DRBC DEVELOPING CLIMATE RESILIENCE PLAN

By Kate Schmidt, Delaware River Basin Commission Communications Specialist

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC or Commission) has kicked off a multi-phase process to develop its first Climate Resilience Plan.

“The Commissioners have made a finding that climate change is impacting the Delaware River Basin’s water cycle,” said DRBC Director Steve Tambini, noting the significance of the Commission’s action. “This finding allows the Commission to move authoritatively toward developing plans and policies for water resource resilience and adaptation.”

Climate change impacts in the Delaware River Basin including increased temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and sea level rise, all of which affect the Commission’s mission to ensure an adequate and equitable supply of suitable quality water for Delaware River Basin water users and the environment.

The Commission unanimously approved the planning process at a recent meeting and will consider elements related to water resource planning, research, consultation, outreach, education, and public rulemaking to increase resilience in the face of these impacts.

“We strongly support a Climate Resilience Plan for the Delaware River Basin to protect the mighty Delaware River,” said Shawn M. LaTourette, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner and Alternate DRBC Commissioner, in a news release about the resolution adoption. “We look forward to working together through the Commission, as we have done for more than 60 years, to strengthen the resilience of the Delaware River Basin communities.”

The DRBC has already significantly advanced efforts to understand and address water resource threats to the Delaware River Basin through the use of models, planning, and data analysis.

The to-be-developed Climate Resilience Plan will include a list of prioritized actions for the DRBC to evaluate climate impacts and formulate management approaches. It also may direct the Commission to consider new or revised regulations to address significant climate-related risks and vulnerabilities and to integrate measures to promote equity and environmental justice.

The DRBC’s activities will focus on water resources matters within the Commission’s authority and jurisdiction. These may include, but are not limited to, flow and drought management, flood loss, water quality, water use, and water efficiency.

A draft version of the resolution was available for public comment in April and May, and comments to the DRBC generally supported a Climate Resilience Plan and the Commission’s focus on this effort.

The DRBC’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change (ACCC) will be involved in the plan’s development, and updates will be provided at committee meetings, which are duly noticed and open to the public.

ALL THEMES AND STRATEGIES

View the news release announcing the adoption of this resolution at www.nj.gov/drbc/home/newsroom/news/approved/20240613_climateplan.html

Learn more about climate change and the Delaware River Basin at www.nj.gov/drbc/programs/flow/climate-change.html.

Sign up for email updates from the DRBC at www.nj.gov/drbc/contact/interest

The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency created in 1961 by concurrent compact legislation, marking the first time that the federal government and a group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin planning, development, and regulatory agency. The five Commission members are the governors of the Basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government.