General Permit GP-02

GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWALS FOR EMERGENCY USES

OR MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES

1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND AUTHORITY – The Susquehanna River Basin 

Commission (Commission) hereby approves by General Permit, subject to the terms and 

criteria set forth below: 1) the withdrawal of groundwater from wells for emergency uses; or

2) maintenance activities. This approval is pursuant to Article 3.10 of the Susquehanna River 

Basin Compact (Compact) and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder at 18 C.F.R.

§§ 806.4(a)(9) and 806.17. The General Permit is subject to the terms and conditions set 

forth below.

2. DENIAL OF APPROVAL – The Commission or Executive Director shall have the 

discretion, on a case-by-case basis, to deny, revoke, or suspend the approval to use this 

General Permit for any project determined to not meet or no longer meet the criteria for 

coverage under the General Permit or to have violated the terms and conditions of this 

General Permit, provided false or incomplete information on the Notice of Intent (NOI)

seeking coverage under the General Permit, or for any reason enumerated in 18 C.F.R.

§ 806.17(d).

3. DEFINITIONS – The following terms as used in this General Permit shall have the 

following meanings:

Back-up well. An alternate groundwater supply source for an existing Commission-approved 

or grandfathered project that provides source redundancy for use when other system sources 

are unavailable. A back-up well does not provide excess capacity to meet future water 

supply demands. A back-up well is used to maintain or supplement supply when emergency

uses or maintenance activities interrupt use of a primary or routine source. Back-up well 

includes jurisdictional members’ public water supply nomenclature for these sources, 

including reserve well, auxiliary well, and back-up supply.

Commission. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission, as established in Article 2 of the 

Compact, including its commissioners, officers, employees, or duly appointed agents or 

representatives.

Consumptive use. The loss of water transferred through a manmade conveyance system or 

any integral part thereof (including such water that is purveyed through a public water supply 

or wastewater system), due to transpiration by vegetation, incorporation into products during 

their manufacture, evaporation, injection of water or wastewater into a subsurface formation 

from which it would not reasonably be available for future use in the basin, diversion from 
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the basin, or any other process by which the water is not returned to the waters of the basin 

undiminished in quantity.

Contingency plan. A plan that establishes procedures that are to be followed for operating a 

back-up well during an emergency use or for maintenance activities. 

Emergency groundwater withdrawal. A withdrawal from groundwater that mitigates and 

maintains a project’s operations in the event of an emergency, requiring immediate action to 

protect the public health, safety, and welfare or to avoid substantial and irreparable injury to 

any person, property, or water resources. Under 18 C.F.R. § 806.34(a), emergency actions 

are those deemed necessary to sustain human life, health and safety, or that of livestock or 

food, fiber or forage crops, the maintenance of electric system reliability to serve such needs, 

to avoid significant disruption of employment, or any other such priorities that the 

Commission may establish utilizing its authority under Section 11.4 of the Compact related 

to drought emergencies.

Groundwater. Water beneath the surface of the ground within a zone of saturation, whether 

or not flowing through known and definite channels or percolating through underground 

geologic formations, and regardless of whether the result of natural or artificial recharge. 

The term includes water contained in quarries, pits, and underground mines having no 

significant surface water inflow, aquifers, underground water courses and other bodies of 

water below the surface of the earth. The term also includes a spring in which the water level 

is sufficiently lowered by pumping or other means of drainage to eliminate the surface flow. 

All other springs are considered to be surface water.

Maintenance activities. Non-emergency actions to repair or maintain the physical water 

system and related equipment in good working order and routine sampling of the back-up 

well to maintain permits with other agencies. 

Member jurisdiction. The signatory parties as defined in the compact, comprised of the 

States of Maryland and New York, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the United 

States of America.

Project sponsor. Any person who owns, operates, or proposes to undertake a project. The 

singular shall include the plural.

Small capacity well. A groundwater source with a withdrawal of 20,000 gallons or less per 

day over a consecutive 30-day average.

Withdrawal. A taking or removal of water from any source within the basin.

4. SCOPE – The following activities are eligible for coverage under this General Permit:

a. Emergency groundwater withdrawal from an unapproved well at a Commission-approved 

project, provided the approved system cap, if any, is not exceeded.

b. Emergency groundwater withdrawal from an unapproved small capacity well.

