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The River Reporter
-- Planning costs topped $2.7 million The River Law -- By TOM RUE UPPER DELAWARE -- For better or worse, this fall marks the anniversary of two significant dates in the history of the Upper Delaware River Valley.Twenty years ago -- October 2, 1968 -- Congress passed Public Law 90-542 creating the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System. Ten years later -- November 10, 1978 -- the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River was established as a component of that system, with the passage of Public Law 95-625. This was done under the guidance of Representatives Matthew McHugh, Joseph McDade and Benjamin Gilman. Total costs for drafting and initially implementing the Upper Delaware River Management Plan over ten years, have exceeded $2.7 million, according to figures recently released by the Mid-Atlantic Region of the National Park Service (NPS) in response to a Freedom of Information request made by The River Reporter. The management plan consists of 197 pages and an errata sheet, meaning -- with all the studies and drafts which preceded it -- the book cost approximately $1377 per page to produce. It is available free from the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) in published form, bound in tan paper. The major reason why planning costs for the Upper Delaware have been so high has been local controversy over the matter. "The management structure [UDC] went through through 18 drafts, that were all reviewed and approved in public, explaned planner Robert "Chuck" Hoffman. Drafting the current management plan took over three years. It underwent close scrutiny until finally being approved by Congress in January. Hundreds of local people volunteered countless hours in helping writing the document. Amoungs spent on the plan do not include money spnt on renovations to the historic Roebling Bridge, maintenance, capital expenditures, staff salaries, NPS operations, and other costs. A large chunk of the federal planning dollars funded a loosely-kint organization of Upper Delaware municipalities called the Conference of Upper Delaware Townships (COUP). Support was funneled through the official books of the Town of Delaware, since COUP was never legall incorporated. Plan critics still exist on all sides. Some fear for the purity of the Upper Delaware, while others predict beureaucratic intrusions or a takeover of adjacent lands. Still others see the management plan as a workable compromise -- the outgrowth of several local opposition to an earlier federal proposal to condemn the entire river valley "from ridge to ridge" and administer it like the middle Delaware. But now, after more than a decade of turmoil over the river issue, Deborah Weatherly, chief of McDade's Washington staff, commented, "What this office has seen over the past couple of years has been peace in the valley. We've been very pleased with the reports we've been getting from local officials and residents, and that everybody is working aggressively in support of the plan." Weatherly expressed optimism for the future of the UDC and the federal administration of the river.
Last year, Foresight's principal representative on the Upper Delaware -- "Chuck" Hoffman -- formed a consulting firm of his own, taking with him the Upper Delaware account. At the August 4th UDC meeting, Hoffman's new firm (Hoffman, Williams, Lafen & Fletcher) was granted an additional $37,520 in federal funds -- more than was authorized to any participating municipality for 1989. In exchange, the firm will produce several booklets and technical guides to aid developers, river users and the UDC. These amounts are not included in NPS figures. According to NPS, Foresight received more Upper Delaware planning money over the ten-year period than the other three consulting firms combined. However, one one can charge that Hoffman and his associates did not earn their money. Working with COUP, NPS and various citizen groups, Hoffman performed technical work -- including drafting much of the actual language contained in the final plan. Together with COUP chairs Marge Hillreigel of Fremont and Craig Stewart of Delaware, Hoffman and the NPS helped synthesize a final product, in the face of diverse and passionate opinions on numerous issues.
Presnitz had done planning for the headwaters of the Mississippi River -- described by Hoffman as "the largest protected river in the world" -- and had worked in the Minnesota environmental agency. DVOR also objected to stringent licensing criteria on the Upper Delaware called for by the 1982-83 plan. To help deflect local criticisms of canoeing and their businesses, DVOR hired anti-NPS activist Charles Cushman to rally support against the Park Service and a draft management plan produced by the NPS Denver Service Center. Declaring that the NPS couldn't be trusted, Cushman began his activities on the Delaware with public showings of the film For the Good of All. Predicting that the NPS proposal was really the start of a massive federal takeover, he urged the towns to "write their own plan" and suggested Presnitz for the job. A split later developed between Cushman and the citizens group he formed, but when the revised COUP/Foresignt plan was released a few years later, Cushman endorsed it.
