(a)The General Assembly finds and declares that the highest and best uses of the seacoast of the State are as a source of public and private recreation and solace from the pressures of an industrialized society and as a source of public use and private commerce in fishing, crabbing and gathering other marine life used and useful in food production and other commercial activities.
(b)The General Assembly further finds and declares that the preservation of these uses is a matter of the highest urgency and priority and that such uses can only be served effectively by maintaining the coastal waters, estuaries, tidal flats, beaches and public lands adjoining the seacoast in as close to a pristine condition as possible, taking into account multiple use accommodations necessary to provide the
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(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that the highest and best uses of the seacoast of the State are as a source of public and private recreation and solace from the pressures of an industrialized society and as a source of public use and private commerce in fishing, crabbing and gathering other marine life used and useful in food production and other commercial activities.
(b) The General Assembly further finds and declares that the preservation of these uses is a matter of the highest urgency and priority and that such uses can only be served effectively by maintaining the coastal waters, estuaries, tidal flats, beaches and public lands adjoining the seacoast in as close to a pristine condition as possible, taking into account multiple use accommodations necessary to provide the broadest possible promotion of public and private interest with the least possible conflicts in such diverse uses.
(c) The General Assembly further finds and declares that the transfer of oil, petroleum products and their by-products between vessels and vessels and onshore facilities and vessels within the jurisdiction of the State and state waters is a hazardous undertaking; that spills, discharges and escape of oil, petroleum products and their by-products occurring as a result of procedures involved in the transfer and storage of such products pose threats of great danger and damage to the marine, estuarine and adjacent terrestrial environment of the State; to owners and users of shorefront property; to public and private recreation; to citizens of the State and other interests deriving livelihood from marine related activities; and to the beauty of the Delaware coast; that such hazards have frequently occurred in the past, are occurring now and present future threats of potentially catastrophic proportions, all of which are expressly declared to be inimical to the paramount interests of the State as herein set forth and that such state interests outweigh any restrictions or burdens imposed by the General Assembly upon those engaged in transferring oil, petroleum products and their by-products and related activities.
(d) The General Assembly intends by the enactment of this legislation to exercise the police power of the State through the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control by conferring upon said Department the exclusive power to deal with the hazards and threats of danger and damage posed by such transfers and related activities; to require the prompt containment and removal of pollution occasioned thereby; to provide procedures whereby persons suffering damage from such occurrences may be promptly made whole; and to guarantee that all persons using the waters of the State for the transportation or transfer of oil, petroleum products and their by-products meet minimum requirements of financial responsibility.
(e) The General Assembly further finds and declares that the preservation of the public uses referred to herein is of grave public interest and concern to the State in promoting its general welfare, preventing disease, promoting health and providing for the public safety, and that the State’s interest in such preservation outweighs any burdens of absolute liability imposed by the General Assembly upon those engaged in transferring oil, petroleum products and their by-products and related activities.