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c. Emergency increase in groundwater withdrawal from an approved back-up, reserve, or 

auxiliary well, consistent with its state Safe Drinking Water permit, if applicable. 

d. Emergency or maintenance activity groundwater withdrawal from a well to be used as a 

source of water for a regulated consumptive use. 

e. Emergency groundwater withdrawal from an unapproved well to extinguish a mine fire.

f. A non-routine groundwater withdrawal, generally from a back-up, reserve, or auxiliary

well, used to offset capacity lost to maintain water supply while performing maintenance 

activities on an existing primary, Commission-approved source, project, or related 

equipment. 

5. WHERE GENERAL PERMIT DOES NOT APPLY – This General Permit does not apply 

and is not valid for the following circumstances, and an individual permit would be required:

a. Withdrawals from wells for a routine use at a permanent facility unrelated to maintenance 

activities or emergency withdrawals.

b. Withdrawals from wells for use in unconventional hydrocarbon development.

c. Withdrawals from Commission-approved wells having protective conditions, including 

but not limited to a passby, conservation release, drawdown limit, seasonal limitations, or 

requiring monitoring of wetlands or private supply wells.

d. Withdrawals from wells that increase the system capacity above a Commissionestablished total system limit.

e. Except for small capacity wells, withdrawals from wells as follows:

1) Any withdrawal within 500 feet of other groundwater users;

2) 0.020 million gallons per day (mgd) to 0.100 mgd – within 200 feet of exceptional 

quality waters; or

3) Greater than 0.100 mgd – within 500 feet of exceptional quality waters.

f. Withdrawals from a spring.

g. Withdrawals from surface water sources.

h. Projects without Commission-approved consumptive use that will exceed 20,000 gallons 

per day (gpd) (consecutive 30-day average) of consumptive use.

6. EFFECTIVE TIME PERIOD – This General Permit shall expire on October 31, 2038.

7. GENERAL CONDITIONS – The following general conditions apply to all activities 

approved by this General Permit:

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a. With the exception of emergency activities associated with a mine fire, a project for 

emergency use or maintenance activities covered under this General Permit shall not 

exceed sixty (60) days, except as otherwise noted in General Conditions (r) through (u).

b. This General Permit shall not be construed to exempt the project sponsor from obtaining 

and maintaining all necessary permits and/or approvals required for the project from 

other federal, state, or local government agencies having jurisdiction over the project. 

The Commission may modify, suspend, or revoke this General Permit if the project 

sponsor fails to obtain or maintain such permits and/or approvals.

c. If the project sponsor fails to comply with the provisions of the Compact or any rule, 

regulation, or order of the Commission, or any term or condition of this General Permit, 

the project sponsor is subject to enforcement actions pursuant to 18 C.F.R. Part 808.

d. This General Permit confers no property rights upon the project sponsor. The securing of 

all rights necessary and incident to the project sponsor’s development and operation of 

the project shall be the sole and exclusive responsibility of the project sponsor, and this 

General Permit shall be subject thereto.

e. The project sponsor or any other person representing the project sponsor shall allow 

authorized employees or agents of the Commission, without advance notice, at any 

reasonable time and upon presentation of appropriate credentials, and without delay, to 

have access to and to inspect all areas where the project is being constructed, operated, or 

maintained, or otherwise exercise all investigative powers authorized under 18 C.F.R.

§ 808.12.

f. The project sponsor shall adhere to notification procedures submitted with the NOI and 

Contingency Plan, and approved by the Commission.

g. The Commission may at any time reopen any General Permit or issue such additional 

orders, as may be necessary, to mitigate or avoid adverse impacts or otherwise to protect 

public health, safety, welfare, or the environment, pursuant to 18 C.F.R. § 806.32.

h. The project sponsor shall adhere to the metering plan submitted with the NOI and must 

conform to 18 C.F.R. § 806.30.

i. In accordance with 18 C.F.R. § 806.30(b)(2), the project sponsor shall report violations of 

any withdrawal limits and any conditions of this General Permit within five (5) days of 

such violation or report loss of measuring or recording capabilities required under 

18 C.F.R. § 806.30(a)(1) within five (5) days after any such loss.

j. In accordance with requirements under 18 C.F.R. § 806.30(a)(1), the project sponsor 

shall report loss of measuring or recording capabilities within five (5) days after any such 

loss.

