This is a recap of the most recent DRBC Commission Business Meeting.

• Here you will find information given at the business meeting, as well as links to the items approved.

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DRBC Business Meeting Minutes

• To view DRBC Commission Meeting Minutes going back to 2010, please visit https://www.nj.gov/drbc/meetings/archive/drbc-mtg-minutes.html. 

The Delaware River Basin Commission held its regularly scheduled business meeting on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. The meeting, which was open to the public, was held in person at the Nurture Nature Center, Easton, Pa. 

A public hearing was held remotely on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, via Zoom Webinar. Items heard at the public hearing, which began at 1:30 p.m., included three resolutions and 22 draft dockets for withdrawals, discharges and other water-related projects that could have a substantial effect on the Basin's water resources and are subject to the Commission's review.

• Written comments on the items up for hearing on May 7, 2025, were accepted through 5 p.m., Monday, May 12, 2025.

The May 7 public hearing and the June 11 business meeting were livestreamed to DRBC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/delrivbasincomm. 

Business Meeting Agenda

The business meeting on June 11, 2025, began at 10:00 a.m. and adjourned at approximately 11:30 a.m.

An open public comment session began after the close of the business meeting and lasted for approximately a half hour. Please Note: Comments made during Open Public Comment Sessions are NOT included in any decision-making record. There is no requirement for the Commission to provide for open public comment.

The agenda for the business meeting follows, with links to the items approved (info & links to documents are added to this page as they become available).

• Items heard at the May 7, 2025, public hearing are noted by *.
  
  
• Items heard at a public hearing held November 19, 2024, are noted by **.

1. Call to Order & Welcome. (Commission Chair, Karen Stainbrook)

2. Welcome Remarks.

• Rachel Hogan Carr, Executive Director, Nurture Nature Center
  
  
• Honorable Salvatore J. Panto, Jr., Mayor, City of Easton
  
  
• U.S. Representative Ryan Mackenzie (PA-7)

3. Roll Call and Introductions. (Commission Secretary Pam Bush and Commissioners)

4. Minutes. (Pam Bush)

• March 12, 2025, Minutes (The minutes of the March 12, 2025, business meeting was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)
  
  

5. Announcements. (Pam Bush)

• Upcoming Advisory Committee Meetings
  
  
• Upcoming Other Meetings with DRBC staff participation

6. Resolution for the Minutes Commending the City of Easton and the Nurture Nature Center. (K. Bowman Kavanagh)

• A RESOLUTION for the Minutes recognizing and commending the City of Easton and Nurture Nature Center for their commitment to the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. (This Resolution for the Minutes was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)

7. Hydrologic Conditions Report. (Sara Sayed)

• View Hydrologic Conditions Report (pdf)
  
  
• Check hydrologic conditions in the Basin daily at hydrosnap.drbc.net

8. Summary of Executive Director's Report. (Kristen Bowman Kavanagh)

• I would like to recognize two new DRBC alternate Commissioners for the United States. Laura Bittner and Robert Brian Paul are the new second and third alternate Commissioners on behalf of Brigadier General John P. Lloyd. Laura is the Chief of the Hydrology, Hydraulics and Coastal Branch for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District; and Brian is the Planning Program Manager in the Planning & Policy Division for the Corps' North Atlantic Division.

  • View DRBC Commissioners List
    
    
• I would also like to introduce and welcome several new DRBC staff members:
  
  
  • Naomi Mendelsohn joined the Commission staff in April as Associate Counsel. She is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law and is admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Naomi has two decades of experience and most recently worked as a Supervisory Attorney in the Office of General Counsel at the Social Security Administration.
    
    
  • In May, Bailey Adams joined the Commission as a Water Resource Scientist in our Project Review Branch. Bailey holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Rider University and is currently working on her M.S. in Environmental Science at Rutgers University. Bailey previously interned at the DRBC for several years and worked as a Staff Scientist at an environmental consulting firm.
    
    
  • And finally, I would like to welcome our 2025 summer interns: Katie Alexandrenko, Carl Bargery and Sum Harris.
    
    
• Congratulations are also in order for Michael Thompson, P.E., a Senior Water Resource Scientist at DRBC, who was named to the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists' 40 Under 40 Recognition Program. Michael also won the 2025 Fresh Ideas Competition for best Young Professional Presentation at the AWWA-NJ Annual Conference, as well as second prize at this week's AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) Fresh Ideas Poster Session.
  
  
• Since our last business meeting, DRBC has published two reports: the 2024 Annual Hydrologic Conditions Report and a report on Enhanced Monitoring for Toxics and Emerging Contaminants in Delaware Estuary Tributaries.
  
  
• DRBC's monitoring programs intensify during the warmer months, and 2025 is no exception. Planned efforts this year include biweekly monitoring of Special Protection Waters, a cooperative effort with the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection to monitor bacteria levels in the Delaware River Estuary, non-tidal chloride monitoring and the development of a salt reduction pilot study. Additional field work will include monitoring of cyanotoxins, toxics, 6-PPDq, PFAS, nutrients in tributaries and a pilot study on antimicrobial resistance. The DRBC's recent Monitoring Advisory and Coordination Committee meeting included an overview presentation on this year's monitoring plans, which is available online.
  
  
• Staff have also been busy with outreach and engagement programs. Highlights include:
  
  
  • Staff volunteer cleanup at Palmyra Cove Nature Park in New Jersey.
    
