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Most Recent Commission Meeting Highlights

The page offers a full recap of the most recent DRBC Commission Business Meeting.
Meeting of September 9, 2021

Because of COVID-19 mitigation measures in effect, the third-quarter 2021 public hearing and business meeting of the Delaware River Basin Commission were held remotely.

The Delaware River Basin Commission held its regularly scheduled business meeting remotely on Thursday, September 9, 2021, via Zoom Webinar.

Below is the business meeting agenda.

A public hearing was held remotely on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, via Zoom Webinar. Items heard at the public hearing, which began at 1:30 p.m., included 19 draft dockets for withdrawals, discharges and other water-related projects subject to the Commission's review.

Written comments on all matters heard on August 11 were accepted through 5:00 p.m. on August 16.

Business Meeting Agenda:

The business meeting on September 9, 2021, began at 10:30 a.m. and adjourned at approximately 11:40 a.m.; there was an open public comment session after the close of the business meeting, which ran until approximately 12:30 p.m.

Please Note: Comments made during Open Public Comment Sessions are NOT included in any decision-making record. There is no requirement for the Commission to provide for open public comment.

The agenda for the business meeting follows, with links to the items approved (links to documents are added to this page as they become available).

Items heard at the August 11, 2021, public hearing are noted by *. 

1. Welcome and Introductions. (LTC Ramon Brigantti, USACE Philadelphia)

2. Minutes. (Ken Warren; The minutes of the February 25, 2021, and of the June 9, 2021, business meetings were both approved by unanimous vote)

3. Announcements.

4. Hydrologic Conditions Report. (Amy Shallcross; pdf)

5. Executive Director’s Report. (Steve Tambini)

  • I would like to recognize and thank Amy Shallcross and Kate Schmidt and DRBC's staff for their work during the Tropical Storm Ida event. Amy and Kate's work was reflected in the frequent basin centric updates and communications that the public received during this storm and during other extreme river flow events. What the public does not see and I get to witness very clearly is all the coordination and preparation it takes to report on a dynamic situation accurately and to field and respond to questions and inquiries from the public, colleagues, stakeholders and partners.

  • The devastation from Ida was felt both within the Basin and by many others in this country from Louisiana to New England. Our thoughts are with those who lost friends and loved ones and those who may need to re-build their homes and businesses. Also, sincere thanks to the first responders, emergency personnel and average people who risked their safety to help others!

  • The frequency of extreme weather events like the recent storms Ida and Henri continues to highlight the impacts of climate change on all aspects of the water cycle. Ida is a teachable moment for water resource managers and water stakeholders. Our resiliency to droughts, floods, sea level rise and other climate events is critical to achieving sustainable water security for the Basin. The DRBC core mission of managing, protecting and improving our shared water resources is uniquely focused on planning and policy to address water resiliency and water security at the watershed scale. While new resources and program funding for the Basin are always a good thing, Ida and other extreme events are siren calls on the Basin community to prioritize, plan and build the grey and green infrastructure we need to adapt to the changing climate, improve our water resiliency and thereby achieve the water resource security we require for a healthy and prosperous future.

  • On today's agenda, I will be presenting a Resolution for the Minutes for consideration to extend the deadline for publishing draft rules on with respect to transfers of water and wastewater from and to the Delaware River Basin. I would like my report to reflect that DRBC staff and Commissioner representatives have been working diligently to prepare the draft regulations and all related supporting elements. While the process to publish draft rules is near complete, it will not be fully complete by the original September 30, 2021, deadline.
     
  • DRBC will be publishing a technical report in a few weeks. Entitled "Water Withdrawal and Consumptive Use Estimates for the DRB with Projections to 2060," this report will provide an important planning tool that the Commission will use to assess future water availability in the Basin.

