Over the years, I have come to appreciate the phrase, “Stay in your lane.” At the street level, I think it generally means sticking to what you know and letting others do the same.
When a regulatory agency chooses to stray out of its lane of expertise and mission, it can have profound programmatic and legal consequences. Most important, however, I believe it does the public a disservice.
SRBC recently launched a multi-year effort to study the cumulative impact of consumptive water uses and water availability for the Susquehanna basin. Despite some calls for us to make it an expansive environmental assessment, we are being responsible water managers by focusing in our areas of responsibility and scientific and technical expertise. Click for full commentary: http://www.srbc.net/newsroom/NewsRelease.aspx?NewsReleaseID=106
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will conduct a public hearing on May 23 to accept public comments on water withdrawal and consumptive use project applications. The Commission will also hear testimony on amending its Regulatory Program Fee Schedule. The public should take note that this public hearing will be the only opportunity to offer oral comment to the Commission for the listed projects and other items. Read More
SRBC will conduct its next public business meeting on March 21, 2013 at the North Office Building, Hearing Room 1 in Harrisburg, PA 17120. The meeting will convene at 8:30 a.m.
The meeting will include actions or presentations on the following items: (1) presentation on the Commission's Harrisburg flood inundation mapping project; (2)
the Maurice Goddard Award; (3) revision of FY-2014 budget; (4) investment policy statement; (5) ratification/approval of contracts and grants; (6) administrative appeal filed by Anadarko E&P Company LP; and (7) Regulatory Program projects. Projects listed for Commission action are those that were the subject of a public hearing conducted by the Commission on February 14, 2013. Read More
On February 13, SRBC issued its 2013 State of the Susquehanna report showing trends in water use, drinking water, stormwater, aquatic habitat and other key water resource indicators. SRBC cites the lack of reliable funding for stream gages to be the greatest threat to the future of water resources management in the Susquehanna watershed. The 2013 State of the Susquehanna report, available at www.srbc.net/stateofsusq2013, provides a snapshot look at trends for seven overarching water resource indicators throughout the basin. Read More
SRBC is urging New York’s U.S. senators and congressmen to help secure federal funds to avert the March 1 shut-down of 18 stream gages and 16 rain gages in the southern tier. The gages generate data used by NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) to predict when flooding will occur. Read More
SRBC has scheduled two separate public hearings on February 14 to accept public comments. The first hearing is on 22 water withdrawal and consumptive use project applications and the other is on proposed rulemaking regarding how SRBC will regulate water withdrawals from smaller watersheds (known as headwater areas) and handle emergency certificates. Read More
SRBC convened a stakeholders’ meeting in early 2012 to consider a regional approach to source water protection in the lower Susquehanna basin. Representatives from the region's water authorities, water companies, municipalities, private firms, state water agencies, and regional organizations from outside the focus area took part in this stakeholders’ meeting. Click to read the full article that was featured in the WREN’s August 2012 E-News. Read More
SRBC's 2011 Annual Report is now available online (http://www.srbc.net/pubinfo/index.htm) or in hard copy by emailing srbc@srbc.net or calling (717) 238-0423 ext. 302.
SRBC will conduct its next public business meeting on September 20, 2012, 8:30 a.m. at the North Office Building, Hearing Room, North Street in Harrisburg PA 17120. The meeting will include actions on the following items: (1) ratification/approval of agreements; (2) partial waiver of application fees for withdrawn applications; (3) conditional transfer extension request of Talon Holdings, LLC related to the Hawk Valley Gold Course, Lancaster County, Pa.; (4) issuance of corrective docket to Nature’s Way Purewater Systems, Inc. (Covington Springs Borehole), Dupont Borough, Luzerne County, Pa.; and (5) Regulatory Program projects. Projects listed for Commission action are those that were the subject of a public hearing conducted by the Commission on August 23 , 2012. Read more.
The Department of Environmental Protection announced today it has awarded SRBC a $125,000 grant to guide small public water supply systems through the commission’s water withdrawal approval process. Read More
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC www.srbc.net) will conduct a public hearing on August 23 to accept public comments on water withdrawal and consumptive use project applications. The hearing is scheduled for August 23, 2012, North Office Building, Hearing Room 1 (Ground Level), North Street at Commonwealth Avenue, Harrisburg, PA. The hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. or when the public testimonies conclude, whichever comes first. Read More
SRBC will conduct its next public business meeting on June 7, 2012, 9:00 a.m., Binghamton State Office Building, Warren Anderson Community Room, 18th Floor, 44 Hawley Street, Binghamton, N.Y. 13901. The commissioners will act on 32 project applications, proposed fee changes related to the regulatory program and records processing, the Water Resources Program, amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, FY-2014 budget, and the request for administrative appeal from Anadarko E&P Company LP related to SRBC’s denial of a groundwater withdrawal application. Read More and Click Here for the Public Participation web page.
Among its major responsibilities, SRBC is a leader in data collection and analysis for water quality monitoring, mine drainage and water resource availability. SRBC makes its findings readily available to the public both on-line and through printed publications. For a list of and links to the most recent technical reports, Read More
SRBC Releases Baseline Conditions Data Report For Its Remote Water Quality Monitoring Network Comparative Data Now Available to Track Any Future Water Quality Changes On April 12, SRBC released a data report (mdw.srbc.net/remotewaterquality/reports.htm) on existing or baseline water quality conditions in small watersheds in the Marcellus shale region of the Susquehanna River Basin. Prior to 2010 when SRBC began collecting the data through its state-of-the-art Remote Water Quality Monitoring Network (RWQMN), little to no water quality data existed for many smaller streams in northern Pennsylvania and southern tier New York. Read More
Streamflows Being Impacted by Below Normal Precipitation On April 18, SRBC announced that 17 separate water withdrawals approved by SRBC are temporarily suspended due to localized stream flow levels dropping throughout the Susquehanna basin. Read More
SRBC will conduct a public hearing on May 10 to accept public comments on water withdrawal and consumptive use project applications, proposed fee amendments, and updates to the Comprehensive Plan. The hearing is scheduled for May 10, 2012, Pennsylvania State Capitol, East Wing, Room 8E-B, Harrisburg, Pa., 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Read More
On March 15, 2012, SRBC released the proposed Low Flow Protection Policy for public review and written comments. The proposed policy was developed over the past year -- based on scientific advances in ecosystem flow protection -- to improve low flow protection standards associated with approved water withdrawals. SRBC will use the policy and supporting technicial guidance when reviewing withdrawal applications to establish limits and conditions on approvals consistent with SRBC's regulatory standards. The deadline for written comments is May 16, 2012. Read More
SRBC will conduct a public hearing in February to accept public comments on water withdrawal and consumptive use project applications scheduled for action by SRBC at its next business meeting in mid-March. The hearing on the project applications is scheduled for February 16, 2012, Pennsylvania State Capitol, East Wing, Room 8E-B, Harrisburg, Pa., 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Click here to see the Hearing Notice.
The list of project applications scheduled for comment and information on those applications are available on SRBC’s web site at www.srbc.net/pubinfo/publicparticipation.htm. The project applications scheduled for the February 16 hearing also include those that were approved at SRBC’s December 15, 2011 hearing in Wilkes-Barre. Pa. Read More
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission's headquarters building, situated along the Susquehanna River, serves as an example of flood resistant design with the first fully-functional floor level and all utilities elevated well above the record setting Hurricane Agnes flood of 1972.