"The respective signatory parties covenant and agree to include the amounts so apportioned for the support of the current expense budget in their respective budgets next to be adopted, subject to such review and approval as may be required by their respective budgetary processes."

-- Delaware River Basin Compact (Public Law 87-328, Article 13, Section 13.3c)

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) was formed by compact in 1961 through legislation signed into law by the President John F. Kennedy and the governors of the four states with land drained by the Delaware River -- Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The DRBC's creation was the first time in our nation's history that the federal government and a group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin planning, development, and regulatory agency. The commission serves federal, regional, state and local interests by providing comprehensive, proactive water resources management for the 13,539-square-mile Delaware River Basin. DRBC programs include water quality protection, water supply allocation, flood loss reduction, drought management, water conservation, permitting, watershed planning, and recreation. Notably, the creation of the commission changed the Delaware Valley from an area of conflict to a model of federal-state cooperation. Today, this contrasts sharply with the ongoing tri-state water crisis between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida as well as in other parts of the country where cross-border water conflicts continue to cost the federal government millions of dollars, while they tie up the federal courts in ongoing litigation and run up huge costs to the parties and states involved.

The 100-year compact creating the DRBC stipulates that the five signatory parties agree to support the commission's annual current expense budget. On May 6, 2009, the commissioners unanimously approved the DRBC's FY 2010 current expense budget of $6,517,600. It calls for the following signatory party shares at the same level as in the previous year's budget: Pennsylvania $893,000 (25%), New Jersey $893,000 (25%), Federal Government $715,000 (20%), New York $626,000 (17.5%), and Delaware $447,000 (12.5%).

In October/November 2009, 29 U.S. Representatives and 10 U.S. Senators sent joint letters to President Obama supporting federal funding of the three mid-Atlantic River Basin Commissions (DRBC, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin) and requesting that he include $2,365,000 for them in his FY 11 budget request.

View House letter (342 KB*)

View Senate letter (413 KB*)

View News Release Issued by Senator Casey and Senator Specter

View Senator Gillibrand's News Release

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