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6.21.05

By BRUCE HOTCHKISS

Angered and frustrated by his “unflinching support” of Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s “Livable Delaware” legislative initiatives, the Delaware Farm Bureau has asked state Ag Secretary Michael Scuse to resign.
The request was contained in a five-paragraph letter to Scuse dated June 16, 2005, and followed a meeting of Scuse and the Farm Bureau Board of Directors on June 9.
The Farm Bureau letter., signed by its president Robert Baker, alleges that Minner’s “Livable Delaware” land use bills “do not treat farmers equitably (and) will continue to erode the rights of Delaware landowners.”
The action by the state Farm Bureau organization follows by about a month a letter to Gov, Minner from the Sussex County Farm Bureau also demanding the resignation of her ag secretary. That letter, from the county Farm Bureau president, Burton Messick, charged that the proposed land use legislation runs counter to farmers’ land rights and, if enacted, would devalue their farmlands.
Members of the state Farm Bureau board, aware of Scuse’s cabinet status and the allegiance that implies to the governor, were more deliberate and arranged the June 9 meeting with the ag secretary to allow him the opportunity to advance his position and to provide for some give-and-take on the issues.
The state directors, however, emerged from that meeting, after an hour and 15 minutes, even more disillusioned, having discovered that a particularly irksome piece of legislation was, as one remarked, “even worse than we thought.”
That’s the Delaware code relating to wastewater management in which Title 7 has been renamed, in a new draft of the measure, “Sprawl Prevention Act.”
In 11 pages, the measure imposes state land use regulations on Delaware farmland by limiting the issuance of permits for septic systems and other wastewater treatments and limiting the lot sizes in subdivisions to four acres.
Particularly sticking in the craw of Delaware farm leaders are the several provisions in the title which allow Scuse, as secretary of agriculture, to approve, or disapprove, a permit for a wastewater treatment project in a rural area; to grant or not grant, a variance from the strict application of the regulations; and to be sheltered from any appeal of any stay which he may order.
The “Sprawl Prevention Act” was expected to be introduced into the Delaware General Assembly late last week. The legislative session will end June 30, which leaves only six more days — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week and next — for lawmakers to conclude their business for the year. Legislative insiders do not expect the sprawl prevention measure “to fly”, as one put it.
The DFB letter from Baker to Scuse reads as follows:

Dear Secretary Scuse,

On behalf of the Delaware Farm Bureau Board of Directors, I would like to thank you for attending out State Board meeting on Thursday, June 9, 2005. Your attendance allowed the Board to listen to your viewpoint on the Governor’s “Livable Delaware” initiatives.
The mission of the Delaware Farm Bureau is to represent Delaware farm families. It is our policy to protect landowners.
Your unflinching support for this combination of the Administration’s initiatives leaves us with no choice but to ask for your resignation as Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Delaware.
These land-use bills do not treat farmers equitably, will continue to erode the rights of Delaware landowners and are counter-productive in protecting agriculture. Taking land value by government action is wrong. Your failure to share this legislation prior to their drafting with your Ag Advisory Council or the Farm Bureau is suspect and not in keeping with the tradition of respect between your office and the state’s largest industry.
It is unfortunate that we have taken this action, but we believe that someone in your position has to truly represent the best interest of the farming community.

Delaware ag chief answers critics

By MICHAEL SCUSE

As Delaware Secretary of Agriculture and a working farmer, my overriding responsibility is to protect and enhance the sustainability of Delaware’s agriculture industry. The job description over the last four years has included fighting avian influenza, helping our farmers develop new markets for their products, and operating one of the nation’s most successful farmland preservation programs.
In my book, the job also means ensuring that the future of our industry is protected from sprawl — leapfrog development that gobbles up valuable farmland and makes it tougher for farmers to operate their businesses, get their products to market and maintain a cohesive agricultural community that doesn’t clash with residential development.
That is why I believe so strongly in Gov. Minner’s proposed “Livable Delaware” legislation that would prevent development from spreading farther and farther into our state’s rural areas. We are calling it the Sprawl Prevention Act.
The state, counties and towns have worked cooperatively to agree on where growth should occur and where it should be discouraged. All three counties have designated growth areas where they have invested heavily and will continue to invest in sanitary sewer and treatment plants; meanwhile, the state agrees to invest in roads, schools, libraries and other services within those growth zones.
In Kent County’s growth zone, which runs down the middle of the county from Smyrna to Milford, there is enough room to accommodate more than 60 years of development. Much to the county’s credit, 83 percent of the recent development approved under Kent’s comprehensive plan will occur inside that zone.
But community septic or wastewater systems — hooking up many homes to one on-site treatment and disposal system — allow larger and more dense developments to be established in rural areas with little or no services or infrastructure. The Sprawl Prevention Act would not permit those stand-alone systems in what our “State Strategies for Policies and Spending” call Level IV Investment Areas — the most rural areas of the state. It would also require a minimum of four acres for individual septic systems in those Level IV areas.
New Castle County already has a very similar policy on community wastewater systems and individual septic systems in its rural zones. Kent County is considering an ordinance that mirrors our legislation. We hope to make the permitting restrictions statewide with our legislation.
I’ve told you about the agricultural reasons for supporting this legislation. I’ve also heard plenty from people — farmers and non farmers alike — who think growth is occurring too rapidly and haphazardly in our state. What will our quality of life be, what will happen to our green spaces and natural habitat, and who will still want to live, visit and work here if development can sprawl virtually anywhere in the state? What are we leaving for future generations who want to farm or enjoy the open spaces we have today?
Developments in rural areas require us, the state taxpayers, to pay for inefficient growth. More people driving longer distances require road improvements to accommodate their commutes, adding to our air quality challenges. We’re funding 100 percent of those long school-bus rides and 100 percent of DART Paratransit services. It drives up our utility rates. It puts even more strain on emergency services and lengthens response times to fires and accidents.
Studies in Delaware and across the country show that stand-alone residential development generates less in revenues than it demands in services — while agribusiness and commercial development more than pay their share. So we all are forced to subsidize sprawl, no matter where in the state in occurs.
We, the taxpayers, have made a significant investment ($103 million to date with another $9 million proposed for this coming fiscal year) in farmland preservation. Sprawl devalues our investment and hurts the farmer who made the long-term commitment not to develop his or her land.
In areas of the country such as Lancaster County and Napa Valley, where the agricultural industry is highly valued, profitable and protected from sprawl, farmland prices have significantly appreciated. Given our strategic location on the East Coast, we can expect to see increases in our farmland values as well — if we don’t sell out to sprawl for short-term gain.
I am a farmer, not a future developer. There are many of us who view agriculture as a way of life that is fundamental to Delaware’s heritage, its economy and its future. My job as secretary of sgriculture is to keep it that way.

Delaware Ag Secretary Michael Scuse owns a farm near Smyrna.