[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 183 (Thursday, September 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48973-48975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23454]
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DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION
Notice of Commission Meeting and Public Hearings
I. Notice is hereby given that the Delaware River Basin Commission
will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, September 27, 1995. The
hearing will be part of the Commission's regular business meeting which
is open to the public and scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. in the
Lecture Room of the Brandywine River Museum, located on U.S. Route 1
just south of PA Route 100 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Entrance to
the Lecture Room is on the river side of the building, lower level. No
smoking is permitted in the building. For those interested in touring
the museum, there is a $5 admission fee.
An informal conference among the Commissioners and staff will be
held at 10 a.m. at the same location to discuss upcoming public hearing
records and response documents.
The subjects of the September 27, 1995 hearing will be as follows:
Possible Drought Emergency Declaration
Section 10.4 of the Delaware River Basin Compact provides that in
the event of a drought or other condition which may cause an actual and
immediate shortage of available water supply within the Basin, or
within any part thereof, the Commission may, after public hearing,
determine and delineate the area of such shortage and declare a water
supply emergency therein. For the duration of such emergency, the
Commission could limit the extent to which water users may divert or
withdraw water for any purpose. The Commission is considering whether
current and developing conditions of water supply and demand require
the declaration of a water supply emergency. The purpose of this
hearing is to permit the public to comment on these matters and to make
any suggestions or recommendations concerning possible Commission
action.
At the conclusion of the drought hearing, the business meeting will
recess and reconvene at 1:30 p.m.
Applications for Approval of the Following Projects Pursuant to Article
10.3, Article 11 and/or Section 3.8 of the Compact
1. Holdover Project: C S Water & Sewer Associates D-76-21
(Revised). An application to revise DRBC Docket No. D-76-21 to approve
an existing discharge from a 0.1 million gallons per day (mgd) sewage
treatment plant (STP) to an unnamed tributary of the Delaware River;
the applicant also proposes to modify the plant by adding an
equalization tank. The STP was originally approved predicated upon a
discharge directly to the Delaware River. The project STP is located in
Lackawaxen Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania. The STP will continue
to serve the community of Masthope Rapids. This hearing continues that
of August 9, 1995.
2. Public Service Electric & Gas Company D-68-20 CP (Revised). An
application for approval to revise the heat dissipation area specified
in DRBC Docket No. D-68-20 CP for the thermal discharge of the Salem
Generating Station, and incorporate modifications reflecting
requirements of the NJPDES permit. The project is located in DRBC Zone
5 on Artificial Island in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County,
New Jersey.
3. Merrill Creek Owners Group (MCOG) D-77-110 CP (Amendment 7). An
application for inclusion of the Logan Generating Company L.P. Keystone
Facility (approved by Docket D-90-48 on September 25, 1991) as an
additional Designated Unit to Table A (Revised) of the Merrill Creek
Reservoir Project, to enable releases from the reservoir to make up for
consumptive water use during drought periods. The Keystone Facility is
expected to average approximately 2.7 mgd in consumptive use and is
located west of Route 130, adjacent to the Delaware River in Logan
Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey; Merrill Creek Reservoir is
located in Harmony Township, Warren County, New Jersey.
4. Merrill Creek Owners Group (MCOG) D-77-110 CP (Amendment 8). An
application for inclusion of the Northampton Generating Company, L.P.
Northampton Cogeneration Facility [approved by Docket No. D-91-95
(Revision 1) on April 28, 1993] as an additional Designated Unit of
Table A (Revised) of the Merrill Creek Reservoir project, to enable
releases from the reservoir to make up for consumptive water use during
drought periods. The Northampton Facility is expected to average
approximately 2.02 mgd in consumptive use and is located in Allen
Township with its withdrawal located on the Lehigh River in Northampton
Borough, all in Northampton County, Pennsylvania; Merrill Creek
Reservoir is located in Harmony Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania.
5. City of Lewes, Board of Public Works D-85-54 CP RENEWAL. An
application for the renewal of a ground water withdrawal project to
supply up to 60 million gallons (mg)/30 days of water to the
applicant's distribution
[[Page 48974]]
system from Well Nos. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A. Commission approval on
October 30, 1985 was limited to ten years and will expire unless
renewed. The applicant requests that the total withdrawal from all
wells remain limited to 60 mg/30 days. The project is located in the
City of Lewes, Sussex County, Delaware.