Another element of the 1986 document was the formation of a 19 member "coordinating council" made up of federal, regional, state and local representatives. Such a council was not specifically provided for in the federal eneabling legislation (PL 95-625), but the law did call for a coordinated program of management, and permitted the Department of the Interior to contract with the towns and states. At the February 7, 1984 COUP meeting, Highland Supervisor Andrew Boyar -- temporary chair of the newly formed Upper Delaware Citizens Alliance organized by Cushman -- introduced a resolution that COUP eventually "transform" itself into the proposed council. This finally happened on February 22, 1988 with the formation of the UDC. After the plan was submitted to Washington last summer, Department of Interior lawyers decided that NPS could not legally be a member of the council, according to Hoffman. He stated that "the Park Service can't contract with itself." Anothr explanation is that such participation might be viewed as interfering with the ability of the Interior Secretary to tack actions contrary to a vote of the council. "References in the Management Plan to National Park Service membership on the Upper Delaware Council are deleted..." the plan's errata sheet begins. As with NPS, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) also declined to vote on the council. Executive director Gerald Hansler explained, "Such an involvement [voting membership] could create difficult questions concerning DRBC's responsibilities under its Compact on certain matters that could come before the Council for a vote and decision." Presently, the UDC has ten voting members, compared with the 19 originally envisioned by COUP. Eight of the 15 eligible towns participate, along with representatives of New York and Pennsylvania. In addition to NPS and DRBC, the Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council participates as a non-voting member. Another change was a reduction of the original "river corridor" boundary from 86,000 to 56,000 acreas. Local residents who are concerned about whether their property lines are located within the established boundary may contact the UDC or NPS. Other major issues clarified in the revised plan included: hunting, fishing and trapping; farming and forestry; non-commercial river use; commercial eel weirs; and maintianing existing residential dwellings and commercial establishments with reasonable expansion. Like the current plan, the 1982 document relied heavily on local cooperation in enforcement of zoning regulations on private property. An earlier federal proposal to purchase most of the valley was discared in 1978 with passage of PL 95-625. The law does allow NPS to acquire individual parcels in towns that fail to conform with the guidelines, when use of such property poses a "clear and direct threat" to the river. The plan continues federal assistance for trash pickup and police protection along the river, as provded for in the original law. Such funding is available to municpalities regardless of whether or not they participate in the UDC. Additional grants for land use planning and related matters are possible for towns that join the council. After years of planning, some issues remain cloudy. For example, public rights of access to -- and landowner liability on -- the riparian area known as the "strand" are poorly defined. Although members of the CAC and others have devoted to much time to study and discussion of case law in this area, they say it may be many years and several lawsuits before the matter is settled locally.Larger unanswered questions remain. Will the "final" river plan work? Are its guidelines stringent enough? Will they be adhered to by river towns in drafting and enforcing zoning ordinances? Will the Interior Department be forced to implement eminent domain proceedings to protect the river? If forced to condemn property, will the NPS have the political will to do so? Can the UDC operate as a strong independent organization, ensuring that all agencies do their jobs to preserve the river? Will it become a "puppet of the NPS" as some predict? Can local municipalities maintain home rule and still protect the national interest? Will folks still be able to live along and visit the last major free-flowing river in the northeastern U.S.? Can the Upper Delaware be protected? Whether the substantial financial investment and vast pool of human energy expended over the last 10 to 20 years will prove well wpent -- depends on the the answers to the above questions.
Firm offers diverse services ARLINGTON, VA -- The managment planning firm of Hoffman, Williams, Lafen and Fletcher, based in Arlington, Virginia, is presently employed by the Upper Delaware Council. Some of the consulting firm's principals were deeply involved in helping writhe the Upper Delaware River Management Plan. "We'll ultimately fade away from the Delaware. It's not unusual, though, to have the people who were involved with the planning be involved with initial startup," said river planner Robert "Chuck" Hoffman. Hoffman began working with the Conference of Upper Delaware Townships (COUP) in 1984, together with Michael Presnitz, as an employee of Foresight Consulting Group, also based in Arlington. Presnitz, who started out as Foresight's primary consultant, is no longer involved with the Upper Delaware. According to Hoffman, Presnitz became known to members of COUP as a result of previous work he did on the middle Delaware. "They asked us to come up and interview. We didn't have to submit a proposal or anything," Hoffman recalled. He said his new firm includes four partners, two associates, and two part-time clerical workers. The company operates primarily from Hoffman's home, with heavy reliance on computer communication by telephone, and messenger services. Presently, the consulting firm is engaged on 15 to 20 projects, including five which involve rivers, Hoffman said. "The thing about rivers is that it pays the worst. But it has the best return, all things considered. We like the idea of protecting rivers. We like the idea of working with community groups," he said. Other areas Hoffman and his partners work on include transportation, computer programmig and training, data base management, desktop publishing, and labor-management negotiations. Hoffman noted, however, that his area of expertise is river conservation. "We know a lot about the subject. We like to think that we're among the top thinkers on the subject." |
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© 1985-2006, Tom Rue. All rights reserved.
