Sussex County in Delaware delays decision on proposed sea-level rise responses

Jeff Montgomery in Delmarva Now (Delaware): In a symbolic blow to state climate change adaption efforts, the Delaware county with most at stake in future sea-level rise forecasts abruptly declined to take any stand on the issue as a state panel approved dozens of recommendations for dealing with the threat.

Jeff Shockley, Sussex County delegate to the state’s Sea Level Rise Advisory Committee, said last week local officials instructed him to abstain from voting on any of the roughly 60 options developed by the group throughout a2½-year period. That move followed a skeptical response to the state effort by some County Council members during a briefing in Georgetown this month.

Despite the county abstentions, committee members completed recommendations that will go to Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin P. O’Mara after a final report-signing meeting in August.

The options range from broad directions to improve coordination among federal, state, county and local agencies and include sea-level rise in growth plans to a call for expanded public education and better collection of data on climate change indicators and sea-level changes.

Hours later, Delaware’s congressional delegation announced $20 million in National Science Foundation grants for science education and research at four Delaware higher education centers, emphasizing the effect of sea-level rise and soil contamination consequences. “This is another good step in understanding how the changing climate and human impacts on the land affect our environment now and for many years to come,” Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said in a statement.

Renewable energy technologies, such as offshore wind and workforce development, will also be targeted in the research, along with the development of new sensors for environmental monitoring. The grants will support collaborations involving the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Wesley College and Delaware Technical Community College....

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District recently completed repairs to the Harbor of Refuge breakwater. The breakwater and the historic lighthouse that sit on top are listed in the National Register of Historic Place. The $2.6 million repair project involved placing 91 capstones, filling voids and pouring concrete. Reilly Construction Inc. and R.E. Pierson Construction Co. served as the contractors. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)