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Delaware River Basin Commission — Section 3.8 Project Review (PA)

Tracked preemption from the Pennsylvania overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
1961-09-27
Sunset
—
Authority
interstate_compact
Scope
state:PA
Other Pennsylvania preemptions
Pennsylvania Act 13 — Oil & Gas Operational Preemption (58 Pa.C.S. §3303)Chesapeake Bay Watershed — Riparian Buffer & E&S Control (25 Pa. Code Ch. 102)Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) Environmental ReviewMPC §503(1.1) — Manufactured / Industrialized Housing PreemptionPennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) — Building Code PreemptionFirearms — Local Regulation Preemption (18 Pa.C.S. §6120)Pennsylvania History Code — State Historic Preservation Review (Pa.C.S. Title 37)Pennsylvania Agricultural Area Security Law — Agricultural Security Areas (Act 43 / Act 38 of 2005)

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

AND
  • city.is_in_delaware_river_basin == True
  • OR
    • project.water_withdrawal_gpd ≥ 100000
    • project.wastewater_discharge_gpd ≥ 50000
    • AND
      • parcel.in_drbc_special_protection_waters == True
      • OR
        • project.water_withdrawal_gpd ≥ 10000
        • project.wastewater_discharge_gpd ≥ 10000
    • AND
      • parcel.in_drbc_southeastern_pa_gwpa == True
      • project.water_withdrawal_gpd ≥ 10000

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
review_typerequiredrbc_section_3_8_project_review_approvalDRBC Compact §3.8: no project having a substantial effect on the water resources of the Delaware River basin may be undertaken without DRBC approval. Review thresholds: water withdrawals >100,000 gpd (>10,000 gpd in SE PA Ground Water Protected Area or in Special Protection Waters); wastewater discharges >50,000 gpd (>10,000 gpd in SPW). Pipelines, transmission lines, impoundments also reviewable.
review_typerequiredrbc_special_protection_waters_no_measurable_changeSPW antidegradation policy in 18 CFR Part 410 prohibits 'measurable change' in existing water quality in DRBC-designated Special Protection Waters (Upper, Middle, and Lower Delaware; selected tributaries). Wastewater discharge approvals must demonstrate no measurable change.

Citation

Authority source
Delaware River Basin Compact, Pub. L. 87-328, 75 Stat. 688 (1961); PA ratification at 32 P.S. §§815.101–815.106; DRBC Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR Part 401; Water Quality Regulations, 18 CFR Part 410
§ DRBC Compact §3.8; 18 CFR §401.35 (project review thresholds); 18 CFR §410.4 (SPW antidegradation)
https://www.nj.gov/drbc/programs/project/

Research notes

Interstate-compact authority — federal-conflict check enabled because DRBC is a federal-state compact entity with congressionally ratified Compact superseding inconsistent state and local action under U.S. Const. Art. I §10. DRBC reaches all PA counties in the Delaware River basin: Wayne, Pike, Monroe, Carbon, Northampton, Lehigh (partial), Bucks, Montgomery (partial), Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester (partial). DRBC project approvals coexist with — and do not substitute for — PA DEP permits.