History

The Delaware River Basin Task Force was created in 1999 to better coordinate efforts to promote river basin restoration through appropriations, authorizations, and other federal legislation. The Task Force, currently co-chaired by Reps. Michael Castle (R-DE), Charles Dent (R-PA), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and Rush Holt (D-NJ), has members representing all states in the basin.

The Delaware River Basin Task Force is a bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the four basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) that coordinate Congressional efforts to promote the restoration and vitality of the Delaware River Basin and its communities. The goal of the task force is to promote the health and well-being of the region’s natural resources by organizing educational briefings, formulating joint responses to emergencies, coordinating legislative efforts, tracking legislation and the appropriations process, and promoting other initiatives. The task force identifies and coordinates efforts on issues of importance to the nearly 15 million people who rely on the Delaware River’s waters.

The Institute provides research and policy analysis to the Delaware River Basin Task Force.

Co-chairs and Members of the Delaware River Basin Task Force are:

Appropriations Letters

Delaware River Basin Task Force Appropriations Request Letters for Fiscal Year 2009

Subcommittee on Interior, Environment
Subcommittee on Energy and Water
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science

Briefings

Delaware River Basin Flood Mitigation: Findings and Next Steps

October 9, 2007, Room HC–6 of the Capitol

Several members of the Delaware River Basin Interstate Flood Mitigation Task Force were joined by Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) staff to provide an overview of the task force’s action agenda for a more proactive, sustainable, and systematic approach to flood damage reduction.

The briefing focused on the Interstate Flood Mitigation Task Force’s final evaluation of flood prevention and mitigation options on flooding in the Delaware River Basin. The task force concluded that no set of mitigation measures will entirely eliminate flooding along the Delaware River. However, it believed that a combination of measures will improve the basin’s capacity to prepare for and recover from flooding in the future.

The flood task force submitted its final report with 45 consensus recommendations on July 12, 2007, to the governors of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, who serve as DRBC members along with presidential appointee Brigadier General Todd Semonite. The flood loss reduction recommendations address six management areas: reservoir operations, structural and non-structural mitigation, stormwater management, floodplain mapping, floodplain regulation, and flood warning.

Briefing on Mid-Atlantic River Basin Flooding: Assessment, Response, and Mitigation

July 27, 2006, Rayburn House Office Building Room 2203

The briefing focused on recent flooding in the Mid-Atlantic region. Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) spoke at the beginning of the briefing about the need to understand the causes of the June flooding events to mitigate future flood losses.

Peter Ahnert of the National Weather Service indicated that heavy rainfall, up to 15 inches in some regions, was the result of a tropical air mass that stalled over the region from June 22 through June 28, 2006. He noted that with the year’s above-average tropical activity, there was the potential for such events to occur again. The year’s tropical activity was similar to that in 2004 and 2005, which were years of regional flooding. Despite some streamgages that measure water flow being overtopped by flood waters, the National Weather Service was able to offer accurate predictions for flash floods and main-stem river floods with sufficient notice for emergency preparation.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Delaware River Basin Commission, and Delaware River Keeper all spoke about different aspects of the flooding.

One of the questions focused on how to overcome the devolution of planning authority to local municipalities, specifically the traditional “home rule” in Pennsylvania, and how uncoordinated local-level efforts frustrate flood mitigation planning efforts. Larry Larson of the Association of State Flood Plain Managers, and the Delaware River Keeper both indicated that is the reason a federal flood mitigation incentive is needed for states and or municipalities. They said that while flood insurance and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) incentives are in place, they have not been sufficient to mitigate flood-related damages or prevent the loss of life.

The Associated Press reported on this event. A copy of the article filed in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York media markets can be viewed here.

Speakers Included:

• Peter Ahnert, Hydrologist in Charge at the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, National Weather Service
• Carol Collier, Executive Director, Delaware River Basin Commission
• Paul Swartz, Executive Director, Susquehanna River Basin Commission
• Maya van Rossum, The Delaware River Keeper
• Larry Larson, Executive Director, Association of State Flood Plain Managers

Regional Water Resource Challenges: Problems, Resources, and Legislative Opportunities

March 13, 2002, 8:30-10:30a.m., Mansfield Room (S207) in the Capitol Building

The Regional Water Resource briefing was co-sponsored by the Northeast-Midwest Institute, Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions, Delaware River Basin Commission, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, and Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and discussed the common challenges as well as opportunities shared by the three Mid-Atlantic River Basins with respect to preserving water quantity and quality.

Douglas Le Comte, Senior Meteorologist at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center, discussed tracking drought conditions nationwide, with a focus on the eastern United States, and had mapped current drought conditions and the drought outlook through June 2002. Robert Hirsch, Associate Director for Water, U.S. Geological Survey, discussed how the USGS was also tracking drought conditions nationwide, with a focus on the eastern United States. Its Water Watch Web site features a map generated by real-time water data collected through the USGS streamgage network, and the map then highlighted persistent dry conditions on the east coast. Representatives from each of the interstate commissions discussed the implications of low water levels as summer approached and water resource management options should conditions worsen.

Moderated by Allen Hance, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, the discussion closed with consideration of the Northeast-Midwest Institute's policy recommendations for watershed management in the Mid-Atlantic.