6. Perkasie Borough Authority D-92-75 CP. An application for the
renewal of a ground water withdrawal project to supply up to 45 mg/30
days of water to the applicant's distribution system, and to
consolidate all Perkasie Borough Authority wells into one comprehensive
docket with an increase in total allocation. Commission approval of
Docket No. D-87-75 CP (Well No. 11) on February 24, 1988 was limited to
five years. The applicant requests that the total withdrawal from all
wells be increased from 34.2 mg/30 days to 45 mg/30 days. The project
is located in Perkasie Borough, Bucks County, in the Southeastern
Pennsylvania Ground Water Protected Area.
7. Borough of Glassboro D-93-39 CP. An application for approval of
a ground water withdrawal project to supply up to 17.8 mg/30 days of
water to the Borough of Glassboro's distribution system from existing
Well No. 6, screened in the Mount Laurel-Wenonah Aquifer, and up to
25.9 mg/30 days of water from new Well No. 7 (and possibly a second
well at this location) screened in the Cohansey Aquifer, without an
increase in the existing total allocation of ground water. The project
is located in Glassboro Borough, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
8. Borough of Medford Lakes D-93-44 CP. A project to upgrade the
existing Medford Lakes 0.55 mgd capacity STP located in, and serving
only, the Borough of Medford Lakes, Burlington County, New Jersey. The
existing STP provides secondary biological treatment via a trickling
filter and the proposed upgraded STP will be an extended aeration
activated sludge process with tertiary filtration. The upgraded STP
will continue to operate at 0.55 mgd and discharge to Aetna Run, a
tributary of Birchwood Lakes in the Haynes Creek portion of the
Southwest Branch Rancocas Creek Watershed.
9. South Jersey Water Supply Company D-93-50 CP. An application for
approval of a ground water withdrawal project to supply up to 21.9 mg/
30 days of water to the applicant's distribution system from new Well
No. 6, and to increase the existing withdrawal limit of 11 mg/30 days
from all wells to 42.4 mg/30 days. The project is located in Harrison
Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
10. Evesham Municipal Utilities Authority D-94-33 CP. A project to
modify and expand the applicant's existing 2.3 mgd STP to treat 3.0 mgd
(average flow) and continue to serve a portion of Evesham Township in
Burlington County, New Jersey. The STP will continue to provide
advanced secondary treatment and tertiary filtration prior to
discharging via the existing outfall to the Southwest Branch Rancocas
Creek. The STP is located just east of Elmwood Road and north of the
receiving stream in Evesham Township.
11. Burlington Township D-94-67 CP. An application for approval of
a ground water withdrawal project to supply up to 43.2 mg/30 days of
water to the applicant's distribution system from new Well No. 6, and
to increase the existing withdrawal limit of 69 mg/30 days from all
wells to 98.2 mg/30 days. The project is located in Burlington
Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.
12. East Marlborough Township D-95-22 CP. A project to construct a
new 0.125 mgd capacity STP to create a centralized treatment facility
to replace failing on-lot treatment systems within East Marlborough
Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The proposed STP will provide a
lagoon treatment/spray irrigation system, and there will be no stream
discharge. The STP and spray irrigation disposal fields are located
just north of Street Road approximately 1500 feet west of Route 82, in
the West Branch Red Clay Creek watershed (Water Quality Zone C-5) in
East Marlborough Township.
13. Borough of Dublin D-95-25 CP. An application for approval of a
ground water withdrawal project to supply up to 1.73 mg/30 days of
water to the applicant's distribution system from new Well No. 5, and
to retain the existing withdrawal from all wells of 4.36 mg/30 days.
Well No. 5 will be a replacement supply to homes with wells that have
been contaminated with trichloroethene, and a part of a ground water
remediation system. The project is located in the Borough of Dublin,
Bucks County, in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Ground Water Protected
Area.
14. Clement Pappas & Company, Inc. D-95-37. An application for
approval of a ground water withdrawal project to supply up to 73.4 mg/
30 days of water to the applicant's food processing facility from new
Well No. 6B, and to retain the existing withdrawal limit from all wells
of 73.4 mg/30 days. The project is located in Upper Deerfield Township,
Cumberland County, New Jersey.
15. Sun Company, Inc. (R&M) Philadelphia Refinery D-95-41. An
application for approval of a ground water withdrawal project to
withdraw up to 12.35 mg/30 days of water (as part of the applicant's
decontamination project) from 36 new wells, Nos. RW100-RW502, and to
increase the existing withdrawal limit of 9.2 mg/30 days from all wells
to 12.35 mg/30 days. The project is located in the City of
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.
