Barrow Logo Barrow EP Handbook

Delaware

Brownfields Development Program

Agency Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
ASTM search distance 0.5 mile

The Brownfields Development Program of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) encourages the cleanup and redevelopment, reuse or expansion of properties which may be perceived to be environmentally contaminated. It certifies properties as brownfields, which DNREC says makes them eligible for grant funding and tax credits as applicable. DNREC says financial assistance is available as reimbursement to eligible parties, in the form of brownfields grants funded by the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) and low interest loans from the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund.

In a Phase I ESA

The program's certified brownfields are the Delaware form of the state brownfields records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The general reading of a brownfields listing is on the Brownfields page. Four Delaware details shape how to read one.

  • Certification opens the door to funding. DNREC says the first step in participating in the program is an application for brownfields certification to the Remediation Section. For purchasers considering acquiring and redeveloping potentially contaminated sites, the program negotiates brownfields development agreements to guide investigations and, if necessary, a remedial action. Check the file for an agreement and its reports before reading a certification as a cleanup.
  • A brownfield need not be contaminated. DNREC's answers on its Brownfields Marketplace say that, by the definition of a brownfield, there does not have to be any actual contamination on the property, only suspected contamination.
  • Current owners take another route. DNREC says current property owners can certify their properties as brownfields, but are not eligible for the Brownfields Development Program; they can clean up their sites through the Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP).
  • Recent agreement negotiations appear as public notices. The recent Remediation Section public notices listed on DNREC's brownfields page include notifications of negotiations for a brownfields development agreement, and each gives the site a number beginning DE-.

DNREC's remediation guidance page lists a policy on submitting a BFI/RI report and an FS/FFS study report, a Brownfield Investigation Report/Remedial Investigation Report template, and a checklist for that report. When reading a certified site's history, ask whether those reports were prepared.

Where to look a site up

Getting the file

The brownfields pages read do not give a records route of their own. DNREC's FOIA page says the Delaware Freedom of Information Act ensures public access to public records held by DNREC; the route is on the DNREC FOIA Requests page.

Sources

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control pages, read October 13, 2026:

Maintained by Barrow. General reference only, not legal or professional advice. Barrow is not affiliated with any government agency, and neither Barrow nor the information as presented here is endorsed by any state or government agency. See how Barrow drafts the report