State GOP lawmakers stood up for the local whitewater rafting industry while questioning the motives of New York City and the Delaware River Basin Commission during a hearing on the Francis E. Walter Dam on Thursday.

A meeting of the Pennsylvania House Majority Policy Committee focused on an ongoing, multiyear study currently underway led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“We want to be sure that as these studies go forward, that the voices of those who represent this area are going to be heard,” said state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon.

The study seeks to determine whether Francis E. Walter could take on additional responsibility in helping to keep the Delaware River flowing during periods of extreme drought.

During the hearing, which was organized by Heffley, legislators expressed concern that changing the dam’s operations could hurt local whitewater rafting outfitters, and by extension the area’s tourism economy. They also expressed concern that a dam in Pennsylvania, and the water behind it, is drawing interest from New York City and a multistate agency.

Committee members heard from the Army Corps official who is leading the study, as well as a representative of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, who is co-sponsoring the study along with the Delaware River Basin Commission.

Saltwater issue

Dan Hughes, a project manager with the Army Corps of Engineers, said the purpose of the study is to look at the positive and negative impacts if Francis E. Walter takes on a larger role in drought management.

New York and the Delaware River Basin Commission would like to see if releases from Francis E. Walter can help to keep saltwater from coming up the Delaware River to Philadelphia.

New York City’s reservoirs on the Upper Delaware play a large role in managing the so-called “salt front” and they want other reservoirs in the Delaware Watershed to help.

“We do not believe that water from our reservoirs alone will be enough to push the salt front back during the longest, most severe droughts that we can expect in the future,” said Jennifer Garigliano, Chief of Staff for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Independent study?

House majority policy committee members questioned whether the study can be independent and objective based on the involvement of the city and the DRBC.

“They want the water, they’re participating in the study, that’s potentially problematic,” said State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland.

When it was first revealed that New York City was sponsoring a study into Francis E. Walter, many locals feared that the city wanted to take water from the Lehigh for city residents.

Heffley said that while that is not the case, New York is still interested in releasing water from the Francis E. Walter so it can keep more of the water from its own reservoirs.

“I don’t think that people will be naive to think that NYC doesn’t have a very specific interest in this water. The more water that comes out of this watershed, the less that comes out of those three main reservoirs that New York City controls to get 50 percent of their drinking water,” Heffley said.

No DRBC officials testified, but in written comments, a commission official said the study is necessary, but they also support maintaining Francis E. Walter’s existing uses - flood risk management and recreation.

DRBC’s recent decision to ban fracking in the Delaware River watershed was fresh in the mind of the GOP representatives. They drew parallels, saying it and the Walter study unfairly impact Pennsylvanians.

Heffley said it is unfair that New York and New Jersey get equal votes on the basin commission, when the majority of the watershed is located in Pennsylvania.

Recreation

State Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne, went a step further. He said DRBC has been infiltrated by “overzealous environmentalists” with the goal of shutting down industry.

“It’s hard to have an objective and innocent study when you have people with a very clear and dangerous agenda,” Fritz said.

Hughes pledged that the study will be independent. He also pointed out that any recommendations from the study would have to be approved by Congress, and then funded, neither of which are guaranteed. He added that some Army Corps studies end by recommending no changes to current operations.

Hughes said that members of the public will have chances to review a draft of the final study report, and voice their concerns at a public meeting before the report is finalized.

He said currently, the study is focusing on storing more water behind the existing dam. One of the alternatives, which called for raising the height of the current dam, has been ruled out, he said.

Hughes said the study must weigh the impact that it will have on Walter’s existing primary function, flood protection; as well as its secondary function, recreation in the form of dam releases for whitewater rafting and fishing.

Hughes was not specific when asked about the impact on the whitewater rafting releases. He said that more water behind the dam could lead to more releases. When Heffley asked him to guarantee that whitewater rafting releases would continue as they are now, Hughes declined, adding that even now, drought conditions can lead to the cancellation of whitewater releases.

“We do take recreation very seriously,” Hughes said.

The hearing featured testimony from two local rafting outfitters, as well as local tourism and economic development officials who spoke about the importance of whitewater rafting to Carbon County’s economy.

Kathy Henderson of the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corporation said any changes to the F.E. Walter Dam could have repercussions on the businesses that are served by the Lehigh River.

She said the tourism industry generates roughly $3.9 billion annually in the Pocono Mountains and is responsible for 35,000 jobs.

Many of these businesses, especially the whitewater rafting industry, rely on water releases from the dam to operate.

“The whitewater rafting industry is a $37 million per year industry in Carbon County alone and responsible for over 1,000 jobs,” Henderson said.

“This plan would jeopardize not only Delaware River stream flows but it would also jeopardize the successful Recreational Flow Releases from Francis E. Walter that support the economically vital recreation economy on and around the Lehigh River. New York’s ownership of 15% of Francis E. Walter’s storage capacity would effectively remove storage opportunities at the dam for downstream.”

Jerry McAward, owner of the Lehighton Outdoor Center, added, “We think there’s a far larger body of interest that needs to be paid attention to. We represent hundreds of thousands of people coming to Pennsylvania. My concern is to keep downstream recreation in the forefront of these studies.”