(Harrisburg, PA – Jan. 2016) The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (Commission) recently adopted final regulations that simplify and revise the rules for transfer of approvals, create a category for minor modifications, and establish a procedure for the Commission to issue general permits. These regulations took effect on Dec. 11, 2015.
“Recent changes to the Commission’s regulations will streamline certain actions without sacrificing critical oversight. The new rules will make our regulatory program more efficient, less burdensome to the regulated community, and allow staff to focus our resources on the most important issues facing the water resources of the Basin,”commented Andrew Dehoff, Executive Director of the Commission.
For transfer of approvals, the following changes were made:
The rule is completely rewritten and simplified.
Requirement to submit new applications for approval older than 10 years is removed.
New applications for previously unapproved aspects of a transferred project are still required, but the deadline for submittal of these applications is changed from 90 days to a timeline approved by the Executive Director upon transfer.
A new section to the Commission’s regulations, Section 806.18, for the first time documents the Commission’s longstanding practice of modifying existing approvals. The new rule recognizes modifications to approvals; defines major and minor modifications; and establishes application, notice, and approval requirements for modifications.
The new rule also establishes a process for developing general permits with language that was drawn from the regulations of the Commission’s member jurisdictions. General permits would be developed by staff and issued by the Commissioners.
During the proposal phase of the regulations, the Commission held a public hearing and also received written comments from a range of interests including business, industry, and environmental and conservation organizations. The final adopted rules included revised language intended to address certain comments.
The Commission is a federal/interstate governmental agency responsible for protecting and wisely managing the water resources within the 27,500 square-mile Susquehanna River Basin without regard to political boundaries. The Susquehanna rises and flows through New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay.
For more information on the Commission, visit www.srbc.net.