Public Water Supply Permit Program: Jurisdictions of Other Agencies
NYS Department of Health
Contact with DEC and submission of a Water Supply Permit application will automatically involve the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and, when necessary, the Public Service Commission (PSC). The DOH has a regulatory role in water quality and other sanitary aspects of a project relating to human health. The DOH must approve plans and specifications prior to construction of the water supply project. You should contact the DOH early in the planning stages of your project for a conceptual review, to be sure the project is in compliance with health requirements, or if you have a specific question. The DOH may also contact you directly about the project if they have questions.
NYS Public Service Commission
The PSC has certain jurisdiction over the operation of most non-municipal water supply corporations and thus becomes involved in the technical review and approval of the engineering plans and specifications for a project. The agency also has a role in the determination of rates charged by private water suppliers. The regulatory role of the PSC in water supply systems is similar to their involvement in the regulation of other public utilities.
If your project is subject to PSC regulation, you should contact the Commission early in the planning stages of your project for a conceptual review, to be sure the project is in compliance with the requirements of the agencies, or if you have a specific question. PSC may contact you directly about the project if they have questions.
Note: Do not send separate copies of your water supply application to DOH or PSC. They each receive one of the multiple sets of papers you submit to DEC.
The Delaware and Susquehanna River Basin Commissions
The Delaware and Susquehanna River Basin Commissions each have jurisdiction, concurrent with the DEC, over most water supply withdrawals issued in their respective drainage basins.Separate permits must be obtained from the appropriate commission if your project is within one of these drainage basins.
Addresses for River Basin Commissions:Delaware River Basin Commission
PO Box 73620
West Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Susquehanna River Basin Commission
1721 North Front Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17102
New York State Department of State
If the water supply project is in a coastal area and a federal approval is required, the federal agency must obtain a Coastal Consistency Certification from the New York State Department of State before it can give its approval. If such a certification is needed, you will be informed of this by the federal agency involved, usually the Corps of Engineers, who will need to make the Coastal Consistency Certification a part of its permit decision. If a federal approval is not required for a particular project that is in a coastal area, DEC will need to make the Coastal Consistency Certification a part of its permit decision.In New York, coastal areas include the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound, Arthur Kill, Kill van Kull, Harlem River, East River, Hudson River south of the federal dam in Troy, Niagara River, St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and all connecting water bodies, bays, harbors, shallows, and marshes.
This consistency program will also apply to some designated inland waterways in New York where local waterfront revitalization programs have been developed. Again, you will be informed if a certification must be prepared and whether any further information will be required from you.
