ALBANY, NY — The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has extended the public comment period for the proposed water withdrawal regulations that will amend Parts 601 and 621 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. on February 6.

The new regulations seek to align Part 601 with the water withdrawal legislation (A.5318-A/S.3798) signed by Governor Cuomo in August 2011 by implementing a permitting, registration and reporting program for water withdrawals equal to, or greater than, 100,000 gallons per day. The amendments expand the permit program to include withdrawals for purposes beyond public water supply, such as those for commercial, manufacturing and industrial purposes.

The effect is to regulate more of the higher-volume withdrawals across the state while no longer issuing water withdrawal permits for lower-volume public water supplies—which, however, must still comply with water pollution control laws, health regulations and state environmental quality review (SEQR) requirements.

Comments regarding the regulations may be electronically submitted to Robert Simson at rjsimson@gw.dec.state.ny.us.