Marvin Mailey, executive director of the Delaware Association of Chiefs of Police, and Christine Kemp, president of the Delaware Fraternal Order of Police, said their organizations oppose these two bills and others sponsored by Lynn on immigration enforcement.

“We need to have the availability and the flexibility to be able to tend to emergent situations that could happen with our federal partners,” Kemp said. “I can tell you that there have been situations where the arrests that they were making in this community were done much safely by the information sharing and the assisting of our local partners.”

Lyle Dykstra, a retired pastor and community activist with the Poor People’s Campaign, said he supported the legislation.

“Church people are angry, upset because it is cruel and unkind, obviously not due process,” he said. “To willy-nilly pick up people because they’ve been profiled as appearing to be immigrants.”

Mat Marshall, spokesperson for Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, said Jennings supports Lynn’s bills because they’re net positives on the issue. However, he said the state DOJ prefers House Bill 182 by Gorman, which prohibits law-enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with federal immigration authorities to enforce immigration violations or share related data.

“HB 182 is a stronger bill,” he said. “It covers a broader scope, enforcement plus information sharing, and it would make the policy mandatory and consistent rather than putting it at the discretion of the AG, whether AG Jennings or a future AG who may or may not be sympathetic with this position.”

Rep. Lynn has more pieces on immigration, which passed through the committee process earlier this year and are ready for a House vote.

• House Bill 95 would require the Delaware Department of Education, school districts and companies that store student data to obtain permission from the AG’s office before sharing that information with immigration enforcement agencies.
• House Bill 96 would require the state DOJ to submit a quarterly report to state officials detailing immigration-related requests from federal agencies.
• House Bill 58 bans a police officer from stopping or arresting an individual based solely on their actual or suspected immigration status, as well as bans an officer from asking about an individual’s immigration status.

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A mechanical failure at the Delaware City Refinery that caused releases of sulfur dioxide above permitted levels has been repaired, facility managers announced Thursday.

The refinery, located in New Castle County, had reported emissions of the toxic gas at rates as high as 1,450 per hour for almost three weeks after an emission control device was compromised. The refinery’s boiler is now in full operation, the refinery said.

“A talented team of experts from maintenance, operations, and union contractors worked around the clock to expedite the equipment repair, which was extremely complicated and safely completed,” General Manager Mike Capone said Thursday in a statement.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said air quality monitoring indicated the pollution did not impact air quality, or public health.

The state has been in the process of creating a state energy plan and a procedure to purchase offshore wind.

Hansen argued that overturning the council’s decision is justified because the state is experiencing electricity supply issues, pushing up utility bills due to having to rely on other states to produce most of its electricity. In 2023, she said, Delaware received about three-fifths of its energy from other states via the regional power grid PJM Interconnection. The grid is made up of 13 states and Washington D.C.

“Broad legislative and administrative programs to specific project permitting have now been upended by the decision of one local government and that one decision has broad implications for all Delawareans,” she said. “That’s why this legislation is so important. This is not state government usurping local control. This is about state government taking back its ability to meaningfully act and protect all Delawareans when it comes to issues of energy pricing, energy supply and energy reliability, these are issues of state level concern.”

US Wind has appealed the county’s denial in Delaware Superior Court, but the legislation could help fast track the project. US Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said last week the company has the necessary federal and state permits to start construction in 2027, except for the substation. He said they anticipate being operational by 2029.

Some Republican senators argued the state should let the court process play out. Hansen called delay “as deadly as denial” because of the time stages of appeal and a possible remand of the court case could take to conclude.

“If there was an easier way to get this done, I can tell you, I’d be doing it,” she said. “Because this is not fun. But there’s not, there’s really not. We have to get to a permit issuance so that this project can go forward.”

Testifying before the Senate on Tuesday, Grybowski argued the project would benefit the Delmarva area, not just Maryland.

“All of the energy we produce will be interconnected into Delaware,” he said. “Maryland will be buying the offshore wind renewable energy credits from the project. All of the energy is sold into the regional grid, which will allow it to benefit everyone in the region, most specifically folks in Delaware.”

The US Wind will give 150,000 renewable energy credits to Delaware utilities annually, estimated at $76 million over 20 years, to help meet new clean energy requirements. Hansen said this will help lower electricity bills.

The legislation moves to the House for consideration.

The ongoing Delaware debate is happening in the shadows of a larger federal fight over wind energy projects. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore.

A coalition of states, including Delaware and Maryland, has sued to block the order, claiming the White House doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally shut down the permitting process. A hearing on the federal government’s motion to dismiss is scheduled for June 18.