Susquehanna River Basin Commission
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) is federal-interstate compact commission created by the Susquehanna River Basin Compact (Pub. L. 91-575) between three U.S states: (Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland), and the federal government, and signed into law by President Richard Nixon on Christmas Eve 1970 to be effective 30 days later on January 23, 1971.[1]
Purpose and activities
The purpose of the SRBC is to manage the water resources of the Susquehanna River under comprehensive planning principles through its own programs and by coordinating the efforts of the three states and the federal government. These program efforts include implementation of structural and non-structural flood mitigation projects, regulation of water withdrawals and consumptive use, allocation of water resources among the member states, restoration and preservation of fisheries and wetlands, protection of future water supply (including availability of flows into the Chesapeake Bay), and protection of water quality.[2]
Membership
State membership on the Commission includes the governors of the three participating states or their designees. Under Pub. L. 110-114, the federal member is ex officio the Commander, North Atlantic Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[3] The members appoint alternate members to serve in their place. As of January 2014, Brig. Gen. Kent Savre is the federal member of the Commission. Dr. Robert M. Summers is the member from Maryland and James M. Tierney is the member from New York. Chris Abruzzo is the member from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Brig. Gen. Kent Savre also serves as the United States Member of the Delaware River Basin Commission under the authority of Pub. L. 110-114.
The Commission’s appointed members do periodically change. Here is the most current member list.
Controversy
In 2012 the Commission attracted protests by approving the extraction of water for use in fracking, an activity which the protestors believed causes ground-water pollution and contributes to global warming.[4]
This water extraction involved the sale of a mobile home park by the owner to Aqua America who had gotten permission from the Commission to withdraw up to 3 million gallons of water per day from the Susquehana at that site. Aqua America then evicted the occupants so as to build a pumping station on the site, attracting further protests from the residents of the site and their supporters.[5]
See also
- Title 18 of the Code of Federal Regulations
- Colorado River Compact
- Columbia River Gorge Commission
- Connecticut River Valley Flood Control Commission
- Delaware River Basin Commission
- Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
- Red River Compact Commission
References
- ↑ Each of the three participating states had already enacted the compact prior to its approval by the U.S. Congress and President Nixon, thus making it a solemn agreement among the parties to jointly exercise their sovereign powers in the management of the basin's water resources. The Commission is neither a federal or state agency, but rather is collectively the agency of all four of its member jurisdictions.Full text of the Susquehanna River Basin Compact
- ↑ Overview of the SRBC
- ↑ "SRBC Commissioners". SRBC Official Website. Susquehanna River Basin Commission. 2009-06-10. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ↑ "SRBC approves water withdrawals for Marcellus drilling over chants from protesters". Pennlive. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
- ↑ "32-unit village no more". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Retrieved 11 December 2012.