For Immediate Release

April 8, 1999

(WEST TRENTON, N.J.) - A consortium of government agencies and non-profit groups today announced a series of workshops as the first step in a process to forge a unified directions plan to steer the Delaware River Basin into the next century.

Called "Flowing Toward the Future, 21st Century Directions for the Delaware River and its Watersheds," the process is designed to generate a vision for the river and its tributaries in the new millennium, focusing on consensus building and conflict resolution.

The ten workshops will be held at five locations, with afternoon sessions running from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and evening sessions from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Dates and locations:

April 19 - Dover, Del., Sheraton Hotel, Route 13;

April 21 - Philadelphia, Pa., Holiday Inn, 400 Arch Street;

April 26 - Bridgeton, N.J., Cohanzick Country Club;

May 5 - Narrowsburg, N.Y., Tusten Town Hall;

May 6 - Bethlehem, Pa., Lehigh University, Mountain Top Campus.

Information and insight flowing from the workshops will be used to develop a "Directions Report" which will present issues to be resolved as well as programs that need to be implemented over the next several years.

The report will be submitted to the governors of the four basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) who will hold a summit meeting this September to reaffirm the visions generated at the workshops and lay out new action strategies.

The report also will be the subject of a basin-wide stakeholders conference to be held in November. Participants at the workshops will be divided into four "interest groups" tied to these categories: recreation users/providers; government; preservation/advocacy; and commerce/utilities.

Facilitators will work with each group to develop vision components, issues, programs, priorities, and measurable outcomes that are unique to that interest group. Following the breakout process, participants will be given the opportunity to score the group's work and also the work of the other three groups.

Persons and organizations interested in participating in the workshops are encouraged to call 1-877-675-8147 (toll free) to register. Registration also can be made by fax: 1-800-733-2010. Brochures for the workshops can be obtained by calling the Delaware River Basin Commission at 609-883-9500 ext. 205.

In addition, Flowing Toward the Future web sites can be found at www.state.nj.us/drbc/ and www.delep.org.

Flowing Toward the Future events are being sponsored by: Alliance for a Sustainable Future; Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control; Delaware Estuary Program; Delaware River Basin Commission; Heritage Conservancy; National Park Service; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; New York Department of Environmental Conservation; Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; Upper Delaware Council; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Regions II and III; and Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin.

The Delaware River and its 216 feeder streams and rivers drain 13,539 square miles in the four basin states. Over seven million people live in the basin and another ten million people who live outside the watershed also depend on it for water supply.

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