Documents relating to these items may be examined at the
Commission's offices. Preliminary dockets are available in single
copies upon request. Please contact George C. Elias concerning docket-
related questions. Persons wishing to testify at this hearing are
requested to register with the Secretary prior to the hearing.
II. The Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, October
18, 1995 at 6:30 p.m. in the UGI Utilities, Inc. Auditorium, Lehigh
Valley Industrial Park One, 2121 City Line Road, Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania.
The subject of the hearing is an application for approval of the
following project: Blue Mountain Power, L.P. D-95-42. A proposal to
construct and operate a 150 megawatt (MW) combined cycle electric power
generating facility. The proposed independent power plant will withdraw
approximately 1.2 mgd from the Lehigh River at its south bank in the
City of Bethlehem, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and pipe it
approximately 15 miles to the power generation plant situated just
southeast of the intersection of the Reading Railroad with California
Road in Richland Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The intake
structure will be situated near the Pennsylvania Highway 378 bridge
over the Lehigh River. Consumptive use is expected to be 100 percent
since the applicant proposes a zero-liquid discharge system which
recycles and reuses process wastewater. Blue Mountain Power presently
has an agreement to supply the generated electrical power to
Metropolitan Edison.
The Commission's preliminary docket is available upon request.
Please contact George C. Elias concerning docket-related questions.
Persons wishing to testify at this hearing are requested to register
with the Secretary prior to the hearing and may be asked to limit their
remarks to five minutes, to enable all who wish to speak to do so.
Other Scheduled Hearings
By earlier notice, the Commission announced its schedule of public
hearings on proposed amendments to its
[[Page 48975]]
Comprehensive Plan, Water Code and Water Quality Regulations concerning
water quality criteria for toxic pollutants, and policies and
procedures to establish wasteload allocations and effluent limitations
for point source discharges to Zones 2 through 5 (Trenton, New Jersey
to the Delaware Bay) of the tidal Delaware River. Specifically, water
quality criteria for selected toxic pollutants are proposed for
incorporation in the Comprehensive Plan and Article 3 of the Water Code
and Water Quality Regulations as stream quality objectives. Revisions
are also proposed for Article 4 of the Water Quality Regulations
describing the policies and procedures to be used to establish
wasteload allocations for those discharges containing pollutants which
impact the designated uses of the river. Adoption of these revisions
will provide a mechanism for identifying toxic pollutants which may
impair aquatic life and human health, and developing uniform and
equitable wasteload allocations for these pollutants for all NPDES
discharges to the tidal Delaware River. The permitting authorities of
the states will utilize the allocations developed by the Commission to
establish effluent limitations for NPDES permittees in their
jurisdictions.
Hearing Dates: The public hearings are scheduled as follows:
October 5, 1995, beginning at 1:30 p.m. and continuing until 5:00
p.m., as long as there are people present wishing to testify.
October 11, 1995, beginning at 1:30 p.m. and continuing until 5:00
p.m., and resuming at 6:30 p.m. and continuing until 9:00 p.m., as long
as there are people present wishing to testify.
October 13, 1995, beginning at 1:30 p.m. and continuing until 5:00
p.m., as long as there are people present wishing to testify.
The deadline for inclusion of written comments in the hearing
record will be announced at the hearings.
Addresses: The October 5, 1995 hearing will be held in the Second
Floor Auditorium of the Carvel State Building at 820 N. French Street,
Wilmington, Delaware.
The October 11, 1995 hearing will be held in the Franklin Room of
the Holiday Inn at 4th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The October 13, 1995 hearing will be held in the Goddard Conference
Room of the Commission's offices at 25 State Police Drive, West
Trenton, New Jersey.
For Further Information Contact: Copies of the full text of the
proposed amendments, the Water Code and the Water Quality Regulations
as well as Basis and Background Documents entitled ``Water Quality
Criteria for Toxic Pollutants for the Delaware River Estuary'' and
``Implementation Policies and Procedures Phase I TMDLs for Toxic
Pollutants in the Delaware River Estuary'' may be obtained by
contacting Susan M. Weisman, Commission Secretary, Delaware River Basin
Commission, telephone (609) 883-9500 ext. 203.
Persons wishing to testify are requested to notify the Secretary in
advance. Written comments on the proposed amendments should also be
submitted to the Secretary at the Delaware River Basin Commission, P.O.
Box 7360, West Trenton, New Jersey 08628.
Dated: September 12, 1995.
Susan M. Weisman,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-23454 Filed 9-20-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6360-01-P