Delaware River FFMP Proposal Update

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Delaware River Basin Commission

NOTICES

Flexible Flow Management Program:

New York City Delaware Basin Reservoirs,
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[Federal Register: August 28, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 49268-49269]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28au07-74]

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION

Interim Action Concerning Operation of the New York City Delaware
Basin Reservoirs Pending Rulemaking To Implement a Flexible Flow
Management Program

AGENCY: Delaware River Basin Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Delaware River Basin Commission (``Commission'' or DRBC)
will hold a public hearing to receive comments on an interim New York
City Delaware River Basin reservoir operations plan. An interim
operations plan is proposed to be implemented pending unanimous
agreement on a revised Flexible Flow Management Program (FFMP) proposal
by the Parties to the U.S. Supreme Court Decree of 1954--the states of
Delaware, New Jersey, and New York, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and the City of New York--and completion by the Commission of a
rulemaking process on such FFMP proposal.

DATES: The public hearing will take place on Wednesday, September 26,
2007 during the Commission's regular business meeting, beginning at
1:30 p.m. Written comments will be accepted through the close of the
public hearing; however, earlier submittals would be appreciated.
Persons wishing to testify are asked to register in advance with the
Commission Secretary at (609) 883-9500 ext. 203. All written comments
submitted to the Commission during the prior comment period, or
presented orally or in writing at its prior scheduled hearings on the
form of the FFMP that was posted on the Commission's Web site in
February 2007 will be included in the administrative record for this
action and need not be resubmitted.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will take place at the Commission's
office building, located at 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, New
Jersey. Directions are available on the Commission's Web site, DRBC Home.
Please do not rely upon MapQuest or other Internet

mapping services for driving directions, as they may not provide
accurate directions to the DRBC. Written comments may be submitted by
e-mail to paula.schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us; by U.S. Mail to Commission
Secretary, DRBC, P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360; or by fax
to 609-883-9522. In all cases, the commenter's name, affiliation, and
address should be provided in the comment document, and ``FFMP'' should
appear in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, please
contact Pamela M. Bush, Commission Secretary and Assistant General
Counsel, DRBC, at 609-883-9500 ext. 203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Decree Parties have considered the broad
range of public comments received on an initial FFMP proposal published
in February 2007. With the administrative support of the DRBC staff and
the Delaware River Master, the Parties continue to work towards a
consensus proposal that incorporates changes made in response to those
comments. The Parties' efforts are now focused on completing
negotiations by early September 2007. In order to be implemented by the
DRBC, the relevant portions of any revised FFMP proposal developed by
the Parties must be promulgated as a rule or adjudicated in a docket by
incorporating them into (a) Amendments to the DRBC's Water Code; (b)
one or more DRBC dockets (similar to permits) or docket revisions; or
(c) a combination of Water Code amendments and dockets. The DRBC's
Comprehensive Plan may also require revision.
Insufficient time remains to complete a full notice and comment
rulemaking process before the Commission's next public meeting and
hearing on September 26, 2007. Thus, if the Parties reach consensus on
a revised FFMP on or before September 26, the Commission will consider
approving an interim New York City Delaware River Basin reservoir
operations plan on September 26 to be implemented pending completion of
a rulemaking process on the revised FFMP. Such interim action could
consist of (1) Extending the current fisheries management program
(Revision 7 of Docket D-77-20 CP); (2) reinstating a previous flow
regime; or (3) implementing in whole or in part the consensus FFMP as
proposed on an interim basis.
If the Commission acts to extend the current fisheries management
program or to reinstate a previous flow regime, such program will be
considered in combination with a spill mitigation program such as
Revision 9 of Docket D-77-20 CP, which is currently in effect, and a
program designed to ameliorate the potential effects on the tailwaters
fishery of the Lake Wallenpaupack drought operating plan adopted by
Resolution No. 2002-33. Any interim operations program that the
Commission selects would be implemented simultaneously with a full
notice and comment rulemaking process on rules to implement any FFMP
proposal unanimously consented to by the Decree Parties. An interim
program approved by the Commission and the Decree Parties would
continue in effect until any expiration date contained in the program
adopted or unless and until replaced by another program that has been
approved by the Commission and the Decree Parties following notice and
a public hearing.
In the event consensus is not reached on the FFMP on or before the
Commission's meeting on September 26, the Commission will consider
options 1 and 2 above. In accordance with section 3.3 of the Delaware
River Basin Compact, 75 Statutes at Large 688, any program of the
Commission that affects the diversions, compensating releases, rights,
conditions, and obligations of the 1954 Supreme Court Decree in the
matter of New Jersey v. New York, 347 U.S. 995, 74 S. Ct. 842 also
requires the unanimous consent of the Decree Parties.
The current reservoir releases program, established by Resolution
No. 2004-3, and the current spill mitigation program, established by
Resolution No. 2006-18, both were due to expire on May 31, 2007. In
light of ongoing efforts by the Decree Parties to develop a revised
consensus FFMP proposal, the Commission extended both programs through
September 30, 2007 by Resolution No. 2007-7 on May 10, 2007.
A notice concerning the original FFMP proposal of the Decree
Parties appeared in the Federal Register on February 12, 2007 (72 FR
6509).

[[Page 49269]]

All resolutions and docket approvals relating to operation of the
New York City Delaware Basin Reservoirs are available on the
Commission's Web site at DRBC Home or upon request from the

Delaware River Basin Commission, P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-
0360.

Dated: August 22, 2007.
Pamela M. Bush,
Commission Secretary.
[FR Doc. 07-4234 Filed 8-24-07; 9:28 am]

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