Delaware River plan to remain unchanged
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
New Jersey Herald
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON
bscruton@njherald.com
WEST TRENTON — Faced with an end-of-the-month deadline, the Delaware River Basin Commission will likely vote to continue with a water management plan which everybody seems to agree isn't working, but which the parties apparently can't agree on how to change.
The commission meets Wednesday for a work session at 10:15 a.m. in the commission's office building then will hold a formal business session at 1:30 p.m. The office is located at 25 State Police Drive.
Late last year, the commissioners thought they had come up with a plan on how to manage the flow of the Delaware River, but the plan was trashed by several different groups during public hearings this spring. The commissioners withdrew the plan while work continued in a new direction. However, there has not been the required unanimous agreement on a new plan.
In August, it became apparent an agreement could not be reached in time to make the proper public notices before the September meeting. Kate O'Hara, a spokeswoman for the commission said at the time that without that agreement, the commission is forced to renew the current management program which expires at the end of the month.
She could not say what the stumbling blocks are to an agreement and there was no immediate comment from the state Department of Environmental Protection whose commissioner, Lisa Jackson, is the state's first alternate member to the commission.
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court set down the first requirements on who could use water from the Delaware River and how much could be diverted. That case came after the states bordering the 320-mile long river sued when New York City began construction of reservoirs on the branches of the upper Delaware River in the Catskills. That decision requires that the four states — Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey — and New York City, the parties in the lawsuit, must all agree to any changes in how the water is managed.
And out of that decision came the Delaware River Basin Commission, created to administer the river and its watershed. The four states each have a seat while the federal government replaces New York City as the fifth member on the commission.
Over the years, there has been some tweaking of how the city's reservoirs are managed and how much water is released to flow down the river. While there were complaints from some quarters, such as anglers upset over loss of trout habitat and outfitters who wanted a more consistent and dependable flow for the boating season, it wasn't until the major floods of 2004, 2005 and 2006 that the flow of water became a major issue.
Many areas along the river saw major damage from the floods, which in some areas, were the three biggest floods on record. Many fingers have been pointed at New York City and how it manages the three reservoirs — Cannonsville and Pepacton on the West and East Branch of the Delaware River and Neversink on the Neversink River.
The critics claim the flooding could have been lessened had the city's Department of Environ-mental Protection, which operates the reservoirs, maintained a "void," or lower water levels in the reservoirs. The critics said that lower level, as much as 20 percent capacity of the reservoirs, would have given the flood waters a place to collect rather than rushing out into the main stem of the river.
For its part, New York City claims the reservoirs were built for drinking water supply, and not as flood control devices, and some studies have suggested the "shock absorber" effect of the voids would have had only a slight effect on the flood crest.
The commission also is a permitting agency for any construction or development work within the river's watershed that involves groundwater, either taking it out through wells or putting it back through a sewage treatment system.
Among projects up for approval on the commission's Wednesday agenda are new wells at Diamond Sand and Gravel in Sparta, which is in the watershed for the Paulinskill, a tributary of the Delaware; and a sewage treatment plant for Forest Glen Estates in Delaware Township in Pike County, Pa.
Diamond is seeking permission to take no more than 3.1 million gallons of water a month out of the new wells to use for washing the gravel products it produces. The amount is the same it now uses, but from existing wells. The company recycles much of that water.
The Forest Glen Estates project will collect and treat sewage from a proposed 134-unit housing development, then use the treated water to irrigate about 15 acres of woodlands.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
New Jersey Herald
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON
bscruton@njherald.com
WEST TRENTON — Faced with an end-of-the-month deadline, the Delaware River Basin Commission will likely vote to continue with a water management plan which everybody seems to agree isn't working, but which the parties apparently can't agree on how to change.
The commission meets Wednesday for a work session at 10:15 a.m. in the commission's office building then will hold a formal business session at 1:30 p.m. The office is located at 25 State Police Drive.
Late last year, the commissioners thought they had come up with a plan on how to manage the flow of the Delaware River, but the plan was trashed by several different groups during public hearings this spring. The commissioners withdrew the plan while work continued in a new direction. However, there has not been the required unanimous agreement on a new plan.
In August, it became apparent an agreement could not be reached in time to make the proper public notices before the September meeting. Kate O'Hara, a spokeswoman for the commission said at the time that without that agreement, the commission is forced to renew the current management program which expires at the end of the month.
She could not say what the stumbling blocks are to an agreement and there was no immediate comment from the state Department of Environmental Protection whose commissioner, Lisa Jackson, is the state's first alternate member to the commission.
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court set down the first requirements on who could use water from the Delaware River and how much could be diverted. That case came after the states bordering the 320-mile long river sued when New York City began construction of reservoirs on the branches of the upper Delaware River in the Catskills. That decision requires that the four states — Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey — and New York City, the parties in the lawsuit, must all agree to any changes in how the water is managed.
And out of that decision came the Delaware River Basin Commission, created to administer the river and its watershed. The four states each have a seat while the federal government replaces New York City as the fifth member on the commission.
Over the years, there has been some tweaking of how the city's reservoirs are managed and how much water is released to flow down the river. While there were complaints from some quarters, such as anglers upset over loss of trout habitat and outfitters who wanted a more consistent and dependable flow for the boating season, it wasn't until the major floods of 2004, 2005 and 2006 that the flow of water became a major issue.
Many areas along the river saw major damage from the floods, which in some areas, were the three biggest floods on record. Many fingers have been pointed at New York City and how it manages the three reservoirs — Cannonsville and Pepacton on the West and East Branch of the Delaware River and Neversink on the Neversink River.
The critics claim the flooding could have been lessened had the city's Department of Environ-mental Protection, which operates the reservoirs, maintained a "void," or lower water levels in the reservoirs. The critics said that lower level, as much as 20 percent capacity of the reservoirs, would have given the flood waters a place to collect rather than rushing out into the main stem of the river.
For its part, New York City claims the reservoirs were built for drinking water supply, and not as flood control devices, and some studies have suggested the "shock absorber" effect of the voids would have had only a slight effect on the flood crest.
The commission also is a permitting agency for any construction or development work within the river's watershed that involves groundwater, either taking it out through wells or putting it back through a sewage treatment system.
Among projects up for approval on the commission's Wednesday agenda are new wells at Diamond Sand and Gravel in Sparta, which is in the watershed for the Paulinskill, a tributary of the Delaware; and a sewage treatment plant for Forest Glen Estates in Delaware Township in Pike County, Pa.
Diamond is seeking permission to take no more than 3.1 million gallons of water a month out of the new wells to use for washing the gravel products it produces. The amount is the same it now uses, but from existing wells. The company recycles much of that water.
The Forest Glen Estates project will collect and treat sewage from a proposed 134-unit housing development, then use the treated water to irrigate about 15 acres of woodlands.