  • In 1996 the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (or PDE) was incorporated as a non-profit organization. Over its 25 year history, PDE has worked with the DRBC, the federal government, the Delaware Estuary states of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and many others in a non-regulatory setting to connect people, science and nature for a healthy Delaware River and Bay. PDE hosts the Delaware Estuary Program, one of 28 National Estuary programs supported by EPA. In 2019, PDE partnered with DRBC and many others to update the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan for the Delaware Estuary Program. I invite you all to visit https://delawareestuary.org/ to reflect on the current and past work of PDE over there long and successfully history. In fact, please check out the information on PDE’s upcoming Delaware River Festival events from September 24 to October 3 in Philadelphia, Camden and virtually. I hope you will all join me in congratulating PDE on their 25 anniversary and wishing them continued success in the future.

  • This will be the last Commission Business Meeting for DRBC’s Peter Eschbach, who will be starting his well-deserved retirement effective November 1, 2021. Peter joined the DRBC in 2016 and in 2017 he assumed his current role as Director of Communications and External Affairs. For the past 5 years Peter has always brought new ideas, unique perspectives and a willingness to partner with the the Basin community. Peter’s professional communications skills has improved ways to tell anyone who will listen the value of the DRBC and the benefit this very unique agency has brought to our region. He developed the Our Shared Waters partnership and many other tools to outreach and educate our vast and diverse basin geography. As many of you know, Peter is an Army veteran and a proud West Point graduate. Please join me in thanking Peter for his service to the Basin and wishing him, and his wife Susan, a very enjoyable retirement.

6. General Counsel Report. (Ken Warren)

7. A Resolution for the Minutes providing for the biennial actuarial evaluation of the Commission’s “Other Post-Employment Benefit” (“OPEB”) obligations in accordance with Government Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 75 ("GASB 75"). (Elba Deck; this Resolution for the Minutes was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf) 

8. A Resolution for the Minutes to update the Administrative Manual - By-laws, Management and Personnel. (Elba Deck; this Resolution for the Minutes was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf) 

9. A Resolution for the Minutes extending through November 30, 2021 the date by which the DRBC will publish proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and implementing regulations with respect to transfers of water and wastewater from and to the Delaware River Basin. (Steve Tambini; this Resolution for the Minutes was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf) 

*10. Project Review Docket Applications. (David Kovach; approved dockets are pdfs) 

  • Please note that at each of its public meetings, the Commission may consider action on any item for which a hearing has been completed or may defer one or more such items for consideration at a public meeting of the Commission on a future date.

  • Dockets #1-19  were subject to public hearings on August 11, 2021.

  • Dockets #2-19 were approved unanimously by the Commissioners on September 9, 2021.  

  • Consideration of Docket #1 was postponed to allow additional time for review.

View docket location map for draft dockets heard on August 11, 2021 (pdf)

  1. Cambridge Lee Industries, Inc., D-1970-120-4. Consideration of this docket was postponed to allow additional time for review.

  2. Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc., D-1977-094 CP-3.

  3. Horsham Water & Sewer Authority, D-1988-017 CP-4.

  4. North Wales Water Authority, D-1990-006 CP-4.

  5. Lake Adventure Comm. Assoc., D-1993-062 CP-4.

  6. Shoemakersville Municipal Authority, D-1993-074 CP-6.

  7. Superior Tube Company, Inc., D-1996-013-3.

  8. Newmanstown Water Authority, D-1997-040 CP-3.

  9. Parkhouse Providence Pointe, D-2000-040 CP-3.

  10. MC Resource Development Company, D-2000-065-3.

  11. Union League of Philadelphia, d/b/a Union League Liberty Hill, D-2001-057-3.

  12. BlueTriton Brands, Inc., D-2002-045-3.

  13. Pennsylvania American Water Company, D-2006-036 CP-3.

  14. Upper Makefield Township, D-2007-025 CP-4.

  15. Blackwood Golf Course, D-2010-024-2.

  16. Altuglas LLC, D-2010-041-2.

  17. Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority, D-1987-010 CP-4.

  18. Spring Township, D-1988-077 CP-5.

  19. PSEG Power LLC, D-2020-002-1.