~ Water Resources Association ~

Water Resource Associations of the Delaware River Basin

Summer '04

Chairman's Message

It’s official: The Philadelphia Inquirer carried a seven-column article in May headlined “In full force, striped bass make return to the Delaware River.” Through words and pictures, the paper documented catches of striped bass up to forty inches long, as well as shad, herring, and perch, in the Delaware River reaches from Trenton to Philadelphia. The efforts of the Delaware River Basin Commission, the U.S. Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the environmental agencies of four states have made a big difference. Also contributing to the improved water quality are such factors as high energy costs leading to water conservation, public awareness (and industrial and municipal desire not to attract attention for the wrong reasons), and unfortunately, the flight or failure of a lot of local industry – the wrong way to reach “zero discharge.”

But we are only in mid-stream, so to speak. Endowed with the Congressional goal that all waters be fishable and swimmable, we are engaged in major further reductions of wastewater and stormwater components reaching the river. Although it is far from clear that the technology exists to achieve the two goals at all locations, the effort – primarily the “total maximum daily load” (TMDL) allocation program - is underway. The water professionals know it will be costly and may even lead to closures in some instances.

To offset these burdens, we need to develop the benefits of the Delaware River and its improved quality to its fullest advantage. Sound waterfront development in Camden and Philadelphia and across eastern BucksCounty ought to be a priority, along with full support for the transportation facilities that remain in this region. And we need lots more media articles like the one that appeared in May!

Ken Myers
WRA Chairman

Basin Water Resources Plan Is Readied For Approval

The public meetings on the draft Water Resources Plan for the DelawareRiver Basin have been concluded and the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) staff has recommended that the Plan be adopted by the Commissioners and forwarded to the four Governors for signing.Final comments are expected from the Basin states.At the July 13, 2004 meeting of the Commissioners a resolution will be proposed to formally adopt the Plan.A formal signing ceremony by the Governors of the four signatory states will take place September 13 at a Watershed Summit that is currently in the planning stages.Details on this event will be forthcoming.

Once the Plan is adopted, implementation will begin by the Commission and the Basin states.The role of the Watershed Advisory Council, a stakeholder group instrumental in development of the Plan, has yet to be determined, but it will probably exist in some form to assist in the implementation process.Yet to be determined are the cost and funding sources for the various “new” programs that have been identified.
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Federal Funding Woes: A Looming DRBC Crisis

When the Delaware River Basin Compact was signed in 1961, the federal government committed to a share of the annual funds to operate a Commission.Since 1997 those funds have been withheld and DRBC has offset the revenue shortfall by a combination of drawing down the Commission’s General Fund Equity (reserves) and a 13 percent reduction in personnel during this period.The federal government’s annual fair-share funding shortfall was $694,000 in 2003 and aggregates to over $5 million in the last eight years.

Although Executive Director Carol Collier, her staff, several Governors, Senators, and Congressman have been working hard in lobbying for reinstatement of funding for the 2005 fiscal year, such funding is not assured as of this writing.If federal support is not forthcoming for the coming year, the Commission will be delaying and/or discontinuing several programs beginning this fall.Programs related to water quality monitoring, flood warning coordination, PCB testing, and trout fisheries protection, among others, will all be fair game for reduction or elimination.In addition, the number of Commission meetings may be reduced to four per year, delaying action on docket approvals important to the regulated community.

The House Appropriations Committee, Energy and Water Subcommittee, holds the purse strings for DRBC and has been petitioned by several Basin legislators to appropriate sufficient funds for their continued operation.Various constituencies, including WRA, have been advised of the situation and have written letters to legislators in support of the funding request.

More information on DRBC’s looming budget crisis including their services reduction plan can be found on their website.

TMDL Waste Minimization Rule Proposed

At the June 2 Commission meeting a proposed resolution was introduced to authorize the Executive Director to require a waste minimization plan following issuance of a TMDL for a pollutant.Fortunately, after much discussion by the Commissioners, the proposal was tabled.

Although initially aimed at the PCB TMDL, the rule would affect all subsequent TMDLs developed for the Delaware River.The proposed rule targets individual dischargers (facilities) and their point and non-source point discharges.It requires extensive monitoring, identification of pollutant sources, development of control plans, and annual reporting of progress, among other requirements.If a discharger or permittee feels that a TMDL for a particular pollutant does not apply to their facility there is a provision for waiver by the Executive Director upon a showing that it is inapplicable or inappropriate.Non-point source dischargers not holding a permit are not included in the proposed rule.

The proposal is a major program for DRBC and would be a significant undertaking for an agency that is experiencing funding difficulties.At the very least, an evaluation of the cost to DRBC and how it will be funded would be prudent.Moreover, the requirements could potentially impose significant expense to dischargers in developing waste minimization plans for numerous TMDLs without regard to likely benefits.All these factors should be fully evaluated and considered before the Commissioners take any action on the proposal.