2019-23592. Notice of Public Hearing and Business Meeting; November 13 and December 11, 2019

Notice is hereby given that the Delaware River Basin Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. A business meeting will be held the following month on Wednesday, December 11, 2019. The hearing and business meeting are open to the public and will take place at the Washington Crossing Historic Park Visitor Center, 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania.

Public Hearing. The public hearing on November 13, 2019 will begin at 1:30 p.m. Hearing items will include draft dockets for withdrawals, discharges, and other projects that could have a substantial effect on the basin's water resources, as well as a resolution establishing the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and providing for its purpose, membership and initial charge.

The list of projects scheduled for hearing, including project descriptions, and the text of the proposed resolution will be posted on the Commission's website, www.drbc.gov,, in a long form of this notice at least ten days before the hearing date.

Written comments on matters scheduled for hearing on November 13 will be accepted through 5:00 p.m. on November 18.

The public is advised to check the Commission's website periodically prior to the hearing date, as items scheduled for hearing may be postponed if additional time is needed to complete the Commission's review, and items may be added up to ten days prior to the hearing date. In reviewing docket descriptions, the public is also asked to be aware that the details of projects may change during the Commission's review, which is ongoing.

Public Meeting. The public business meeting on December 11, 2019 will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will include: Adoption of the Minutes of the Commission's September 11, 2019 Business Meeting, announcements of upcoming meetings and events, a report on hydrologic conditions, reports by the Executive Director and the Commission's General Counsel, and consideration of any items for which a hearing has been completed or is not required. The latter may include but are not limited to Resolutions for the Minutes authorizing the Executive Director or his designee to: (a) Issue a task order to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (“ANSDU”) to provide analytical services for characterization of algal composition in the Delaware Estuary; (b) issue a task order to the ANSDU to provide technical services for the modernization of Decision Support System (“DSS”) Tools for the Upper Delaware; and (c) execute an agreement for the preparation of an actuarial evaluation of the Commission's Other Post-Employment Benefit (“OPEB”) obligations, in accordance with Government Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 75.

After all scheduled business has been completed and as time allows, the Business Meeting will be followed by up to one hour of Open Public Comment, an opportunity to address the Commission on any topic concerning management of the basin's water resources outside the context of a duly noticed, on-the-record public hearing.

There will be no opportunity for additional public comment for the record at the December 11 Business Meeting on items for which a hearing was completed on November 13 or a previous date. Commission consideration on December 11 of items for which the public hearing is closed may result in approval of the item (by docket or resolution) as proposed, approval with changes, denial, or deferral. When the Commissioners defer an action, they may announce an additional period for written comment on the item, with or without an additional hearing date, or they may take additional time to consider the input they have already received without requesting further public input. Any deferred items will be considered for action at a public meeting of the Commission on a future date.

Advance Sign-Up for Oral Comment. Individuals who wish to comment on the record during the public hearing on November 13 or to address the Commissioners informally during the Open Public Comment portion of the meeting on December 11 as time allows, are asked to sign-up in advance through EventBrite. Links to EventBrite for the Public Hearing and the Business Meeting are available at www.drbc.gov. For assistance, please contact Ms. Paula Schmitt of the Commission staff, at [e-mail].

Addresses for Written Comment. Written comment on items scheduled for hearing may be made through the Commission's web-based comment system, a link to which is provided at www.drbc.gov. Use of the web-based system ensures that all submissions are captured in a single location and their receipt is acknowledged. Exceptions to the use of this system are available based on need, by writing to the attention of the Commission Secretary, DRBC, P.O. Box 7360, 25 Cosey Road, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360. For assistance, please contact Paula Schmitt at [e-mail].

Accommodations for Special Needs. Individuals in need of an accommodation as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act who wish to attend the meeting or hearing should contact the Commission Secretary directly at 609-883-9500 ext. 203 or through the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) at 711, to discuss how we can accommodate your needs.

Additional Information, Contacts. Additional public records relating to hearing items may be examined at the Commission's offices by appointment by contacting Denise McHugh, 609-883-9500, ext. 240. For other questions concerning hearing items, please contact David Kovach, Project Review Section Manager at 609-883-9500, ext. 264.

Dated: October 22, 2019.

Pamela M. Bush,

Commission Secretary and Assistant General Counsel.