[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1763-1765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-670]


      
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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 1763]]


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DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION

18 CFR Part 430


Protected Area Permits for New Withdrawals; Proposed Amendments 
to the Commission's Ground Water Protected Area Regulations for 
Southeastern Pennsylvania; Public Hearing

AGENCY: Delaware River Basin Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Delaware River Basin 
Commission will hold a public hearing to receive comments 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 62 subbasins which are 
entirely or partially within the Ground Water Protected Area. Limits, 
based upon baseflow frequency analyses, were initially specified for 
the 14 subbasins in the Neshaminy Creek Basin. Limits for the remaining 
62 subbasins are based upon additional baseflow frequency analyses 
provided by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1998. Although the limits 
within the Neshaminy Creek Basin remain unchanged, the withdrawal 
limits for the entire protected area are presented in this notice.

DATES: The public hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 9, 1999 
beginning at 1 p.m. and continuing until 5 p.m., as long as there are 
people present wishing to testify. The hearing will resume at 7 p.m. 
and continue until 9 p.m., as long as there are people present wishing 
to testify.
    The deadline for inclusion of written comments in the hearing 
record will be announced at the hearing. Persons wishing to testify at 
the hearing are requested to register with the Secretary in advance of 
the hearing.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to Susan M. Weisman, 
Delaware River Basin Commission, P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, New 
Jersey 08628. The public hearings will be held in the Hearing Room of 
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Southeastern 
Regional Office at 555 E. North Lane, Lee Park Suite 6010, 
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the Commission's Ground 
Water Protected Area Regulations for Southeastern Pennsylvania may be 
obtained by contacting Susan M. Weisman, Commission Secretary, at (609) 
883-9500 ext. 203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Rationale

    The Commission's Ground Water Protected Area Regulations for 
Southeastern Pennsylvania were adopted in 1980 to prevent depletion of 
ground water, protect the 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 pollutants.
    On January 28, 1998, the Commission adopted amendments to the 
Ground Water Protected Area Regulations which established a two-tiered 
system of withdrawal limits. The first tier serves as a warning that a 
subbasin is ``potentially stressed''. In potentially stressed 
subbasins, applicants for new or expanded ground water withdrawals are 
required to implement one or more programs to mitigate adverse impacts 
of additional ground water withdrawals. Acceptable programs include: 
conjunctive use of ground water and surface water; expanded water 
conservation; control of ground water infiltration to the receiving 
sewer systems; and artificial recharge and spray irrigation. The second 
tier serves as the maximum withdrawal limit. The Commission seeks to 
prevent ground water withdrawals from exceeding the maximum withdrawal 
limit.
    The regulations also provide incentives for holders of existing 
DRBC dockets and protected area permits to implement the above-cited 
conjunctive use and conservation programs to mitigate the adverse 
impacts of their ground water withdrawals. If docket or permit holders 
successfully implement one or both programs, the Commission could 
extend the docket or permit duration for up to ten years.
    The regulations also specify administrative criteria for issuing 
and review of dockets and permits as well as protocol for updating and 
revising withdrawal limits to provide additional protection for streams 
designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as ``high quality'' or 
``exceptional value'', or to correspond with any integrated resources 
plans adopted by municipalities for subbasins.
    The ground water study which provided the basis for the withdrawal 
limits for the 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.'' The U.S. Geological 
Survey was contracted by the Commission to prepare a similar study to 
investigate the withdrawal limits for the remaining subbasins in the 
protected area. The results of both studies are recorded on CD-ROM 
which is available from the Commission. Specific software, the Access 
database and ArcView from ESRI are required to view the CD-ROM. To 
review the CD-ROM at the Commission's offices, please contact Judith 
Strong, at (609) 883-9500 ext. 263 for an appointment. To order the CD-
ROM at a cost of $10, please contact Carolyn Hartman at (609) 883-9500 
ext. 249. To review the CD-ROM at locations within the protected area, 
please contact Susan M. Weisman at (609) 883-9500 ext. 203.

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 430

    Water supply.
    The subject of the hearing will be as follows:

[[Page 1764]]

Amendment to the Commission's Ground Water Protected Area 
Regulations for Southeastern Pennsylvania Relating to the 
Establishment of Numerical Ground Water Withdrawal Limits for 
Subbasins in the Protected Area

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, part 430 is proposed to 
be amended as follows:

PART 430--GROUND WATER PROTECTION AREA: PENNSYLVANIA

    1. The authority citation for part 430 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Pub. L. 87-328 (75 Stat. 688).

