NARROWSBURG, NY — Its September meeting highlighted the Upper Delaware Council’s (UDC) continuing struggle to deal with its dual roles of protecting both the welfare of the river resource and the sometimes contradictory role of defending the validity of local government sovereignty; all the while working within tight-fisted and recently withheld federal funding.

When it was created in 1988, its conservative federal, state and local creators agreed that a UDC would require a starting annual operating budget of $500,000 ($300,000 federal and $100,000 each from New York and Pennsylvania).

The money was to encourage cooperative local land use measures, zoning (which either didn’t exist in some places or fell short of the need) and planning consistent with the goals of the river management plan (RMP) written for its preservation. Many of the towns responded by creating or revising zoning measures, which some say they are now defending against the National Park Service (NPS).

Earlier this month, delegates continued a debate on whether new commercial power technologies (solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower) were compatible with the RMP; whether the council and the NPS could, by way of a position paper, find them incompatible without amending the congressionally approved RMP; and whether such an action violates the PA planning code. Written before renewable energy existed, the plan lists power plants among incompatible uses. They did not resolve the issue, and it was referred back to its project review committee.

Another compatibility measure, regarding on-farm cideries, which another position paper found to be compatible, was also referred back to committee, since that use is not specifically mentioned in the RMP.

Responding to a press report of a Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) proposal for new rules regarding natural gas development in the basin that would include “prohibitions related to” fracking in the river basin, the council directed executive director Laurie Ramie to monitor news regarding the DRBC action. A resolution to prepare new rules was subsequently approved by a 3-1 vote on September 13, with the federal government opposed and New Jersey abstaining. New rules are to be prepared by November 30, with public hearings to follow. Ironically, UDC months ago accepted an NPS position paper finding fracking to be an incompatible use in the Upper Delaware river corridor.

UDC has in the past and now again taken issue with the four states and New York City, which make up the “Decree Parties” of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the management of the water in the Delaware River Basin. Their inability to agree on renewal of a flow plan has ended a negotiated reservoir water-release program designed in part to protect the cold-water fishery and provide a buffer against downstream flooding. The UDC warned of “serious and dire consequences” should the impasse continue.

The council also heard Jack Flynn, director of Town of Deerpark emergency management, give a presentation on the Sparrowbush early-warning sirens. The UDC is continuing efforts to have New York City fund a system of local sirens that would provide early warning in the event of a reservoir dam failure.

Citing widespread public support, its historic significance and “the vital role it fulfills,” UDC also approved a letter calling on PennDOT to preserve, rather than replace or remove, the 116-year-old Skinners Falls bridge, which was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Which brings us back to the money. The problem is that New York State and PA never came up with any money at all to support the operations of the UDC, and the feds, ignoring inflation and UDC’s growing responsibilities, decided that $300,000 was a fine forever number. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), more than $600,000 would be required today to equal the value of $300,000 in 1988 dollars ($1 million if the missing states’ support is included).

So, UDC is always looking for operating money. After getting a surprising letter of response to a query about New York’s missing support, the council on September 7 approved a request to New York for $50,000 (less than $25,000 in 1988 dollars) to support the review of New York towns’ land-use actions and annual technical-assistance grants for various river-plan related projects. Pennsylvania has not yet responded to a similar query about its obligation.

Council members were sharply critical after learning that the NPS park unit had recently returned a $30,000 budgetary surplus to the U.S. Treasury without considering its use to supplement UDC funding. They directed a letter to Superintendent Kris Heister, who did not attend the September meeting, objecting to the return of the money and requesting its re-obligation for a UDC project, as Berlin Township delegate Al Henry commented, “They’ll only piss it away anyway.”

The council also directed Ramie to apply to draw down the balance of the UDC’s FY 2017 funds before NPS suspends the accounts later this month for closeout of the fiscal year.