    
  • Outreach tables and demonstrations at the Lambertville Shad Fest in New Jersey, Chester River Festival in Pennsylvania and World Environment Day in Delaware.
    
    
  • Watershed demonstrations for elementary-age students at Hydromania in the Lehigh Valley.
    
    
  • Multiple webinars with PEMA on flood and hazard mitigation planning, including one with PA State Senator Amanda Cappelletti and State Representative Joe Webster.
    
    
• At our last business meeting, I announced that the Delaware River was named Pennsylvania's River of the Year. The Delaware River Sojourn Steering Committee is hosting a series of events throughout the year to highlight the river and connect communities around this shared resource. Next Wednesday, June 18th, as part of the 30th Delaware River Sojourn, they are hosting a Delaware River of the Year Festival at Minisink Park. The event is free and open to the public.
  
  
• Finally, I would like to congratulate LTC Jeffrey Beeman on his retirement next month. We thank him for his service to our country and for his active participation and engagement over the last two years as an alternate Commissioner of the DRBC.
  
  

9. General Counsel's Report. (Ken Warren)

10. Ceremonial Executive Director Oath of Office. (K. Stainbrook)

11. A RESOLUTION for the Minutes concerning the Commission's use of Federal Funds. (Kristen Bowman Kavanagh)

• A RESOLUTION for the Minutes to restrict the Commission's use of federal funds awarded through the United States Army Corps of Engineers. (This Resolution for the Minutes was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)

*12. A RESOLUTION to adopt the Commission's FY26 Budget. (E. Deck)

• A RESOLUTION to adopt the Commission's annual current expense and capital budgets for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 (July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026). (This Resolution was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)
  
  
• View FY26 Budget (pdf)

*13. A RESOLUTION to apportion Signatory Party Contributions. (E. Deck)

• A RESOLUTION to apportion among the signatory parties the amounts required for the support of the Current Expense and Capital Budgets for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 (July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026). (This Resolution was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)

*14. A RESOLUTION to adopt the Water Resources Program FY 2026-2028.  (C. Pindar)

• A RESOLUTION to adopt the Water Resources Program FY 2026-2028. (This Resolution was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)
  
  
• View Water Resources Program FY26-28 (pdf)

**15. A RESOLUTION to end the Water Supply Emergency.  (K. Bowman Kavanagh)

• A RESOLUTION to End the Water Supply Emergency declared by Resolution No. 2024-07 and to allow the special permits issued pursuant to that declaration to expire by their own terms. (This Resolution was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)
  
  
• View Drought Information

16. A RESOLUTION for the Minutes to provide for the Analysis of Sediment Cores.  (N. Suk)

• A RESOLUTION for the Minutes to provide for the analysis of microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in historic (2007-2012) and fresh sediment cores. (This Resolution for the Minutes was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)

17. A RESOLUTION for the Minutes regarding the Wilmington Edgemoor Port Expansion Project.  (P. Bush)

• A RESOLUTION for the Minutes concerning Docket D-2020-003 CP-1 for the Wilmington Edgemoor Port Expansion Project. (This Resolution for the Minutes was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)

18. A RESOLUTION for the Minutes providing for the Election of the Commission Chair, Vice Chair and Second Vice Chair for FY26. (P. Bush)

• A RESOLUTION for the Minutes providing for election of the Commission Chair, Vice Chair and Second Vice Chair for the year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026. (This Resolution for the Minutes was approved unanimously by the Commissioners; pdf)

*19. Project Review Docket Applications.  (D. Kovach)

• Please note that at each of its public meetings, the Commission may consider action on any item for which a hearing has been completed or may defer one or more such items for consideration at a public meeting of the Commission on a future date.
  
  
• Dockets #1-22 were subject to public hearings on May 7, 2025. 
  
  
• Dockets #1-21 were approved unanimously by the Commissioners.
  
  
• Docket 22 was approved by a vote of 4-0, with Pennsylvania abstaining.  
  
  

Docket Location Map (pdf)

1. Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority, D-1987-010 CP-5.

2. Shoemakersville Borough, D-1990-007 CP-5.

3. Constellation Energy, D-1992-066 CP-4.

4. Tilden Township, D-1993-027 CP-4.

5. Talamore at Oak Terrace Inc., D-1993-030-4.

6. JFBB Ski Areas, Inc., D-1993-057-4.

7. Great Bear Conservancy, LLC D-1996-014-3.

8. Veolia Water Delaware, Inc. D-1996-050 CP-4.

9. Pennsylvania American Water Company, D-1998-043 CP-4.

10. Liberty Electric Power, D-1999-061-2.

11. Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. D-2000-024-3.

12. Hemlock Farms Community Association, D-2000-060 CP-3.

13. Morgan Hill Golf Course, Inc., D-2002-024-3.

14. Upper Hanover Authority, D-2004-017 CP-5.

15. Wallenpaupack Area School District, D-2009-027 CP-4.

16. Village of Buckingham Springs, D-2009-040 CP-4.

17. Springdale Gardens, LP, D-2009-044-4.

18. Cedarville Investment Group, LLC D-2014-017-3.

19. Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc., D-1989-040 CP-4.

20. Hilltown Township Water & Sewer Authority, D-1992-020 CP-5.

21. Laurel Pipeline Company, LP D-2024-001 CP-1.

22. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, D-2025-001 CP-1.