Sec. 430.13  [Amended]

    2. Section 430.13 is amended by revising paragraph (i)(3) to read 
as follows:
* * * * *
    (i) * * *
    (3)(i) The potentially stressed levels and withdrawal limits for 
all delineated basins and subbasins are set forth below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Potentially
                Subbasin                     stressed        Withdrawal
                                              (mgy) *      limit  (mgy)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Neshaminy Creek Basin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Branch Neshaminy Creek Basin.......            1054            1405
Pine Run Basin..........................             596             795
North Branch Neshaminy Creek............             853            1131
Doylestown Subbasin Neshaminy Creek.....             710             946
Warwick Subbasin Neshaminy Creek........             889            1185
Warrington Subbasin Little Neshaminy
 Creek..................................             505             673
Park Creek Basin........................             582             776
Warminster Subbasin Little Neshaminy
 Creek..................................            1016            1355
Mill Creek Basin........................            1174            1565
Northampton Subbasin Neshaminy Creek....             596             794
Newtown Creek...........................             298             397
Core Creek Basin........................             494             658
Ironworks Creek Basin...................             326             434
Lower Section Subbasin Neshaminy Creek..            3026            4034
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Schuylkill River Basin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hay Creek...............................             974            1299
Lower Reach Manatawny-Ironstone Creek...            1811            2414
Pigeon Creek............................             611             815
Schuylkill-Crow Creek...................            1157            1543
Schuylkill-Mingo Creek..................             671             895
Schuylkill-Plymouth-Mill Creeks.........            4446            5929
Schuylkill-Sixpenny Creek...............            1490            1987
Schuylkill-Sprogels Run.................            1091            1455
Schuylkill-Stony Creek..................             687             916
Schuylkill-Trout Creek..................            1082            1443
Stony Creek.............................            1242            1655
Valley Creek............................            1865            2486
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   French and Pickering Creek Subbasins
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lower Reach French Creek................             634             845
Lower Reach Pickering Creek.............            1716            2288
Middle Reach French Creek...............            1608            2145
South Branch French Creek...............            1044            1393
Upper Reach French Creek................            1295            1726
Upper Reach Pickering Creek.............            1358            1811
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Perkiomen and Skippack Creek Subbasins
------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Branch Perkiomen-Indian Creeks.....             633             844
East Branch Perkiomen-Mill Creeks.......             720             961
East Branch Perkiomen-Morris Run........            1214            1619
Hosensack-Indian Creeks.................            1257            1676
Lower Reach Skippack Creek..............            1069            1426
Perkiomen-Deep Creeks...................            1047            1396
Perkiomen-Lodal Creeks..................            1200            1600
Perkiomen-Macoby Creek..................            1252            1669
Swamp-Middle Creeks.....................            1423            1898
Swamp-Minister Creeks...................             547             730
Swamp-Scioto Creeks.....................             746             994
Towamencin Creek........................             466             622
Unami-Licking Creeks....................             992            1322
Unami-Ridge Valley Creeks...............            1068            1424
Upper Reach Perkiomen Creek.............            1223            1631
Upper Reach Skippack Creek..............             813            1084
West Branch Perkiomen Creek.............            1566            2088
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
[[Page 1765]]

 
                          Delaware River Basin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jericho Creek...........................             421             562
Mill Creek..............................            1600            2134
Paunnacussing Creek.....................             513             684
Pidcock Creek...........................             563             751
Upper Reach Cobbs Creek.................             871            1161
Upper Reach Crum Creek..................            1290            1721
Upper Reach Darby Creek.................            1625            2167
Upper Reach East Branch Chester Creek...            1865            2487
Upper Reach Frankford Creek.............            1414            1886
Upper Reach Poquessing Creek............            1008            1344
Upper Reach Ridley Creek................            1707            2275
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Tohickon Subbasin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tohickon-Beaver-Morgan Creeks...........            1156            1541
Tohickon-Deep Run.......................             956            1274
Tohickon-Geddes-Cabin Runs..............             602             803
Tohickon-Lake Nockamixon................             556             741
Tohickon-Three Mile Run.................             726             968
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Pennypack and Wissahickon Subbasins
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lower Reach Wissahickon Creek...........            2750            3666
Upper Reach Wissahickon Creek...........            1302            1736
Middle Reach Pennypack Creek............            1295            1727
Upper Reach Pennypack Creek.............            1358            1811
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Brandywine Creek Subbasin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Branch Brandywine-Taylor Run.......            1054            1405
Middle Reach Brandywine Creek...........             823            1098
Upper Reach Brandywine Creek............            1614            2153
West Branch Brandywine-Beaver Run.......            2110            2813
West Branch Brandywine-Broad Run........            2380            3173
West Valley Creek.......................            1673            2231
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Lehigh Subbasin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upper Reach Saucon Creek................             946           1262
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*mgy means million gallons per year.

    (ii) Subject to public notice and hearing, this section may be 
updated or revised based upon new and evolving information on hydrology 
and streamflow and ground water monitoring or in accordance with 
paragraph (i)(2) of this section.
    2. This regulation is proposed to be effective upon adoption of the 
final rule.

(Delaware River Basin Compact, 75 Stat. 688.)

    Dated: January 4, 1999.
Susan M. Weisman,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-670 Filed 1-11-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6360-01-P