HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
A spokesman for the Pennsyl
vania Farmer's Association
(PFA)testified .before the state
Senate Environmental Resources
and Energy Committee on legisla
tion to expand the water manage
ment authority of the Department
of Environmental Resources
(DER).
William Adams, director of na
tural resources for the statewide
farm organization, told the com
mittee that Senate Bill 3SI needs
to be substantially improved be
fore PFA can support it.
One of the biggest problems.
Adams said, is the legislation’s
.. failure to clearly identify the
limitations of regulatory power to
be given to the Department of En
vironmental Resources.
“The bill would give broad
power and latitude to the Depart
ment to impose restrictions and re
quirements against individual us-
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PFA Testifies On Water
ers. The bill would also allow the
Department to determine and de
signate water conservation areas,
thereby imposing even greater re
strictions against individual water
users.”
The bill also fails to provide
direction to DER on water usage
priorities or water management
goals. Adams said.
“Senate Bill 3SI is designed to
give broad regulatory power and
board discretion with no statutory
effort to direct the use or to limit
the potential abuse of that power,”
Adams testified. “Without much
more clearly defined ground rules
governing regulatory authority,
we fear that the current rights of
farmers to use water to meet their
farming needs ate at the mercy of
the Department's whims. This
condition we cannot accept.”
Specific PFA objections in
clude water permit, requirements
which would force farmers to eith
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CONCRETE SPRAYING SERVICE
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er get a permit in anticipation of a
drought or wait until a drought is
imminent and a permit is least
likely to be obtained. Even then,
DER could limit the permit “in the
public interest,” or designate the
area as a water conservation area.
“Water management legislation
should attempt to secure and guar
antee water rights for all users,
both huge and small. The bill’s
provisions create the real possi
bility that water ‘rights’ will be
whatever rite Department subjec
tively wants them to be,” Adams
told the committee.
PFA also believes cropland irri
gation needs to be included in the
bill’s ’’emergency withdrawal"
provisions. DER’s authority under
the bill to deny or revoke water
user permits for failure to comply
with any state or federal law is too
broad, PFA testified, and should
be limited to intentional violations
involving water usage. A provi-
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Legislation
sion giving private individuals the
right to sue should be eliminated.
“Too often, private individuals do
not have the technical expertise
available to the Department to as
sess the likelihood of violations,”
Adams said.
PFA also objects to provisions
of the bill for water use fees. In ad
dition, clarification of jurisdiction
is needed between DER and the
various river commisioners.
“Our policy supports the right
of the individual to use water in
connection with his property
rights, including the management
of that water for reasonable and
beneficial use,” Adams testified.
“Property owners should be grant
ed a secure right to groundwater
and to develop groundwater re
sources, unless their development
would impact other water estab-
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NEW HI-LO PAN WILL PIT YOUR
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ÜBcwnr ftroßng, Saturday, May t, iws-Di
lished uses within the groundwa
ter basin.”
In conclusion, Adams testified,
"We favor efforts to inventory
groundwater resources. We also
favor the development of a plan
for water management during
drought or other water shortage
emergencies, including identifica
tion of relative emergency states.
Upon the declaration of such
emergency by the Governor, the
state should be authorized to take
necessary actions for equitable
uses of water. However, any ac
tion undertaken during a water
emeigency must give priority to
agriculture to secure a quantity of
water needed for production of
food and fiber. Furthermore, spe
cific state action taken should be
subject to a review board in which
at least 30 percent of board mem
bers are fanners.”