k. In accordance with 18 C.F.R § 806.6, if ownership of the project changes or if the project 

sponsor undergoes a name change, the project sponsor shall submit application for 

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transfer or reissuance of the Approval of Coverage for this General Permit to the 

Commission within ninety (90) days of the change in ownership or project sponsor name 

change.

l. The project sponsor shall keep daily records of the project’s withdrawal and shall report 

the data in a form and manner determined by the Commission. Any alternative 

measuring, monitoring, or accounting procedure shall be submitted for review and 

approval by Commission staff in accordance with 18 C.F.R. § 806.30. Modifications 

shall not be made until the project sponsor receives written approval. All data collected 

and submitted as required under this approval shall be maintained by the project sponsor

for the duration of the approval. 

m. The project sponsor shall maintain legal access to the withdrawal location for the 

duration of operation under this General Permit.

n. The Executive Director can deny or revoke coverage under a General Permit if the 

project or project sponsor does not or can no longer meet the criteria for coverage under a 

General Permit; if the withdrawal individually or in combination with other similar 

Commission-regulated activities is causing or has the potential to cause adverse impacts 

to water resources or competing water users; the project does not comport with 18 C.F.R. 

§ 806.21(a) or (b); the project includes other diversions, withdrawals, or consumptive 

uses that require an individual approval, and the issuance of both an individual approval 

and a General Permit for the project would constitute an undue administrative burden on 

the Commission; or the Executive Director determines that a project cannot be effectively 

regulated under a General Permit and is more effectively regulated under an individual 

approval.

o. The project sponsor shall adhere to the Contingency Plan submitted with the NOI and 

approved by Commission staff. At a minimum, this plan shall contain a detailed 

narrative defining types of events when emergency or maintenance operation and use is 

required, applicable notification procedures for these events, the requested peak 

withdrawal quantity and rate, and potential adverse impacts. The Contingency Plan may 

be amended or modified to account for changing conditions. The amended or modified 

Contingency Plan shall not be effective until the project sponsor receives written 

approval from Commission staff.

p. The project sponsor shall adhere to conditions within its state Safe Drinking Water 

permit, if applicable. 

q. Once emergency or maintenance activities begin, the project sponsor shall notify 

Commission staff within two (2) days of activity commencement.

r. In the event that the emergency condition and withdrawal or maintenance activity is 

expected to continue beyond sixty (60) consecutive days, the project shall notify 

Commission staff and provide a written request for extension no later than three (3) days 

prior to the expiration of sixty (60) days. The Commission will determine if the project 

sponsor shall file the appropriate online Emergency Certificate application or if the 

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project may receive a one (1)-time extension, through review of a written request for 

extension providing explanation of need for extension. The Executive Director may 

approve a one (1)-time extension of generally thirty (30) days for demonstration of good 

cause and appropriate risk assessment. 

s. Within two (2) days of completion of the emergency or maintenance activity withdrawal, 

the project sponsor shall file a Notice of End of Operations and file the required metering 

data with the Commission. 

t. Any further extension beyond that granted in Condition (r) requires that the project 

sponsor shall apply for an Emergency Certificate. The project sponsor shall file an

appropriate online Emergency Certificate application with the Commission no later than 

three (3) days prior to the end of the extension. Coverage under this General Permit will 

remain in effect until the Commission acts on the application. 

u. At any time during emergency use or maintenance activity, the project sponsor retains the 

option of transitioning the Approval of Coverage to an individual approval. For an 

individual approval, the project sponsor shall satisfy the hydrogeologic evaluation 

requirements under 18 C.F.R. § 806.12 for the individual source and file a groundwater 

withdrawal application with the Commission. Coverage under this General Permit will 

remain in effect until the Commission acts on the individual groundwater withdrawal

application. 

8. CONDITIONS FOR CONSUMPTIVE USE – The following conditions apply for 

emergency groundwater withdrawals for Commission-approved consumptive use projects:

a. The emergency or maintenance activity withdrawal quantity shall be limited to no more 

than the consumptive use quantity approved and required to effectively achieve the 

primary purpose of the project.

b. Consumptive use of water for emergency activities associated with a mine fire are 

approved under this General Permit.

c. All other conditions of the consumptive use approval shall apply.

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