Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Proposed Amendment to the Basin Regulations-Water Supply Charges and Comprehensive Plan Relating to Certificates of Entitlement

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The Delaware River Basin Commission ("Commission" or "DRBC") will hold a public hearing to receive comments on proposed amendments to the Commission's Basin Regulations--Water Supply Charges and Comprehensive Plan concerning certificates of entitlement. No changes in the substance or administration of the rule are proposed. The purpose of the proposed amendments is to clarify the language of the rule to conform to the Commission's past decisions and current practices in order to provide better notice to users as to how the Commission is implementing its entitlements program and to avoid future controversy. Background. The Delaware River Basin Compact ("Compact"), the 1961 statute that created the DRBC and defined its powers, authorizes the Commission to charge for the use of facilities that it may own or operate and for products and services rendered thereby. Compact, Sec. 3.7. Congress limited this authority by providing that the Commission cannot charge for water withdrawals or diversions that could lawfully have been made without charge as of the effective date of the Compact. Id., Sec. 15.1(b). By Resolution No. 64-16A in 1964 the Commission authorized a water charging program.