Dupont’s Delaware River Water Grab

Dupont Demanding 1.3 BILLION Gallons/Month, More Than Twice What They Now Use

Dupont Lacks Drought and Water Conservation Plans Required By DRBC

DRBC Would Be First Regulatory Agency To Recognize Chemours Spinoff

Will DRBC Rubber Stamp Dupont’s Attempt to Lock Up Delaware Water Rights?

Delaware River, looking north to Water Gap

[Update: 6/10/15 – The DRBC approved the Dupont water request today, based on staff’s recommendations.

To their credit, staff did consider and respond to my comments. However, the rationale they offered today for why  the DRBC should approve the request was NOT included in the original staff recommendation in the docket published for public comment. None of it. But each point was made by Dupont yesterday in response to my testimony.

Specifically, staff stated that the Dupont request should be granted because:

1. 1.314 billion gallons/month was a small part,  about 1/3 of Dupont’s total “entitlement” of water from the river.

So, it looks like Dupont already made the water grab and the DRBC already rubber stamped it.

2. the DRBC bases allocations on peak demand.

Still, according to staff’s prior report, peak demand is about 900 million gallons per month, a lot less than 1.314 billion.

3. DRBC allocations to industrial users allows some cushion to accommodate future growth. The economic downturn likely depressed demand, so additional water is reasonable.

The 1.314 BGM represents a 35% increase above peak demand – that’s a big cushion for future growth.

4. Staff did not respond to the lack of a drought management or water conservation plan – those are FUTURE conditions of the approval instead of part of the basis for deriving the allocation.

5. Staff punted on the Chemours spinoff issues saying that conditions of their approval are tied to SEC approval and legal finalization of the spinoff.

~~~ end update

Tucked away in the fine print, as items #24 and #39 on a lengthy and complex 39 item docket of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) for tomorrow’s public hearing you will find a massive water grab by the Dupont corporation.

Dupont is requesting that the DRBC approve an allocation of 1.314 BILLION gallons of water per month from the Delaware River (or about 43.2 million gallons per day, enough water to serve over 400,000 people!).

That represents about 1.5% of the low flow of the entire Delaware River to this single corporate giant for a single industrial site.

And that huge economic and public water allocation decision is outlined in the fine print of the DRBC’s draft approval, which is already written by staff and teed up to be rubber stamped by the DRBC Commission tomorrow.

And on top of the fine print, the move is being misleadingly portrayed by the DRBC staff report as a minor administrative transfer of a prior DRBC approval from the Dupont Corporation to the new spinoff  know as “Chemours”.

First of all, Dupont is asking for locking up far more water than they currently use – more than TWICE what they use on average.

According to DRBC staff:

Chemours reports that during the last four years of operation (2011-2014), monthly withdrawals from the Delaware River ranged from 341 mgm to 931 mgm. Withdrawals over the four year period averaged 600.8 mgm. The docket holder expects that water demands in the next 10 years will be consistent with the previous four year period, but the docket holder is currently exploring opportunities for future growth or expansion at the facility which may increase future water demands. The docket holder has requested an allocation of 1,314 mgm, based on the total pumping capacity of the Delaware River intake, which should be sufficient to meet the future monthly demands of the Chambers Works facility.

If Dupont is only using on average 600 GPM, why do they need 1.314 BILLION gallons per month?

What is the future development they are reserving this capacity for?

Why should DRBC favor Dupont’s speculative needs over other river users?

Second, Dupont has not complied with DRBC water conservation planning requirements and their current water allocation is NOT based on conservation or justified by need.

According to the DRBC staff report:

Third, Dupont is seeking to transfer prior approvals and permits to the new spinoff called Chemours. That spinoff does not legally become effective until July 1, 2015.

However, because Dupont is also shifting billions of dollars of environmental cleanup and regulatory compliance liability for scores of Dupont toxic sites and manufacturing facilities across the country, the spinoff raises significant concerns for investors, shareholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US Justice Department, the US EPA, and the NJ DEP and other state regulatory agencies who oversee Dupont’s operations.

There is NO WAY that DRBC staff considered or were capable of analyzing the legal, economic and risk implications of this complex spinoff.

As far as we know, none of those government entities have approved the Chemours spinoff OR the transfer of any Dupont permit or approval or cleanup obligation to Chemours.

So why would DRBC be the first to do that?

We will urge the DRBC to table the approval until the following:

1) the Chemours spinoff is approved in final form by shareholders, the SEC, and other federal regulatory agencies with jurisdiction;

2) The Dupont environmental permits are transferred by other state and federal regulatory agencies – DRBC should not set precedent on this issue;

3) Dupont or Chemours submit drought management and water conservation plans to comply with DRBC regulations;

4) Dupont or Chemours revises the allocation request downward to reflect the water conservation plan and demonstrated current needs for water;

5) If Dupont seeks more water than current needs, they should be required to submit a justification that identifies the future development that will need all that water. DRBC should not make a speculative allocation.

Dupont’s Deepwater NJ Plant on the Delaware River