(a) Before the Department of Transportation removes, cuts or clears any landscape improvement, tree or forest from the site of a construction project, it shall conduct an analysis, or cause the same to be conducted, to determine the total area of landscape improvements, individual trees up to 50, or if more than 50, the total acres of trees that will be removed, cut or cleared in order to complete the project.

(b) Whenever the Department of Transportation constructs or widens any major arterial, interstate connector, minor arterial, collector road or proposed road in an urbanized area of this State, the Department shall incorporate in the plans therefore provision for all costs incurred in replacing, wherever possible, shade trees to be removed in order to execute the plan. Replacement shade trees shall be a minimum height of 16 feet, balled and burlapped nursery-grown stock, and all planting work shall be done in accordance with § 728 of the Delaware Department of Transportation Standard Specifications (January 1, 1974, or latest revised edition). The place of planting trees shall be in compliance with federal law and regulations relating to the distance such trees must be planted from the edge of the roadway.

(c) If the Department of Transportation determines that it will not remove, cut or clear any trees in order to complete the construction project, it shall incorporate into the construction plans landscape improvements to improve the rights of way within the project area only, in accordance with the Department’s standards as set forth herein.

(d) If the Department of Transportation determines that it will remove, cut or clear landscape improvements of 10 or fewer trees in order to complete the construction project, it shall incorporate into the construction plans requirements for landscape mitigation through the performance of landscaping and planting activities to improve the rights-of-way within the project area at a ratio of at least 1 new tree or shrub for every tree or shrub removed.

(e) If the Department of Transportation determines that it will remove more than 10 but fewer than 50 trees in order to complete the construction project, regardless of the number of acres on which those tree are situated, it shall incorporate into the construction plans requirements for landscaping and planting activities in Part II of this subchapter that will result in the planting of at least 2 trees for every tree to be removed, cut or cleared in order to complete the construction project.

(f) If the Department of Transportation determines that it will remove 50 or more trees in order to complete the construction project, it shall incorporate into the construction plans requirements for activities that will result in the reforestation of at least 1 acre of land for every acre of trees to be removed, cut or cleared in order to complete the construction project. The ratio of land on which reforestation activities occur to land from which 50 or more trees have been removed, cut or cleared shall apply equally to complete acres as well as fractions thereof.

(g) The Department of Transportation shall itself undertake the reforestation activities required pursuant to this section or shall cause the same to be undertaken.

73 Del. Laws, c. 351, § 2; 77 Del. Laws, c. 361, §§ 2, 3.