New York Register, Volume 39, Issue 03, January 18, 2017

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Library: New York Register
• Published date: 18 January 2017
• Year: 2017

RULE MAKING

ACTIVITIES

Each rule making is identified by an I.D. No., which consists

of 13 characters. For example, the I.D. No. AAM-01-96-

00001-E indicates the following:

AAM -the abbreviation to identify the adopting agency

01 -the State Register issue number

96 -the year

00001 -the Department of State number, assigned upon

receipt of notice.

E -Emergency Rule Making—permanent action

not intended (This character could also be: A

for Adoption; P for Proposed Rule Making; RP

for Revised Rule Making; EP for a combined

Emergency and Proposed Rule Making; EA for

an Emergency Rule Making that is permanent

and does not expire 90 days after filing.)

Itali cs con tain ed in text denote new material. Brackets

indicate material to be deleted.

Delaware River Basin

Commission

INFORMATION NOTICE

INFORMATION NOTICE

NOTICE OF FINAL RULE ADOPTION

Regulatory Program Fees and WaterSupply Charges

FILING DATE:December 29, 2016.

EFFECTIVE DATE:This final rule is effective January 1, 2017.

ACTION TAKEN: By Resolution No. 2016-9 on December 14, 2016,

the Delaware River Basin Commission amended its Administrative

Manual Part II – Rules of Practice and Procedure and Administrative

Manual Part III – Basin Regulations – Water Supply Charges (21

NYCRR Subchapter A, Part 833 and Subchapter D, Part 883,

respectively) to adopt a new project review fee structure and provide for

automatic inflation adjustments. These changes were also incorporated

into the Commission’s Comprehensive Plan.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Delaware River Basin Compact, United

States Public Law 87-328, Approved September 27, 1961, 75 Statutes at

Large 688; 53 Delaware Laws, Chapter 71, Approved May 26, 1961;

New Jersey Laws of 1961, Chapter 13, Approved May 1, 1961; New

York Laws of 1961, Chapter 148, Approved March 17, 1961; and

Pennsylvania Acts of 1961, Act No. 268, Approved July 7, 1961.

PURPOSE: The amendments establish a new project review fee

structure and provide for automatic inflation adjustments for regulatory

program fees and water charges.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard C. Gore,

Director of Administration and Finance, 609-883-9500, ext. 201.

SUPPLEMENTARYINFORMATION:

Background. The Delaware River Basin Commission (“DRBC” or

“Commission”) is a Federal-interstate compact agency charged with

managing the water resources of the Delaware River Basin on a regional

basis without regard to political boundaries. Its members are the

governors of the four basin states – Delaware, New Jersey, New York and

Pennsylvania – and on behalf of the federal government, the North

Atlantic Division Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The

Commission is not subject to the requirements of the New York State

Administrative Procedure Act. The purpose of this notice is to advise the

public that duly adopted regulations of the Commission have been filed

with the state in accordance with Section 14.2 of the Delaware River

Basin Compact.

By Resolution No. 2016-9 on December 14, 2016 the Commission

approved a comprehensive revision of its project review fee structure,

including an automatic annual indexed inflation adjustment for most fees.

An inflation adjustment was also approved for DRBC’s water supply

charges rates applicable to consumptive and non-consumptive surface

water withdrawals. The changes to DRBC’s regulatory program fees are

designed to provide a more predictable and sustainable source of

revenues and to close the annual gap in funding needed to support

DRBC’s project review program. They also adjust the fees program to

better align with the One Process/One Permit Program instituted earlier in

2016. The changes to DRBC’s water supply charges regulations are

designed to help revenues assigned to DRBC’s Water Supply Storage

Facilities Fund keep pace with inflation.

Public Process. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Public Hearing

was posted to the Commission’s website on May 9, 2016. A detailed set

of questions and answers about the proposal (“FAQs”) and a press release

accompanied the May 9, 2016 web posting. On May 10, 2016, an email

alert, including a link to the notice and supporting documents, was

transmitted to all parties subscribed to DRBC’s list serve. Notice of the

proposed rules was published in the Federal Register at 81 FR 35662,

June 3, 2016 and appeared in the Delaware Register of Regulations, 19

DE Reg., 1052, June 1, 2016; New Jersey Register, 48 N.J.R. 949, June 6,

2016; New YorkState Register, May 25, 2016 (page 1); and Pennsylvania

Bulletin, 46 Pa.B. 2967, June 11, 2016. DRBC staff hosted a public

informational meeting on the proposal on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 in

Washington Crossing, Pa., including presentations by staff and informal

questions and answers. The FAQs posted on the Commission’s website

were thereafter supplemented with questions and responses offered

during the informational meeting. A public hearing on the proposed

amendments took place at the Commission’s office building in West

Trenton, N.J. on July 27, 2016 and written comments were accepted

through August 12, 2016.

In response to the written and oral comments submitted on the draft

rules, staff developed a detailed comment and response document,

including modest changes to the rule text. After careful consideration and

consultation with staff on the comments and proposed changes to the

draft rules, the Commissioners determined that the changes were

appropriate, responsive to the public’s concerns and a logical outgrowth

of the rules as proposed. The changes and the staff response to comments

were adopted by unanimous vote of the Commissioners to approve

Resolution No. 2016-9 at the Commission’s public business meeting on

December 14, 2016.

Additional materials. The following additional materials can be found

on the Commission’s web site, www.drbc.net:

DResolution No. 2016-9, at http://www.nj.gov/drbc/library/documents/

Res2016-09_Fee-Rule.pdf. Attachments to the resolution include a

redline version of the regulatory program fees rule text, showing changes

between the draft and final versions of the new rule; and a redline version

of the schedule of water charges, comparing the text that has been in

place since 2011 with the text of this final rule.

DThe detailed comment and response document prepared by staff and

adopted by the Commission when it approved the final rule on December

14, 2016, at http://www.nj.gov/drbc/library/documents/regs/CR_fees-

rulemaking121416.pdf.

DA questions and answers document (“FAQs”) prepared by staff to

explain the purpose and effect of the rule changes, at http://www.nj.gov/

drbc/library/documents/FAQ_fees-charges121416.pdf.

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