Section 5. Powers and duties of department.
The department shall have the power and duty to implement and enforce the compact and to carry out the functions, powers and duties contained in the compact which are assigned to Pennsylvania as a party to the compact, consistent with regulations adopted by the Environmental Quality Board and the provisions of this act. The department shall have the power and duty to:
(1) Administer and implement the programs for water
resources inventory, registration and reporting required
under section 4.1 of the compact, through the water use
registration and reporting program and regulations
established pursuant to 27 Pa.C.S. § 3118 (relating to water
use registration and reporting) and section 6 of this act.
(2) Administer and implement within the basin a water
conservation and efficiency program required under section
4.2 of the compact. Such program shall be a voluntary
program, utilizing the provisions of 27 Pa.C.S. § 3120
(relating to water conservation).
(3) Review and act upon proposals for new or increased
water withdrawals, consumptive uses or diversions and, if
approved, specify reasonable terms and conditions thereof. In
assessing the impacts of a withdrawal or consumptive use
proposal under the decision-making standard in section
4.11(2) of the compact, the department shall consider the
impacts to the waters and water-dependent natural resources
of the basin as a whole and the applicable source watershed
to be either the watershed of Lake Erie or Lake Ontario, as a
whole, whichever is the watershed from which water is
proposed to be withdrawn.
(4) Conduct inspections and enforce the provisions of
the compact and this act.