A32-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 25, 1995 SRBC Ag Committee Supports Proposed Regulations (Continued from Page A 1) land’s water registration program and talked about consumptive use in agriculture. In short, Maryland has instituted a purely informa tional program of registration and priority volunteer management, with respect to its water uses. Over broader interest to all far mers was the presentation on reg ulations proposed by the SRBC. The SRBC is an autonomous, federal-state compact with the responsibility and authority to reg ulate the flow of water within the entire basin of the Susquehanna River. That basin includes portions of New York state, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The commission members are the heads of the respective state environmental agencies and the United State secretary of the interior. The agency formed in 1970 and since created a series of regula tions that were not necessarily formed to interlock smoothly. Last summer, the SRBC prop osed a complete revision of all its regulations, in order to eliminate confusion, frustration, and wasted time. The regulations should be con sider to be two-parts. One part deals with the function of commission, such as how it will hold meetings, how it administers its water-withdrawl approval pro cess, and how it registers and tracks water use within the basin. This is the part that is now under consideration. The second part of the regulations which are not now being considered for approval deal with controlling the removal of water from the basin above natural losses due to water use. This second portion of the reg ulations was the most contested last summer, especially by agricul tural interests. As it was proposed, a “make up” requirement would have been charged to “consumptive” users of water, including agricultural uses. Water is consumed within the basin when it is changed from its liquid state into a gaseous state. As an example, the steam clouds ris ing above the cooler tower at Three-Mile Island nuclear power facility are an example of taking river water and removing it from the basin. It was reported that during a severe drought, as much as 40 per cent of the river would be con verted and diverted out of the river flows by such actions. As a way of making up for these losses to the river’s flow, the SRBC had proposed either arrang ing to stockpile water reserves to be used during drought, or paying a compensatory fee. With the funds raised, the SRBC would pay the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release water from up-river reservoirs to augment the flows of the drought-stricken river. The proposal had included fees for agricultose. The resulting debate largely resulted in an ack nowledgemedfeby the SRBC that traditional aj&ultural operations within the those that maintain a Idße amount of land capable of ajjpting rainfall and recharging groundwater perhaps provide more benefit to tlHiver. At the sannime, public water companies wNH proposed to also fall under the ffnsumptive regula tions, since they are controlling the sale of providing water in large quantities. The water companies have balked, complaining that the water consumed by their customers is not under their control; that the com panies are merely the providers of water and shouldn’t be held responsible for the lack of water conservation. All of these issues and more, which affect the consumption of water and its makeup (including how much credit agriculture gets for maintaining beneficial watershed and how it is deter mined), have been put on hold since the eight public hearing held last summer. The regulations that are on the table now would require agricul tural users of water which with draw in excess of 10,000 gallons per day (on a 30-day use average) from either groundwater or surface water to register that use with the SRBC. All agricultural organizations and supporters present at the meet ing urged the support for this por tion of the regulations. The registration of water use by agriculture will protect those who may well likely find themselves in dispute with others attempting to take water from the same aquifer or surface water source. According to David Heicher, representative of the SRBC, the SRBC prioritizes agricultural water use as a second level priori ty. Residential uses and non emcrgency uses have less priority. If a farmer’s use of water is documented, the SRBC will have record of that and that record can be used in the future.to protect the rights of the farmer to continue to use at least that much. Though the future of regulations isn’t known, with demand upon limited water supplies ever increasing, increased controversey over proprietary uses can be expected. The registration of water use would be simple, according to Leon Ressler, who also happens to sit on the SRBC agricultural advis ory board. The SRBC would pro vide a simple, one-page form to complete. Ressler said that while purpose fully inflated reports of farm water uses (which some might consider possibly doing for the purpose of ensuring access to more than cur rently used water supplies) would not be allowed, farmers are encouraged to provide the peak amount of water used during a 30-day average, even if it doesn’t break the 10,000 gpd threshhold. Ressler said that, for example, a farmer used 30,000 gpd during 1991, then that should be the amount registered with the SRBC. He explained that registering that level of water use is what can pro tect the farm’s use of water during future shortages, and potential water disputes. Several present at the meeting reported already having had dis putes with neighbors over water uses. One man reported being sued by a residential neighbor who erro neously thought that the farmer, who was irrigating crops out of a surface pond, was causing the resi dential well to go dry. Other, similar situations were reported. Also, given the history of non farming and farming community debates over nutrient manage ment, and other environmental concerns, logic and science are not particularly the stronghold of the general public when it comes * assigning responsibility for cau!