Delaware Administrative Code
Title 3 - Agriculture
400 - Forest Service
401 - Forest Service Erosion and Sedimentation Regulations
Section 401-2.0 - Purpose

The purpose of these amendments to the Forest Service's Erosion and Sedimentation Control regulations is to streamline the process for responding to potential or existing water quality problems and to establish an enforcement scheme for dealing with operators who do not file the proper permits prior to commencing a timber harvest. These rules and regulations apply to silvicultural operations, as defined, being conducted on private, state, and federal lands within the State of Delaware, unless otherwise stated in the regulations.

The intent of these rules and regulations is to ensure that silvicultural activities do not cause erosion and sedimentation to Delaware's waters. The Delaware Forest Service has determined that timber harvests and shearing and piling are the two silvicultural activities that pose the greatest potential for producing erosion and sedimentation. Therefore a notification system is required for these two activities. Other silvicultural activities, such as but not limited to, root raking, chemical application, installation and maintenance of firebreaks, do not require prior notification but operators are to follow best management practices (BMPs) as outlined in Delaware's Forestry BMP Manual (DE Dept. of Ag. Document #65-01-04/95/09/01)