Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 62 / Thursday, April 2, 2009 / Notices 14967 

Dated: March 27, 2009. 

A.M. Vallandingham, 

Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate 

General’s Corps, U.S. Navy, Federal Register 

Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–7368 Filed 4–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P 

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN 

COMMISSION 

Proposal To Amend Fees for the 

Review of Projects in Accordance With 

Section 3.8 and Article 10 of the 

Delaware River Basin Compact 

AGENCY: Delaware River Basin 

Commission (DRBC). 

ACTION: Notice of public hearing. 

SUMMARY: The DRBC will hold a public 

hearing during its regularly scheduled 

business meeting to hear comment on a 

proposal to amend the Commission’s 

fees for the review of projects in 

accordance with Section 3.8 and Article 

10 of the Delaware River Basin 

Compact. Existing project review fees 

are proposed to be increased, effective 

July 1, 2009, for the first time since June 

of 2003. The increases are needed in 

order to partly close a significant gap 

between annual project review fee 

revenue and the cost of the 

Commission’s project review function. 

DATES: All comments must be received 

on or before the close of the public 

hearing on May 6, 2009. The hearing 

will commence at 1:30 p.m. and is 

expected to end by 2:30 p.m., but will 

continue until all those who wish to 

comment have had an opportunity to do 

so. The Commission would appreciate 

receiving written comments in advance 

of the hearing date in order to have an 

opportunity to review them prior to the 

hearing. 

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be 

held in the Goddard Room of the 

Commission’s office building at 25 State 

Police Drive in West Trenton, New 

Jersey. Mail written comments to Ms. 

Paula Schmitt, Delaware River Basin 

Commission, P.O. Box 7360, 25 State 

Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628– 

0360; fax to Attn: Paula Schmitt, 

Delaware River Basin Commission, 609– 

883–9500 ext. 224; or send electronic 

submissions to 

paula.schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for proper 

labeling of submissions. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Current Fee Schedule. The 

Commission’s current fee schedule for 

the review of projects in accordance 

with Section 3.8 and Article 10 of the 

Delaware River Basin Compact is set 

forth in Resolution No. 2005–1 as 

amended (also, ‘‘schedule’’ or ‘‘current 

fee schedule’’), which is posted on the 

Commission’s Web site at http:// 

www.state.nj.us/drbc/Res2005–1rev.pdf. 

Numbered paragraph 3 of the schedule 

(‘‘paragraph 3’’) contains a matrix that 

establishes review fees based on total 

project cost. Fees set forth in the matrix 

range from $250 for publicly sponsored 

projects costing $250,000 or less to a 

maximum of $50,000 for a public or 

private project costing over $10,000,000. 

Project review fees calculated in 

accordance with the matrix are doubled 

for projects resulting in out-of-basin 

diversions. In addition to the fees 

calculated in accordance with the 

matrix in paragraph 3, the current fee 

schedule provides in relevant part for 

the following: (a) Fees of $250 and $500 

respectively for the review of project 

renewals involving no substantial 

revisions or modifications (par. 4); (b) a 

fee of $500 for the transfer of a docket 

upon a change of ownership (par. 6); (c) 

and an incremental charge of $1,000 for 

the review of any renewal application 

submitted less than 120 calendar days 

in advance of the docket expiration date 

(or after such other date specified in the 

docket or permit for filing a renewal 

application) (par. 12). 

Proposed Fee Schedule. The matrix in 

paragraph 3 of the current schedule is 

proposed to be revised as follows: For 

projects costing $250,000 or less, the 

proposed fee is $500 for publicly 

sponsored projects (increased from 

$250) and $1,000 for privately 

sponsored projects (increased from 

$500). For all projects costing between 

$250,001 and $10,000,000, the proposed 

fee is 0.4 percent (increased from 0.2 

percent) of project cost. The review of 

projects costing over $10,000,000 is 

proposed to carry a revised fee of 0.4 

percent of project cost (increased from 

0.2 percent) up to the first $10,000,000 

plus 0.12 percent of project cost 

(increased from 0.06 percent) above 

$10,000,000, not to exceed $75,000 

(increased from $50,000). Fees 

calculated in accordance with the 

revised matrix will continue to be 

doubled for projects resulting in out-ofbasin diversions. In addition to the fees 

calculated in accordance with the 

matrix in paragraph 3 as revised, the 

proposed revised fee schedule includes: 

(a) Fees of $500 and $1,000 respectively 

for the review of public and private 

project renewals involving no 

substantial revisions or modifications 

(increased from $250 and $500 

respectively) (par. 4); (b) a fee of $1,000 

for the transfer of a docket upon a 

change of ownership (increased from 

$500) (par. 6); and (c) an incremental 

charge of $2,000 for the review of any 

renewal application submitted less than 

120 calendar days in advance of the 

docket expiration date (or after such 

other date specified in the docket or 

permit for filing a renewal application) 

(increased from $1,000) (par. 12). 

Other Aspects Unchanged. With 

minor exceptions, including the 

deletion of paragraphs for which the 

applicable dates have passed, other 

aspects of the Commission’s current 

project review fee schedule will remain 

unchanged, including but not limited to 

provisions of current paragraph 4 

allowing the Executive Director to 

determine the fee for review of a project 

revision not involving an increase in 

costs; and paragraph 8, authorizing the 

Executive Director to impose, in 

addition to the initial project review fee, 

a fee in an amount equal to up to 100 

percent of project review costs deemed 

by the Executive Director to be 

exceptional. 

Basis for Proposed Increases. The 

proposed fee increases are needed to 

address significant revenue shortfalls 

and maintain adequate levels of service 

in reviewing projects in accordance 

with Section 3.8 and Article 10 of the 

Delaware River Basin Compact. The 

annual average sum of project review 

fees collected by the DRBC in Fiscal 

Years 2005 through 2008 was 

approximately half the annual cost of 

the project review function to the 

agency. 

Copy of Proposed Revised Fee 

Schedule. A copy of this notice, along 

with the proposed revised fee schedule 

with changes noted, can be viewed on 

the Commission’s Web site, drbc.net. 

Effective Date. The revised fee 

schedule is proposed to become 

effective on July 1, 2009, the first day of 

the Commission’s 2010 fiscal year. 

Labeling of Written Submissions. 

Please use ‘‘Project Review Fee 

Changes’’ in the subject line for all 

written submissions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela M. Bush, Commission Secretary 

and Assistant General Counsel, DRBC, 

609–883–9500 ext. 203, 

pamela.bush@drbc.state.nj.us, or Chad 

Pindar, Project Review Supervisor, 609– 

883–9500 ext. 204, 

chad.pindar@drbc.state.nj.us. 

Dated: March 27, 2009. 

Pamela M. Bush, 

Commission Secretary & Assistant General 

Counsel. 

[FR Doc. E9–7447 Filed 4–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6360–01–P 

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