The US Environmental Protection Agency has delegated the authority to enforce and implement offshore wind permits related to air quality in Delaware to state officials.

Under the federal Clean Air Act, the EPA granted powers for Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to determine offshore wind projects on the Outer Continental Shelf.

The regulations mean the state will rule on offshore wind developments anywhere out to 25 miles from Delaware’s shoreline.

The state is hoping to host one of America’s first offshore wind farms, which could take the form of the Bluewater Wind project, although a second bidder is also interested in developing a project in state waters (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

The first move by the Department will be to rule on a proposed meteorological tower the Bluewater project developers want to set up 18 miles from the shore to assess the area’s wind resource.

The rules will mean similar controls on the construction and operation of the development, regarding air quality, as if the project was developed on land.

DNREC Secretary Collin P O’Mara, who also serves as chairman of a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Delaware task force on offshore wind, said: “By receiving delegation of federal permitting authority from EPA, we are one step closer to ensuring that the promise of offshore wind is realized in a timely fashion.”

Previously, only a handful of Air Pollution Control Districts within California had been delegated similar authority by the EPA to rule on developments.

Ali Mirzakhalili, director of DNREC’s Division of Air Quality, said: “This action allows Delaware to more effectively respond to the permitting needs of any offshore project and associated timing for permit issuance.”

This week saw Delaware Governor Jack Markell, along with Maryland Governor Marin O’Malley, writing to President Obama seeking assistance from the federal government in getting offshore wind projects off the ground.