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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 97-448

NOTICES

Proposed Amendments to Ground Water Protected Area Regulations for Southeastern Pennsylvania; Public Briefings

[27 Pa.B. 1475]

   The Delaware River Basin Commission (Commission) will hold public briefings on proposed amendments to its Ground Water Protected Area Regulations for Southeastern Pennsylvania with respect to the establishment of numerical ground water withdrawal limits for subbasins in the protected area. The proposed limits, based upon hydrologic budget analyses, would initially be specified for the 14 subbasins in the Neshaminy Creek Basin. Limits for the remaining 52 subbasins within the protected area would be developed upon completion of additional hydrologic budget analyses, scheduled to be completed late in 1997.

   The Commission's Ground Water Protected Area Regulations for Southeastern Pennsylvania were adopted in 1980 to prevent depletion of ground water, protect the just and equitable interests and rights of lawful users of the same water source, and balance and reconcile alternative and conflicting uses of limited water resources in the area. Lowered water tables resulting from withdrawals in excess of recharge rates have led to reduction of flows in some perennial streams in the region and have dried up some stream reaches which previously flowed all year. Such reductions in base flow interfere with instream and downstream water uses, adversely affect fisheries and aquatic life, and threaten to reduce the capacity of streams in the region to assimilate natural and man-made point and nonpoint discharges of potential pollutants.

   Since then, the ground water protected area regulations have been implemented and all interference issues have been addressed, and many sources have been limited to more reliable quantities. In addition, other alternative supplies have been made available in much of the protected area. While it is clear that ground water withdrawals have impacted the low flow of perennial streams, it has been difficult to address the impact on streamflow on a project by project basis. With this in mind, the Commission and its Ground Water Advisory Committee evaluated a variety of approaches and determined that additional information was needed. In 1996, the U. S. Geological Survey completed work on a computer program to more accurately compare water withdrawals and ground water base flow in the Neshaminy Creek Basin. Over the past years, the Commission's Ground Water Advisory Committee met on several occasions to review the study products and discuss possible management strategies to address the problems identified by the study. Commission staff has presented the study results and options to the following groups: Water Supply Technical Advisory Committee of the Bucks County Planning Commission; Montgomery County Planning Commission staff; Bucks County Planning Commission; Central Bucks Water Supply Committee; Upper Bucks County Ground Water Committee; Conshohocken Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; the Bucks County Health Department; the US Environmental Protection Agency's Neshaminy Creek Watershed Conference; the Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin; and the Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers.

   The proposed amendments to the Ground Water Protected Area Regulations would establish a two-tiered system of withdrawal limits. The first tier would serve as a warning that a subbasin is ''potentially stressed.'' In potentially stressed subbasins, applicants for new or expanded ground water withdrawals would be required to implement one or more programs to mitigate adverse impacts of additional ground water withdrawals. Acceptable programs would include: conjunctive use of ground water and surface water; expanded water conservation; programs to control ground water infiltration; and artificial recharge and spray irrigation. The second tier would serve as the maximum withdrawal limit. The Commission would seek to prevent ground water withdrawals from exceeding the maximum withdrawal limit.

   The proposed regulations would also provide incentives for holders of existing DRBC dockets and protected area permits to implement one or more of the above programs to mitigate the adverse impacts of their ground water withdrawals. If docket or permit holders successfully implement one or more programs, the Commission would extend the docket or permit duration for up to 10 years.

   The proposed regulations would also specify administrative criteria for issuing and review of dockets and permits as well as protocol for updating and revising withdrawal limits to correspond with any integrated resources plans adopted by municipalities for subbasins.

   The briefings will be held as follows:

   April 8, 1997, beginning at 7 p.m. and continuing until 9 p.m. as long as there are people present wishing to speak. The briefing will be held in the Central Bucks West High School Auditorium, 375 West Court Street, Doylestown, PA.

   April 10, 1997, beginning at 7 p.m. and continuing until 9 p.m. as long as there are people present wishing to speak. The briefing will be held in Room 171 of the Chester County Government Services Center, 601 Westtown Road, West Chester, PA.

   The ground water study which provided the basis for the proposed withdrawal limits for the 14 subbasins in the Neshaminy Creek Basin was prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Commission and is entitled ''Water-Use Analysis Program for the Neshaminy Creek Basin, Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania.'' Limited quantities of this report and its accompanying map series entitled ''Maps of Difference Between Ground-Water Contributions to Base Flow for the Various Recurrence Intervals and Ground Water Withdrawals in the Neshaminy Creek Basin, Pennsylvania'' were printed and may be reviewed at the Commission's offices at 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ. Please contact Judith L. Strong, Commission Librarian at (609) 883-9500 ext. 263 to make an appointment. Review copies are also available at the offices of the Bucks County Planning Commission (215) 345-3400; Bucks County Library Center (215) 348-9082; Montgomery County Planning Commission (Drew Shaw) (610) 278-3733; the Chester County Library (Sue Wilson) (610) 363-0884; and Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (610) 264-4544.

   It is the Commission's intent to analyze all comments received at the public briefings before proposing the adoption of revisions to the Ground Water Protected Area Regulations for Southeastern Pennsylvania. A public hearing on proposed revisions to the regulations is tentatively planned for late spring of 1997.

SUSAN M. WEISMAN,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 97-448. Filed for public inspection March 21, 1997, 9:00 a.m.]


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