Fish and Aquatic Life

The cooling water intake structure of the Delaware City Refinery is operating on a permit that expired in 2002.  Not only has the State of Delaware allowed this to occur, it has offered additional extensions to the refinery for its 2011 restart, and provides a multi-year compliance timeline for the installation of best available technology with in the draft NPDES permit (2011). 

The Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club requests that the State of Delaware reassess the fish consumption advisory for Dragon Run. According to the 2012 Delaware Fishing Guide, all waters not specifically listed in the Delaware Fish Consumption Advisories table on pages 38 and 39 have a recommended consumption level of 52 8-ounce servings per year. Dragon Run is not listed in this table, and therefore the default 52 8-ounce servings per year advisory applies to fish consumed from this water body. However, the fish contamination samples reported in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Listing of Fish Advisories indicates a higher hazard advisory is warranted

On May 31, 2012 the Delaware Chapter asked Governor Markell to strengthen management protections for American shad and river herrings. Delaware’s rivers and estuaries once supported abundant river herring and shad, providing opportunities for recreational fishing and an abundant food source for wildlife. Delaware recently implemented a moratorium on commercial and recreational fishing for river herring and a similar moratorium on American shad may be imminent. But more work needs to be done in federal waters to recover these depleted fish.