Consumptive Water Use Mitigation Fee Increase Proposed

At its March 13 meeting in Bedford, the Commission authorized staff to release a proposal to increase its consumptive water use mitigation fee from $0.14 per thousand gallons to $0.28, effective January 1, 2009 and then to adjust the fee annually for inflation. The proposal to increase the mitigation fee is currently open for public comment until May 31, 2008. SRBC is also conducting a public hearing to receive public comment on April 23, 2008, 10:00 a.m., Susquehanna Room, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission headquarters, 1601 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Written comments also can be submitted via e-mail to SRBCfeecomments@srbc.net.

SRBC regulations require consumptive water users to mitigate for their consumptive use during times of designated low flows to protect downstream water users and the environment. The regulations identify several mitigation options, of which, payment of a mitigation fee is only one option. Although mitigation for consumptive water use is required by regulation, the project sponsor, not SRBC, decides which mitigation option to select. SRBC prefers project sponsors to select release of on-site storage and discontinuance of use because those methods provide the most direct and verifiable mitigation. For a vast majority of project sponsors, however, payment of the mitigation fee is the option selected because it may be the most viable and feasible for them or, in many cases, it is simply the easiest option.

SRBC is proposing the fee increase in an effort to keep pace with actual, current-day costs to provide the mitigation water for the many project sponsors that pay the mitigation fee. When adjusted for inflation, the current value of the $0.14 fee – which was calculated 15 years ago – is only $0.08. An economic analysis produced for the Commission determined that the cost to acquire water storage at seven U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs would range from an average of $0.26 to $0.28 per 1,000 gallons of water in 2007 dollars. According to another recent study, treating and releasing water from abandoned mine pools would cost in the range of $0.96 to $1.93 per 1,000 gallons.

For more information, go to www.srbc.net/programs/projreview.htm to download the notice of public hearing/public comment and an information sheet detailing the proposal.