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Thursday, May 7, 1987.

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Documents drafted for
Upper Delaware Council

By TOM RUE


FOSTERDALE -- Draft versions of the Articles of Agreement and By-Laws of the Upper DelaWare Council (UDC) were presented by the legal documents committee at the April 23rd meeting of the Conference of Upper Delaware Townships (COUP).

Chuck Hoffman of Foresight Consulting Group emphasized that neither document is final, and either may be modified before they are formally adopted by the UDC. This is expected to take place after the River Management Plan is approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

"The Upper Delaware Council shall be an intergovernmental cooperative body, formed by mutual agreement under the authority of applicable federal and state laws ... [with] as its specific concern the conservation of the land and water resources within the corridor of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River," the by-laws begin.

Membership in the council is proposed to consist of appointees from each of the 15 river towns, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, PA Department of Environmental Resources, Delaware River Basin Commission, Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council, and the National Park Service.

Towns which elect not to participate in the voluntary council would not be eligible for federal planning funds for the river, and would face a threat of federal condemnation of up to 1450 acres of land, according to the management plan.

Officers of the council will be appointed 60 days prior to a January annual meeting, the proposed by-laws state. The group will be headed by a chairperson, vice-chairperson and secretary~treasurer. Elections will be conducted by mail ballot.

Regular meetings of the UDC will be held each month. A special meeting may be called by 25% of the voting members. A quorum will consist of "one more than half the voting membership." All council meetings must be announced in a newspaper at least two weeks prior and include a description of the business to be conducted.

A section of the by-laws directs that, "The Council will adhere to established standards for open meetings and open records." However, Hoffman acknowledged the vagueness of this wording in a marginal note on his work copy. "What does it mean?" he wrote.

During the public comment period prior to the plan's revision, COUP received numerous complaints that the proposed management council would not be bound by provisions of the federal or state freedom of information or open meetings laws. At that time Hoffman assured that the issue would be addressed in the by-laws.

The Articles of Agreement define the council under its enabling legislation, the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, amended in 1978 to include the Upper Delaware. The agreement outlines 12 "functions and duties" of the UDC in coordinating governmental activities in the river corridor.

A clause in the document assures that membership in the council shall not be constituent in any manner to abridge, abrogate or impinge upon the existing legal authority of the governmental entities that are represented by the parties who are signatory to this agreement."

The agreement states that "participation in the Council is an act of voluntary cooperation."

To resign, an entity will be required to give notice of withdrawal to all other members, but will be kept on the council's mailing list to receive meeting notices, minutes and other information. A member which has withdrawn, and later wishes to rejoin, may do so at any time.

The agreement specifies that it will become effective when signed by two eligible New York town members and two eligible Pennsylvania township members.

Copies of the draft documents may be obtained from COUP.
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Related external links
Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation