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Development, adoption, amendment and periodic review of State water plan - 27 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3115Legal Research Home > Pennsylvania Statutes
§ 3115. Development, adoption, amendment and periodic review of
State water plan.
(a) Preparation of State water plan.--
(1) A State water plan shall be developed and adopted in
accordance with this section within five years of the
effective date of this chapter. After the initial adoption of
a State water plan, the plan shall be amended and updated
every five years.
(2) The department, in consultation with the Statewide
committee, shall develop policies and guidelines for:
(i) Preparing or amending the regional plan
components and the State water plan.
(ii) Ensuring public participation in the
development or amendment of the State water plan.
(iii) Identifying critical water planning areas.
(iv) Developing critical area resources plans.
Policies and guidelines shall be adopted only upon approval
by both the Statewide committee and the secretary.
(3) All meetings, hearings and public review under this
chapter shall be in accordance with the provisions of 65
Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings) and any regulations
promulgated thereunder.
(b) Development of the State water plan.--
(1) Each regional committee shall:
(i) Hold at least one combined public meeting and
hearing within its region to solicit input on water
resources management and water resources planning within
the region.
(ii) Make recommendations to the department and the
Statewide committee on the development or amendment of
the State water plan.
(iii) Make recommendations on the identification of
critical water planning areas within the region.
(2) Based upon the recommendations and guidance of the
regional committees and consistent with the policies and
guidelines established under subsection (a)(2), the
department, in consultation with the Statewide committee,
shall prepare drafts of the initial regional plan components
to be used in the development or amendment of the State water
plan. The department may also utilize other available
resources to assist with the preparation of the drafts.
(3) The department, in conjunction with the Statewide
committee and the regional committee, shall hold at least one
combined public meeting and hearing in each region to solicit
input on the drafts of the initial regional plan components
to be used in the development or amendment of the State water
plan.
(4) Following public participation and the combined
public meeting and hearing required under paragraph (3), each
regional committee shall select, by a majority vote, the
planning alternatives and provisions to be recommended as
part of the regional plan component of the State water plan.
Each regional committee shall recommend, by a majority vote,
the regional plan component to the Statewide committee. Each
regional committee shall provide to another regional
committee any proposed regional plan component recommendation
that may affect any other region for review and comment prior
to recommendation of the regional plan component to the
Statewide committee.
(5) With consideration of the regional plan components
developed under paragraphs (1) through (4), and consistent
with the policies and guidelines established under subsection
(a)(2), the department, in ongoing consultation with the
Statewide committee, shall prepare a draft of the State water
plan or amendments to the State water plan. The department,
in conjunction with the Statewide committee, shall make the
draft of the State water plan available for public review to
solicit input on the draft of the State water plan or
amendments to the State water plan.
(c) Adoption of regional plan components and State water
plan.--Regional plans and the State water plan shall be
recommended and adopted in accordance with the following
procedures:
(1) Each regional committee shall, by a majority vote,
recommend the regional plan components to the Statewide
committee as provided in subsection (b).
(2) If a regional committee fails to comply with the
obligations set forth in this chapter, the Statewide
committee shall, after providing 90 days' written notice to
the regional committee, propose, approve and recommend the
regional plan components for that region.
(3) The Statewide committee or the secretary may direct
modification of a new or previously approved regional plan,
in whole or in part, upon finding one of the following:
(i) Recommended planning or management alternatives
or provisions of two or more regional plans are
inconsistent, or two or more regional planning committees
are unable to agree on an alternative or provision
affecting their respective regions.
(ii) A recommended planning or management
alternative or provision is inconsistent with:
(A) this chapter;
(B) Federal or State statutes, regulations or
officially adopted policies or plans; or
(C) compacts or other interstate agreements and
plans.
(iii) A regional plan component is inconsistent with
or conflicts with the provisions or objectives of the
overall State water plan.
(iv) The recommended regional plan component fails
to conform to section 3112 (relating to plan contents) or
the requirements established by policies adopted pursuant
to subsection (a)(2).
(4) Following consultation with the regional committees,
the Statewide committee shall approve and recommend to the
secretary approval and adoption of regional plan components
and the State water plan, subject to the following
procedures:
(i) Within 90 days of submission of a regional plan,
the secretary shall in writing either approve the
regional plan or disapprove the regional plan if the
secretary finds that the regional plan fails to meet any
of the criteria set forth in paragraph (3)(i) through
(iv).
(ii) Within 90 days of submission of the State water
plan, the secretary shall in writing either approve the
State water plan or disapprove the plan if the secretary
finds that the State water plan fails to conform to the
requirements of section 3112 or the policies adopted
pursuant to subsection (a)(2).
(iii) Upon disapproval of a regional plan or State
water plan, the secretary shall advise the Statewide
committee and affected regional committee in writing of
the reasons for such disapproval.
(iv) Upon receipt of any notice of disapproval, the
Statewide committee, any affected regional committee and
the department shall undertake expeditious and diligent
efforts to confer and resolve the issues identified as
the reasons for disapproval. Within 90 days of receipt of
any disapproval notice, the Statewide committee shall
recommend a revised plan which addresses and resolves the
issues.
(5) Final adoption of each regional plan component and
the State water plan shall occur only upon the approval and
recommendation by the Statewide committee to the secretary
for the approval and adoption of the State water plan and
subsequent adoption by the secretary.
(6) Upon adoption of the State water plan, the
department shall publish notice of the adoption or amendment
of the State water plan in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and on
the department's World Wide Web site.
(d) Periodic review.--The Statewide committee and the
department shall, at least once every five years and after
consultation with the regional committees, review the State
water plan to determine whether it reflects the objectives,
policies and purposes of this chapter. This determination,
including recommendations for revisions to regional plans, shall
be set forth in writing.
(e) Plan amendment.--The State water plan may be amended in
accordance with the requirements of this section.
Cross References. Section 3115 is referred to in sections
3102, 3112, 3114 of this title.
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Last modified: November 27, 2007 |