SRBC Approves Water Withdrawal Requests, Adopts Final Permit Transfer Regulations

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission meet December 4 and among its actions, SRBC:

— Adopted a resolution urging President Obama and United States Congress to provide full funding for the Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, thereby supporting the Susquehanna Flood Forecast and Warning System;

— Adopted final regulations to simplify and revise the rules for transfer of approvals, create a category for minor modifications, and establish a procedure for the Commission to issue general permits;

— Adopted a resolution updating SRBC’s Investment Policy Statement;

— Accepted settlement offers for compliance matters from Seneca Resources Corporation for $75,000 for failing to complete and/or submit records as required by SRBC regulations and approval conditions; and Schreiber Foods, Inc. for $44,500 for consumptively using water in excess of SRBC’s regulatory threshold; and

— Approved 9 applications, including 1 into-basin diversion, and tabled 21 applications.

A list of projects considered at the meeting and their status is available online.

SRBC’s voting commissioners and alternates were :  Kelly Heffner, SRBC Chair and Deputy Secretary for Water Management, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Virginia Kearney, SRBC Vice Chair and Deputy Director, Water Management Administration, Maryland Department of the Environment; Col. Edward Chamberlayne, Commander and District Engineer, Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Kenneth Lynch, Director, Region 7, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

SRBC staff also reported on delegated settlements with the following project sponsors, pursuant to SRBC Resolution No. 2014-15:

-- Bon Air Country Club, in the amount of $5,000;

-- Byler Golf Management, Inc. doing business as Iron Valley Golf Club, in the amount of $4,000;

-- P.H. Glatfelter Company, in the amount of $7,000;

-- The Lion Brewery, Inc., in the amount of $1,000; and

-- Irem Temple Golf Club, in the amount of $7,500.

For more information on meetings and hearings, visit SRBC’s Public Participation Center webpage.