Rep. Dan Moul (R-Adams) recently testified before the House State Government Committee on a House bill designed to rein in the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), an interstate compact that manages and regulates water resources in the river basin.
The SRBC is overstepping its authority by requiring water users to engage in duplicative activities, Moul said. This results in exorbitant water rates as well as fines, fees, and penalties.
The committee’s hearing examined the roles of the SRBC and the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and the absence of oversight, transparency, and accountability.
“Neither compact is required to adhere to Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law, nor are they accountable to the Independent Fiscal Office or the Independent Regulatory Review Commission,” Moul said. “As a state representative, I answer to the taxpayers of Adams County. No government entity or quasi-government agency, particularly those that receive taxpayer funding, should go unchecked.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) performs many of the same functions as the SRBC and DRBC, a duplication that causes customer bills to increase, Moul said.
House Bill 2222 would make DEP the state’s regulator of groundwater with authority to impose fees, fines or penalties on the retention, withdrawal or use of groundwater. It would also require DEP to submit any new or amended regulations regarding groundwater to the House and Senate Environmental Resources and Energy committees for approval.
“The compacts may have been well intended when they were established, but they are clearly overstepping their responsibilities,” Moul said. “We need to put groundwater regulation where it belongs – with the DEP,”