[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48312-48314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19814]


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SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION

18 CFR Parts 806


Review and Approval of Projects

AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of public hearing.

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[[Page 48313]]

SUMMARY: This document contains proposed rules that would amend the 
regulations of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (Commission) 
dealing with the mitigation of consumptive uses. These rules are 
designed to enhance and improve the Commission's existing authorities 
to manage the water resources of the basin.

DATES: The Commission will hold an informational webinar explaining the 
proposed rulemaking on October 1, 2019. Instructions for registration 
for the webinars will be posted on the Commission's website.
    Comments on the proposed rulemaking may be submitted to the 
Commission on or before November 12, 2019. The Commission has scheduled 
a public hearing on the proposed rulemaking to be held on October 31, 
2019 in Harrisburg, PA. The location of the public hearing is listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this document.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Jason E. Oyler, Esq., General 
Counsel, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, 4423 N Front Street, 
Harrisburg, PA 17110-1788, or by email to [email protected]. The 
public hearing location is at the Commission Headquarters at the above 
address.
    Those wishing to testify are asked to notify the Commission in 
advance, if possible, at the regular address listed above or electronic 
address given below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason E. Oyler, Esq., General Counsel, 
telephone: 717-238-0423, ext. 1312; fax: 717-238-2436; email: 
[email protected]. Also, for further information on the proposed 
rulemaking, visit the Commission's website at http://www.srbc.net.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission undertook a more 
comprehensive overhaul of its regulations that were proposed in 
September of 2016 and adopted as final in June of 2017. As a part of 
that final rulemaking, the Commission reserved the changes it had 
proposed pertaining to its regulation of the consumptive use of water. 
It had also proposed a draft Consumptive Use Mitigation Policy as a 
companion to that rulemaking, which was also reserved. The Commission 
has performed a more comprehensive analysis of the comments received on 
that rulemaking and policy, and changes to the consumptive use 
regulation are proposed herein as a follow up to that effort. In 
addition, as a companion to this rulemaking, the Commission is also 
releasing a revised draft policy for Consumptive Use Mitigation to be 
open for public comment simultaneously with this proposed rulemaking.

Standards for Consumptive Uses of Water--18 CFR 806.22

    Section 806.22 (regarding standards for consumptive uses of water) 
will be revised. The proposed revisions in Sec.  806.22(b)(1) and (2) 
lower the 90-day standard for consumptive use mitigation to 45 days and 
require that any alternative water source or storage will not likely 
impact nearby surface waters. The purpose of these changes is to reduce 
the barriers to project sponsors providing their own mitigation. 
Analysis of the past 100 plus years of river flow records show that the 
overwhelming majority of low flow events in the Basin are adequately 
covered by a continuous 45-day consumptive use mitigation standard. 
Further, the prior standard that alternative supplies or storage have 
no impact was too rigid for projects to find suitable alternative 
supplies.
    Section 806.22(b) is also revised to clarify that discontinuance 
includes reduction of water consumption to less than 20,000 gallons per 
day (gpd). This was the Commission's policy from 1992 until 2006 when 
the present rule was adopted. In practice, complete discontinuance was 
found to be impractical and unrealistic for many projects; however, 
some projects have demonstrated the ability to reduce usage to 20,000 
gallons per day when necessary. This practice allows continued 
operations at a locally de minimis consumptive use level while reducing 
mitigation demand on either the project or the Commission. Accordingly, 
this change is designed to increase the feasibility of projects being 
able to select discontinuance as a mitigation option. Discontinuance of 
use is the most effective method of mitigation because it reduces and/
or eliminates the water use during Commission designated low flows 
periods and does not depend on any further action by the Commission or 
project sponsor to be effectuated.
    Section 806.22(e) is amended to allow a project sourced by reuse of 
stormwater, wastewater or other reused or recycled water to be eligible 
for an Approval by Rule for consumptive use.

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 806

    Administrative practice and procedure, Water resources.

    Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the preamble, the 
Susquehanna River Basin Commission proposes to amend 18 CFR part 806 as 
follows:

PART 806--REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF PROJECTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 806 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Secs. 3.4, 3.5 (5), 3.8, 3.10 and 15.2, Pub. L. 91-
575, 84 Stat. 1509 et seq.

0
 2. Amend Sec.  806.22 by revising paragraphs (b)(1) and (e)(1) to read 
as follows:

Sec.  806.22   Standards for consumptive use of water.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) During low flow periods as may be designated by the Commission 
for consumptive use mitigation.
    (i) Reduce withdrawal from the approved source(s), in an amount 
equal to the project's consumptive use, and withdraw water from 
alternative surface water storage or aquifers or other underground 
storage chambers or facilities approved by the Commission, from which 
water can be withdrawn for a period of 45 continuous days such that 
impacts to nearby surface waters will not likely be at a magnitude or 
in a timeframe that would exacerbate present low flow conditions.
    (ii) Release water for flow augmentation, in an amount equal to the 
project's consumptive use, from surface water storage or aquifers, or 
other underground storage chambers or facilities approved by the 
Commission, from which water can be withdrawn for a period of 45 
continuous days such that impacts to nearby surface waters will not 
likely be at a magnitude or in a timeframe that would exacerbate 
present low flow conditions.
    (iii) Discontinue the project's consumptive use, which may include 
reduction of the project sponsor's consumptive use to less than 20,000 
gpd during periods of low flow. In any case of failure to provide the 
specified discontinuance, such project shall provide mitigation in 
accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this section, for the calendar year 
in which such failure occurs, after which the Commission will 
reevaluate the continued acceptability of the discontinuance.
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (1) General rule. Except with respect to projects involving 
hydrocarbon development subject to the provisions of paragraph (f) of 
this section, any project that is solely supplied water for consumptive 
use by public water supply, stormwater, wastewater, or other reused or 
recycled water, or any combination thereof, may be approved by the 
Executive Director under this

[[Page 48314]]

paragraph (e) in accordance with the following, unless the Executive 
Director determines that the project cannot be adequately regulated 
under this approval by rule.
* * * * *

    Dated: September 9, 2019.
Jason E. Oyler,
General Counsel and Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2019-19814 Filed 9-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7040-01-P