Pa. Water Resources Regional Committee meetings scheduled in December

HARRISBURG, PA, Dec. 2, 2004 (PRNewswire) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will continue its series of Water Resources Regional Committee meetings with events planned this month for each of the six major river basins of Pennsylvania - Delaware, Great Lakes, Lower Susquehanna, Ohio, Potomac and Upper/Middle Susquehanna.

"The regional committees represent Pennsylvania's geographic diversity and will aid the development of the regional components of the State Water Plan and critical area resource plans," Deputy Secretary for Watershed Management Cathleen Curran Myers said. "The input provided by committee members and the public will ensure our State Water Plan reflects both regional and statewide needs."

Meeting times, dates and locations scheduled for December include:
-- Lower Susquehanna at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 6 in Room 105 of DEP's Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St., Harrisburg.
-- Great Lakes Committee at 10 a.m. Dec. 14 at Headwaters Park, Erie County Conservation District, 1927 Wager Road, Erie.
-- Delaware Committee at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 10 at DEP's Southeast Regional Office, 2 E. Main St., Norristown.
-- Potomac Committee at 10 a.m. Dec. 17 at the Adams County Department of Emergency Services, 230 Greenamyer Road, Gettysburg.
-- Ohio Committee at 10 a.m. Dec. 13 at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road, Suite 400, Cranberry Township.
-- Upper/Middle Susquehanna Committee at 10 a.m. Dec. 16 at DEP's Northcentral Regional Office, 208 W. Third St., Suite 101, Williamsport.

The schedules and an agenda for each meeting, including meeting materials, will be available through the Public Participation Center on Department of Environmental Protection's website at www.dep.state.pa.us -- keywords: "DEP Public Participation."

The Waters Resources Act requires DEP to develop a new State Water Plan over the next several years, working with both regional and statewide committees whose membership includes a broad representation of business and industry, agriculture, local government and environmental interests.

Through an open public process, in consultation with the statewide committee and DEP, regional committees will recommend the regional plan components to the statewide committee for incorporation into the State Water Plan, which will be designed to provide up-to-date information on water availability, an assessment and projection of water use and future demands on a watershed basis, identification of critical water planning areas where water demands are projected to exceed available water supplies, and the development of critical area resource plans for these areas.

For more information on water resources, visit DEP's website at www.dep.state.pa.us -- keywords: "DEP Water Management" -- or call the Act 220 Hotline at 888-457-6653.

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