SRBC approves water withdrawal for Lewisburg Quarry in Buffalo Township

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission approved New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co.’s Lewisburg Quarry request for a surface-water withdrawal from Buffalo Creek, keeping water access in place for a long-running industrial site in Buffalo Township. The June 15 federal notice said the quarry may withdraw up to 0.300 million gallons per day at peak use and renew consumptive use up to 0.181 million gallons per day. For people living near Buffalo Creek, the decision matters because it ties quarry operations directly to the stream, not just to the site’s existing wells.

SRBC identified the request as pending number 2026-005 and said the intake would be about 75 feet north of the Hoffa Mill Road bridge crossing Buffalo Creek, west of the quarry. The commission also said the project was intended to supplement the water needs of the Lewisburg limestone quarry beyond the capacity of its existing, grandfathered five water supply wells. That makes the action more than routine paperwork: it keeps the quarry’s water system under basin oversight while confirming continued use of both creek water and consumptive water allowances.

The approval also shows what is not changing. Lewisburg Quarry is not a new industrial use in Buffalo Township; SRBC’s project details describe it as stone mining and quarrying in the municipality, and the quarry has been operating since about 1970. In that sense, the commission action renews an established water arrangement for an established operation, rather than creating a new quarry footprint. But it still matters to nearby landowners, downstream users and anyone watching how industrial demand interacts with Buffalo Creek.

That creek is no minor waterway. The Buffalo Creek watershed covers 134 square miles and is the largest watershed entirely within Union County, matching U.S. Geological Survey drainage data for Buffalo Creek at Lewisburg. The county conservation district’s watershed plan says some streams in the basin support high-quality cold-water fisheries, which raises the stakes for any withdrawal from the creek. In Buffalo Township, where the 2020 population was 3,536 across 30.6 square miles, water decisions can quickly ripple beyond the quarry fence line.

New Enterprise Stone & Lime says it is a fifth-generation, family-owned construction materials and heavy highway contractor with more than 100 years of history, producing aggregates, ready-mixed concrete and hot mix asphalt. That makes the Lewisburg Quarry approval relevant well beyond the site itself, since the materials it supports feed roads, bridges and other infrastructure across Pennsylvania. SRBC made the application available for public comment before approving it, and the result keeps a major local quarry operating under continued basin scrutiny.