1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov March 18, 2015Federal Conservation of the Delaware RiverBackground The Delaware River Basin drains the lands surrounding the Delaware River and its tributaries, which stretch from the Catskill Mountains in New York to the Delaware Estuary and eventually flow into the
2、Atlantic Ocean (see Figure 1). The river is fed by 216 tributaries and drains 13,539 square miles of land within four states: Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The water resources within the Delaware River Basin are managed in part by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) under
3、the authority of the Delaware River Basin Compact (P.L. 87-328). The compact was signed by states in the basin and ratified by Congress in 1961. The Delaware River Basin provides economic, environmental, and recreational assets for an estimated 15 million people on the East Coast who rely on water s
4、upplies from the Delaware River for municipal, industrial, and agricultural use. The river is also home to the largest freshwater port in the world, the Delaware River Port Complex. In addition, the basin contains more than 1 million acres of wetlands that serve as valuable habitats for numerous spe
