Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves New Fee Schedule, Withdrawal Projects

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission Thursday approved a new regulatory fee schedule and 17 water withdrawal requests as well as its FY 2017 budget.

Other actions included—

— Electing new officers with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to serve as Chair and the State of Maryland to serve as Vice Chair beginning July 1;

— Adopted its FY2016-2017 Water Resources Program;

— Accepted a settlement offer for a compliance matter from Wyoming Valley Country Club for $15,000 for operating a well exceeding its approved groundwater withdrawal threshold;

— Conditionally transferred Docket No. 20021014 to Augusta Water, Inc. and suspended the application requirement until water usage exceeds regulatory thresholds;

— Denied Shrewsbury Borough Council’s request to waive the requirements of Section 806.4(a)(2)(ii) pertaining to the Borough’s two  wells that pre-date SRBC regulations  and directed Commission staff to consult with the Borough regarding possible alternatives

— Tabled the Show Cause proceeding with Four Seasons Golf Course; and

— Approved 17 applications and tabled 8 applications.

SRBC’s voting commissioners and alternates were : Kenneth Lynch, SRBC Chair and Director, Region 7, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Kelly Heffner, SRBC Vice Chair and Deputy Secretary for Water Management, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Saeid Kasraei, Program Administrator, Water Supply Program, Maryland Department of the Environment; and Col. William Graham, Commander and Division Engineer, North Atlantic Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

SRBC staff also reported on delegated settlements with the following project sponsors, pursuant to SRBC Resolution 2014-15:

— Black Bear Waters LLC, in the amount of $5,600, to resolve an administrative violation;

Pennsylvania General Energy Co., LLC, in the amount of $2,400, to resolve an administrative violation;

— Muncy Borough Municipal Authority, in the amount of $5,000, to resolve violations of operating wells without SRBC approval;

— Marshland Links, LLC/The Links at Hiawatha Landing, in the amount of $4,800, to resolve violation for exceeding its approved maximum daily water withdrawal from the Susquehanna River; and

— Inflection Energy (PA), LLC, in the amount of $1,000, to resolve violation for the use of water from an unapproved source.

For more details, visit the SRBC’s Meetings and Hearings webpage.