Pennsylvania Code
Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

• No statutes or acts will be found at this website.

The Pennsylvania Bulletin website includes the following: Rulemakings by State agencies; Proposed Rulemakings by State agencies; State agency notices; the Governor’s Proclamations and Executive Orders; Actions by the General Assembly; and Statewide and local court rules.

PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 18-863

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Revised Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Compact Council and Regional Body Procedures; Feedback Sought on Draft

[48 Pa.B. 3376]
[Saturday, June 2, 2018]

 The Commonwealth is one of eight states in the United States and two Canadian provinces sharing jurisdictional responsibilities for water use and conservation in the Great Lakes. In 2008, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and Agreement (Compact and Agreement) created the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council (Compact Council) and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River WaterResources Regional Body (Regional Body). These entities provide a venue and framework to assure the Compact and Agreement is successfully implemented.

 On September 1, 2017, the Compact Council and Regional Body created a Procedures Update Team (Team). The Team was charged with drafting updates to the Regional Body Interim Procedures and Compact Council Interim Guidance for the Regional Body and Compact Council's consideration. This task includes recommending changes to these documents and potentially drafting new rules for the Compact Council's consideration. Each member of the Regional Body and Compact Council appointed at least one individual to the joint Team.

 The Team's draft recommendations to the Regional Body and Compact Council members are available on the Regional Body's web site at http://www.glslregionalbody.org/PUT-DraftUpdates.aspx and the Compact Council's web site at http://www.glslcompactcouncil.org/PUT-DraftUpdates.aspx.

 The draft documents include the following:

 1. Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body Procedures. This document contains the procedures that the Regional Body will follow during the review of a diversion subject to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement through the issuance of its Declaration of Finding. This document mirrors the Compact Guidance for Parts I and II.

 2. Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact Guidance and Rules of Practice and Procedure. This document mirrors the Regional Body Procedures through Parts I and II with respect to review of a diversion subject to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, then continues on to describe the decision making process and the process for any administrative hearing, how modifications may be made to Compact Council decisions, and the process to be used for rulemaking.

 3. Sequence of Events for Consideration of Proposals for Exceptions to the Prohibition on Diversions that are Subject to Regional Review. This document outlines the steps for review and decision making for a diversion proposal.

 The Team is soliciting feedback from the public on these drafts through June 21, 2018.

 Note that this is not the formal public comment period that is part of a notice and comment rulemaking. Instead, the Team will take into consideration all feedback as it develops its final recommendations to the Regional Body and Compact Council. If the Compact Council decides to propose rules, public notice and an opportunity for the public to submit comments to the Compact Council will be provided before any rules are adopted.

 Feedback can be sent to the Team at Procedures Update Team, c/o Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 2700, Chicago, IL 60606 or by e-mail at feedback@gsgp.org. Use ''Procedures Update Team'' in the subject line.

 In addition, comments may be made verbally on June 21, 2018, following the public meetings of the Regional Body and Compact Council beginning at approximately 10:30 a.m. CDT in person at Fitger's Inn, Theater, 600 East Superior Street, Duluth, MN 55802 or by webinar. Individuals wishing to speak must register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5749033331717595905. Webinar ID: 867-268-467.

 Individuals who wish to participate in listen only mode may call one of the following numbers:

Canada: (647) 497-9386
United States: (951) 384-3421
Access Code: 983-325-516

 For further information or questions, contact Timothy Bruno, Department of Environmental Protection, Office of the Great Lakes, (814) 835-1477.

PATRICK McDONNELL, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 18-863. Filed for public inspection June 1, 2018, 9:00 a.m.]


No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.