>- I ' N W'tuHK Farmers in the Susquehanna River Basin should consider the free registration of their water use as a means to protect their farm’s interest in future water use, accord ing to agricultural supporters. ing a problem people will see one peice of irrigation equipment in a field along a road, but not the thousands of clothes and dish washers, garden hoses and watered lawns, or washed cars, etc. In an SRBC news release that was created specifically for the agricultural community, the prop osals have been concisely reported. According to the release, the SRBC is to hold a public hearing to receive final comments on this first portion the non consumptive of regulations starring 9 a.m., March 9, at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center, in Camp Hill. The hearing is to be held in con junction with the commission’s regularly held meeting, which occur once every two months. According to the news release, “Comments on the proposed reg ulation revisions will be accepted until the close of the hearing on March 9, when fianal action is expected to be taken. “No application, registration, or water use fees of any kind are proposed for agricultural projects under the proposed revisions. The revisions will make the regulations easier to understand, and help to streamline the approval process.” The release also further defined that those withdrawing more than 10.000 gpd will be required to register that use with the commis sion. (Special meters will not be necessary. Water uses can be cal culated by a variety of methods, ranging from the amount of time a pump of a specific capacity was used to the type and number of livestock being watered.) And it also reports that “Small farming operations with less than 10.000 gallons per day will not be PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA MARYLAND Scale SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN required to register their water use, but are encouraged to do so in order for the commission to be able to provide more protection of their water needs. Typical projects using more than 10,000 gallons per day include: •“dairy operation with more than 200 cows; •“beef cow/calf operation with more than 250 cows; •“swine farrow to finish opera tion with more than 2SO sows; •“swine feeder production oper ation with more than 900 sows; Judging Contest UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) The 1995 PA Beef Expo is adding a judging contest to its slate of activities. This first-ever expo judging contest, aimed at testing the skills of cattle enthu siasts of all ages, will held on Saturday, March 11, beginning with registration at 7 a.m. and competition at 8 a.m. Advanced registration is not required, but a $2 individual entry fee will be charged to help defray contest expenses. The contests will feature three age divisions based on the contes tant’s age on the day of the contest: Beginner (12 years and younger); Intermediate (age 13 through 20; and Adult (21 years and older). Everyone will compete as an individual. Winners will be announced during the cattle sales on Saturday afternoon, and the top 10 individuals in each division will receive ribbons. A minimum of six classes of 0 MIX. IT DOES A BODY GOOD. ■Mi MIDDLE ATLANTIC MILK MARKETING ASSOCIATION, INC. <£ V * V j, 9 i j? NORWICH 0 * J s i . s '< /*' i 'f 90NBURY HARRISBURG LANCASTER^ HAVRE OE BALTIMORE i BINQHAMiQN / i // J #SCRA^ (WILKES BARf^ •“poultry layer operation with more than 125,000 chickens (no evaporative cooling system); •“poultry broiler or pullet opera tion with more than 250,000 chick ens (no evaporative cooling system).” “All new surface water with drawals that are greater than 10,000 gallons per day will need to be approved by the commission.” For more information on the topic, contact a local farm organi zation representative, extension office, or the SRBC at (717) 238-0423. At Beef Expo beef cattle will be judged. Poten tial classes include both breeding classes with and without data and market classes, depending on the availability of cattle. There will be two questions classes, with approximately 10 questions per class. There will not be any oral rea sons, nor will there be any team divisions or awards. Junior contestants may want to use this competition as a practice for the Block and Bridle contest to be held on Saturday, March 18. Keith Bryan, instructor and coach of the Penn State Livestock Judging Team is leading the efforts to establish and organize the con test, along with help from former members of Penn State judging teams who will help with scoring, official placings, and contest questions. Contact Bryan at (814) 863-0569 for additional information. r^UwE|
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