE:  Delaware proposes to use the Subaqueous Lands
Act and Regulations and the Delaware Sediment and Stormwater
Law to implement management measures for channelization,
erosion control at dams, and protection of surface water and habitat
from the effects of dams.  These authorities require permits for
activities in navigable waterbodies, including channelization and
land-disturbing activities at dams.  The review of applications for a
Subaqueous Lands Permit includes an evaluation of instream and
riparian habitats, and project proponents are required to restore
natural functions of streams.  All land-disturbing activities at dams
must be conducted according to an approved sediment and
stormwater management plan and practices must be implemented
to reduce erosion potential, retain sediment on-site, and provide for
adequate stormwater retention/detention.  Revisions to the
Sediment and Stormwater Program's manual incorporating
chemical management for construction activities will further
address the management measure for chemical and pollutant
control (see condition on page 5). 

     Maintenance or modification of existing channels is exempt
from the Subaqueous Lands Act if sponsored by the State, local
governments or soil conservation districts.  Maintenance or
modification of water-control structures, including dams, is also
exempt, but the Subaqueous Lands Act expressly provides that all
of these exempted activities must comply with standards,
specifications and practices in the Delaware Erosion and Sediment
Control Handbook.  As described above, revisions to the State
Sediment and Stormwater Program Erosion and Sediment Control
Handbook will implement management measures for chemical and
pollutant control at dams.  Further revisions to the Erosion and
Sediment Control Handbook to incorporate the Principles and
Guidelines for Planning, Constructing, and Maintaining Drainage
Ditches in the State of Delaware will ensure that appropriate
practices are implemented for both private maintenance activities
and work performed with the assistance of any State, county,
municipal government or conservation district.  The Delaware
Department of Agriculture also assists in implementing this
management measure by regulating and certifying pesticide
applicators, and commercial applicators for establishment and
maintenance of vegetation.

     Delaware's process to identify and implement opportunities
for improving water characteristics and habitat in existing channels
is implemented through the State's Tax Ditch Program.  DNREC,
Division of Soil and Water Conservation is responsible for
providing planning and organizational assistance for the
development and maintenance of tax ditches.  Tax ditches are
established and tax ditch organizations are formed for the purpose
of reconstructing and/or maintaining previously established
drainageways.  Operation and maintenance (O&M) plans for
existing channelized waterways are developed cooperatively by the
Natural Resources Conservation Service, DNREC, and individual
soil conservation districts.  Recent court decisions precipitated
changes to Delaware's Tax Ditch Law which will broaden water
management goals of Tax Ditch projects and improve the State's
ability to address instream practices for nonpoint source concerns. 
These legislative changes were passed by the Delaware Legislature
in 1995, have been the signed by the Governor, and are now
codified in Chapter 41, Title 7 of the Delaware Code.  Delaware is
encouraged to utilize these changes to the Tax Ditch Law to
implement the management measures.

     The Subaqueous Lands Act and Regulations partially
address the management measure for eroding shorelines and
streambanks by requiring a permit for activities on shorelines or
streambanks below the normal high water level.  The regulations
require a more rigorous review and justification for projects
involving structural controls such as bulkheading.  Delaware
recommends vegetative stabilization of shorelines and
streambanks, although this is not required in the State regulations. 
The State often requires return walls, toe protection, and proper
maintenance as permit design conditions for shoreline stabilization
projects. 

     The Tax Ditch Program ensures that streambank conditions
are monitored through annual inspections and cost-share funds are
provided to implement O&M Plans to address erosion problems. 
Delaware needs to develop a process to address eroding
streambanks or shorelines causing nonpoint source problems which
are not reviewed under existing permitting authorities or through
the Tax Ditch Program.  Delaware's program does provide for
implementation of practices to establish no-wake zones to reduce
erosion potential from boat wakes, to establish setbacks
minimizing disturbance of land adjacent to streambanks and
shorelines, and to direct upland drainage away from bluffs and
banks so as to avoid accelerating slope erosion.

     VII. WETLANDS, RIPARIAN AREAS AND VEGETATED
     TREATMENT SYSTEMS

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes management measures
in conformity with the 6217(g) guidance and includes enforceable
policies and mechanisms to ensure implementation, except that
there are significant exemptions and limitations in the geographic
coverage of the program.

CONDITION:  Within three years, Delaware will further develop
its program to address activities in wetlands and riparian areas that
are not currently reviewed under existing permit authorities.

RATIONALE:  Delaware requires permits for activities in tidal
salt marshes, tidal freshwater wetlands, and nontidal wetlands
greater than 400 contiguous acres.  Smaller wetlands are exempt. 
Regulatory authority over tidal and non-tidal riparian areas is
provided by the Subaqueous Lands Regulations.

     The Tidal Wetlands Comprehensive Wetlands Conservation
and Management Plan, administered by DNREC, evaluates tidal
wetlands and identifies numerous action steps that should be taken
to improve the State's current management of tidal wetlands.  The
Non-tidal Wetlands Comprehensive Wetlands Conservation and
Management Plan, is under development and will result in an
evaluation of non-tidal freshwater wetlands, with identification of
approaches that can be taken to develop and coordinate regulatory
and nonregulatory methods to improve the protection of freshwater
wetlands.  Because these plans could be used to address problems
in wetlands/riparian areas that do not come up for review under
existing permit authorities,  Delaware is encouraged to utilize its
"Top Ten Action Item List" in the Comprehensive Tidal Wetlands
Conservation and Management Plan, finalize the Nontidal
Wetlands Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan,
including consideration of the potential role of any freshwater
wetlands legislative authority, and use these tools to further
implement the management measure.

