As required by the Susquehanna River Basin Compact, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission has released a draft Comprehensive Plan covering the immediate and long-range development and use of the water resources of the Basin.
The Comprehensive Plan provides an overarching framework for the Commission to manage the Basin’s water resources and serves as a guide for all Commission programs and activities.
Draft Plan
The Commission is currently developing an updated Plan that will become effective in 2021, which marks the halfway point in the 100-year Susquehanna River Basin Compact.
This updated Comprehensive Plan outlines the vision, needs, and strategy for effectively managing the water resources of the Basin during the period from 2021 to 2041.
Fulfilling the Vision means addressing diverse, complex water resources needs, now and in the future.
These needs are interconnected and continually evolving, requiring integrated and adaptive water resources management approaches to ensure water demands are met while balancing public health and safety, economic development, and ecosystem stewardship.
They include, for example:
-- Ensuring adequate water supply for electric generation, public water supply, manufacturing, mining, natural gas, agriculture, and recreation,
-- Restoring impaired streams impacted by agriculture, abandoned mine drainage, urban runoff, habitat modification, and atmospheric deposition,
-- Improving flood and drought warning, planning, and mitigation for vulnerable communities and sectors, and
-- Reducing stormwater runoff and associated sediment, nutrient, and pollutant loadings from developed lands.
There are four Priority Management Areas (PMAs) identified in the Comprehensive Plan:
1. Water Supply;
2. Water Quality;
3. Flooding and Drought; and
4. Watershed Management.
The Plan notes, climate change is a cross-cutting challenge that is addressed in the objectives identified within each priority area.
Coordination and outreach to partners and the public plays an important role in all four areas. Likewise, technology and data analytics support and enhance efforts planned throughout.
Overall, it is also important to ensure management goals meet the needs of underserved or disadvantaged communities within the context of environmental justice.
The Comprehensive Plan includes projects and facilities the Commission has determined to be required for optimum planning, development, conservation, utilization, management, and control of the Basin’s water resources to meet present and future needs.
These include Commission regulated projects as well as other projects and facilities that meet specific criteria outlined in the Comprehensive Plan.
The Comprehensive Plan will be implemented through the Commission’s annual Water Resources Program (WRP) and the associated budget.
The WRP outlines priority projects and initiatives, key performance measures, and methods for tracking progress. The budget includes all projects proposed to be undertaken or continued during the fiscal year, along with the estimated cost and method of financing for each project.
The yearly WRP and budget formulation process will ensure priority projects are adequately planned and funded in order to effectively implement the Comprehensive Plan over the next 20 years and achieve its goals and objectives.
-- Click Here for the draft 2021 Executive Summary.
-- Click Here for the draft 2021 Plan.
The existing 2013 Comprehensive Plan can be found at these links--
-- Updated 2013 Comprehensive Plan
-- Appendix 1: Susquehanna River Basin Compact
-- Appendix 2: Projects, Plans & Other Actions
-- Appendix 3: Water Resources Program
Public Comments
The Commission is accepting public comments on the Draft 2021 Comprehensive Plan for the Water Resources of the Susquehanna River Basin through February 19.
Comments may be submitted via the online comment form or by email to John W. Balay, Manager, Planning & Operations at jbalay@srbc.net.
Webinars
Commission staff are planning to conduct additional stakeholder outreach webinars to review key components of the Draft 2021 Comprehensive Plan on January 25 and 27.
Hearing
As required by the Compact, a formal public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan update will also be held on February 4.
The Commission’s goal is to address comments received and present a final 2021 Comprehensive Plan for commissioner adoption at the June 2021 quarterly business meeting.
Click Here for more information.
For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and more, visit the Susquehanna River Basin Commission website.
Related Article:
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Recaps Dec. 11 Business Meeting
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