The second hearing with the PA Legislature and Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) took place on Monday, June 26 at the Shrewsbury Borough Municipal Building. Approximately 10-15 individuals from the golf industry showed up along with numerous media and local citizens interested in the day's proceedings. In fact, the turnout forced creation of an overflow room where individuals were presented with a live streaming of the action.
The session kicked off with opening remarks from Representative Kristin Phillips-Hill (R) of District 93. Her remarks were followed by a testimony and questioning of SRBC Executive Director Andrew Dehoff. Dehoff noted that the SRBC recently decided to not increase fees for municipal water users, but representatives of the committee seemed not impressed.
The SRBC is facing scrutiny in large part because of the fees they charge for renewing dockets, fines levied for seemingly minor (if not imaginary) offenses, their excess $40 million bank reserves, and the commission's reaping of state employee pension plans, even though they are not an official state agency. The latter point seems to create ambiguity with regards to the standards for which the SRBC must conduct business. For example, even though SRBC's staff participate in the state pension plan, the Commission is not subject to some of the regulations created to promote transparency with state agencies, such as the Rights to Know Act.
Throughout the day, the Legislature heard additional testimonies from Range End Country Club Superintendent Pete Ramsey, and municipalities from Adams, Cumberland, and Lancaster counties. Each testimony given had a similar message, in that the SRBC is overreaching the bounds of the federal-interstate compact that was put in place back in 1970, and costing taxpayers, private businesses, and municipalities undue and exuberant expenses for the access to water.
At the conclusion of the hearing, state representatives assured members of the golf industry and others that they intend to take action on this issue, but that action will take time. Possible outcomes include a reduction or total cut in state funding for the SRBC, or possible legislation that could help reign in the pseudo-power that the SRBC seems to have self-created over the past several decades. With regards to legislation, that route could prove to be a little more tricky, given the compact's original creation was a collaboration with New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the federal government, and creating legislation would be a tricky endeavor of further collaboration between these 3 states.
More comments and perspective on the matter from Rep. Kristin Phillips-Hill can be found here.
The session kicked off with opening remarks from Representative Kristin Phillips-Hill (R) of District 93. Her remarks were followed by a testimony and questioning of SRBC Executive Director Andrew Dehoff. Dehoff noted that the SRBC recently decided to not increase fees for municipal water users, but representatives of the committee seemed not impressed.
The SRBC is facing scrutiny in large part because of the fees they charge for renewing dockets, fines levied for seemingly minor (if not imaginary) offenses, their excess $40 million bank reserves, and the commission's reaping of state employee pension plans, even though they are not an official state agency. The latter point seems to create ambiguity with regards to the standards for which the SRBC must conduct business. For example, even though SRBC's staff participate in the state pension plan, the Commission is not subject to some of the regulations created to promote transparency with state agencies, such as the Rights to Know Act.
Throughout the day, the Legislature heard additional testimonies from Range End Country Club Superintendent Pete Ramsey, and municipalities from Adams, Cumberland, and Lancaster counties. Each testimony given had a similar message, in that the SRBC is overreaching the bounds of the federal-interstate compact that was put in place back in 1970, and costing taxpayers, private businesses, and municipalities undue and exuberant expenses for the access to water.
At the conclusion of the hearing, state representatives assured members of the golf industry and others that they intend to take action on this issue, but that action will take time. Possible outcomes include a reduction or total cut in state funding for the SRBC, or possible legislation that could help reign in the pseudo-power that the SRBC seems to have self-created over the past several decades. With regards to legislation, that route could prove to be a little more tricky, given the compact's original creation was a collaboration with New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the federal government, and creating legislation would be a tricky endeavor of further collaboration between these 3 states.
More comments and perspective on the matter from Rep. Kristin Phillips-Hill can be found here.
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| Attendees of the hearing have a seat in the overflow room to view a live streaming. |
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