DEP extends deadline for comments on water management regs

DEP extends deadline for comments on water management regs 

Written by MMA Senior Legislative Analyst Tom Philbin 



The Department of Environmental Protection has extended by one month the period for written comments on proposed revisions to water resources management regulations.

The deadline is now July 10 at 5 p.m.

The DEP held a series of public hearings this month on proposed regulations to incorporate components of the Sustainable Water Management Initiative into Water Management Act permitting.

The Sustainable Water Management Initiative creates a plan for water allocation in Massachusetts. Four years ago, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs convened a stakeholder committee to advise state agencies on the development of the plan.

The proposed changes to Water Management Act permitting include new methodology for calculating a river basin’s “safe yield,” new biological categorizations, new streamflow criteria for water withdrawals, and new permit review categories.

Applicants seeking an increase in water withdrawals over their historic baseline will be required to mitigate the volume of the increase. Applicants seeking to withdraw from an impaired basin or a coldwater fish resource will also be required to minimize the impact of the withdrawal.

The MMA and water suppliers expressed concerns at the hearings that the proposed regulations place too much emphasis on how water withdrawals would affect fish populations and not enough on cost-benefit analysis. There are also concerns that the proposed regulations neglect the impact of impervious surfaces, dams and pollutants on aquatic habitat.

The MMA argues that the costs of implementing the proposed regulations could constitute an unfunded mandate borne almost exclusively by ratepayers and taxpayers. Cities and towns already lack adequate resources to maintain aging water infrastructure. By limiting water withdrawals, the proposed regulations would reduce revenue and impose additional costs on water suppliers.

Written comments may be submitted to dep.talks@state.ma.us or to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Resource Protection – Water Management Regulatory Comment Box, 1 Winter St., 5th floor, Boston, MA 02108, attn: Elizabeth McCann.

• Link to DEP website for more information about proposed amendments to Water Resources Management Program regulations