     Delaware implements management measures to promote
restoration of wetlands and riparian areas through the Northern
Delaware Wetlands Rehabilitation Program, which undertakes
projects to restore wetlands that are degraded.  Delaware is
encouraged to continue and consider expansion of the Northern
Delaware Wetlands Rehabilitation Program to the rest of the State. 
Delaware has also prepared reports addressing compensatory
mitigation banking and methodologies for siting non-tidal wetland
restoration projects, and intends to utilize these procedures in
adhering to a policy of no net loss.  Delaware's Sediment and
Stormwater Program implements management measures promoting
the use of engineered vegetated treatment systems such as
constructed wetlands and vegetated filter strips as part of its review
of projects and issuance of permits.

          VIII.     ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATION

FINDING:  Delaware's program establishes mechanisms to
improve coordination among State agencies and between State and
local officials.

RATIONALE:  Delaware has submitted a Memorandum of
Understanding, in which the Secretaries of Agriculture,
Transportation, and Natural Resources and Environmental Control
agree to cooperate in implementing the coastal nonpoint program. 
The State has submitted organizational charts which identify
agencies and programs responsible for program implementation. 
The program submittal included milestones for implementation
and tables which outline existing authorities, programs, and
administrative coordination for each of the source categories.




     IX.  PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

FINDING:  Delaware's program provides opportunities for public
participation in the development and implementation of the coastal
nonpoint program.

RATIONALE:  In the program submittal, Delaware described
several activities that provided opportunities for public
participation in its coastal nonpoint program during the preparation
and implementation phases.  The State used a series of public
meetings (described in Volume III of the program submittal) to
ensure that the public had adequate opportunity for input.  The
State also established working groups to assist in the development
of the coastal nonpoint program (also described in Volume III). 
Finally, Delaware, in concert with the States of New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and the Delaware Estuary Program, undertook a tri-
state public outreach program designed to increase the public's
understanding of nonpoint source pollution and to further ensure
public participation.  These efforts are described on pages 1-4 and
1-5 of Volume I and in Volume III (Public Involvement) of the
program submittal.  Comments received by the State during its
Public Meeting and subsequent public review have been included
in Volume III of the program submittal.

X.  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

FINDING:  Delaware has included programs that will provide
technical assistance to local governments and the public for
implementing additional management measures.

RATIONALE:  Delaware identified a variety of technical
assistance initiatives available to local government and the public. 
The assistance, offered by a number of government and academic
entities, is described in section six of each of the categories within
the program submittal.

XI.  ADDITIONAL MANAGEMENT MEASURES

FINDING:  Delaware's program provides for the identification of
additional management measures and the continuing revision of
management measures applicable to critical coastal areas and cases
where (g) measures are fully implemented but water quality threats
or impairments persist.

RATIONALE:  Delaware's program describes five specific
watershed monitoring projects which are currently underway.  The
ultimate goal of the State's watershed approach is to identify all
sources of pollution which impact a common waterway and
determine the most appropriate means for protecting water quality
and ameliorating existing problems.  The State describes
monitoring and tracking programs (pg 8-1) that will be used to
assess pollutant loads and the implementation, inspection, and
maintenance of management measures.  The information gained
will be used to identify additional management measures and
modify the program as necessary to satisfy the requirement for
additional management measures.




     XII. CRITICAL COASTAL AREAS   

FINDING:  Delaware's program identifies and includes a process
for the continuing identification of critical coastal areas adjacent to
impaired and threatened coastal waters.

RATIONALE:  Delaware will utilize its Section 319 Nonpoint
Source Assessment Report (May, 1995) to evaluate and identify
critical coastal areas.  The Report utilized a watershed approach to
identify priority watersheds on a county wide basis.  Nutrients and
sediments were identified as the major sources of nonpoint source
pollution with agriculture and urban stormwater runoff identified
as the major contributors.   Documentation for the prioritization
and conclusions are included in the Report which reviewed 41
watersheds and identified 12 of these as priority watersheds (see
pg. 1-10 of the Report).

          XIII.     MONITORING

FINDING:  Delaware's program includes a plan to assess over
time the success of the management measures in reducing pollutant
loads and improving water quality.

RATIONALE:  In Chapter 8 of the program submittal, Delaware
describes how it will apply existing and new monitoring efforts to
assess over time whether the management measures are reducing
pollutant loads and improving water quality.

     XIV. STRATEGY AND EVALUATION FOR BACK-UP
     AUTHORITIES

     Within two years, Delaware will develop a strategy to
implement the management measures for agriculture throughout
the 6217 management area.  This strategy will include a description
and schedule for the specific steps the State will take to ensure
implementation of the management measures; describe how
existing or new authorities can be used to ensure implementation
where voluntary efforts are unsuccessful; and identify measurable
results which, if achieved, will demonstrate the State's ability to
achieve implementation of the management measures using the
described approach.  

     Delaware will also develop and apply credible survey tools
to demonstrate the ability of the State's approach to achieve
implementation for these management measures.  The use of
credible assessment techniques are necessary in order for NOAA
and EPA to evaluate, at the end of the 3 year period described in
the March 16, 1995 guidance issued by NOAA and EPA entitled
Flexibility for State Coastal Nonpoint Programs, whether the
State's approach has been successful or whether new, more
specific authorities will be needed.