Outline of aspects of PPA that might deserve reconsideration

Transcription

1 Outline of aspects of PPA that might deserve reconsideration Proposal (and motion): That the WRIA 1 PU establish a standing rules committee. Its first order of business would be to entertain proposed amendments to the PPA, including but not limited to the following: Section 4: Decision making: Majority decisions made by an affirmative vote of members present that issue came up at a critical juncture in 2018 due to potential ambiguity in the current language; that language might require clarification. Recusal: During the December PU meeting the state caucus rep exercised a right of recusal, intended to have the effect of reducing the number of votes counted by one; in effect that member asserted the right to be absent for purposes of counting votes on a given motion. Problem: the PPA makes no mention of recusal nor does it provide for a member to be absent for purposes of counting votes. Should the PPA make a provision for recusal? Under what circumstances, terms and conditions? Scope of 4.1 decisions: In 2018 the practice of taking majority votes on what would eventually become elements of a WMP update/addendum (policies re quantity, fees, and monitoring) led to a last-minute goal-line stand by said minority that contributed to the prevention of adoption of a plan update. It might have been better had the PU stopped to address those minority concerns up front. Expanding the requirements of super-majority vote in 4.1 to cover all planrelated actions would be one way to avoid that problem in the future. Other issues: Adoption of some source of parliamentary procedure manual (Roberts, Sturgis, etc.): Pros and cons: Incremental approach: enable a few elements as needed; add more later: Call the question; Intervening motions when a motion is already on the floor; Points of order; Points of information; Etc; Norms, Ethics and Caucus Validation: Consider adopting the language from the 1999 Structure and Function memo and subsequent implementation by original facilitators to address the following issues: > Caucus validation procedures, could be spelled out in detail; annual updates. > Definition of Conflict Of Interest and measures to deal with occurrences thereof > Participation in more than one caucus at a time; > Definition of acting in bad faith and measures to deal with occurrences thereof > Prohibit absent caucuses from voting on current items: expand scope to all of Section 4. Reformatting: Create new source file with consistent formatting: Eliminate imbedded forced formatting; Replace all subsection labels (currently letters) with numbers

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11 January, 2019 Maia Bellon, Director Washington State Department of Ecology P.O. Box Olympia, WA Subject: Streamflow Restoration Act Watershed Plan Update Dear Ms. Bellon: This letter is submitted on behalf of the WRIA 1 (Nooksack Basin) Planning Unit and provides information on the status of the WRIA 1 Watershed Management Plan Update pursuant to the Streamflow Restoration Act (ESSB 6091). In February 2018, the WRIA 1 Planning Unit in collaboration with the WRIA 1 Initiating Governments initiated a WRIA 1 Watershed Management Plan Update (Plan Update) pursuant to the Streamflow Restoration Act. The local process for completing the Plan Update was prepared and approved by both the WRIA 1 Planning Unit and Initiating Governments February 28 and March 1, 2018, respectively (attached). The approval process reflected in the attached diagram reflects the approval process used for the original WRIA 1 Watershed Management Plan. A general timeline was also prepared based on the legislative deadline established in ESSB 6091 for WRIA 1 to submit an approved Plan Update (attached). In order to meet the attached timeline using the approved local process, the WRIA 1 Planning Unit was scheduled to approve a Plan Update at its December 12, 2018 meeting. While significant work has been completed to date, an agreed to Plan Update was not ready for approval at the December 12 th meeting. The next steps identified at the December 12 th meeting as part of a Planning Unit motion includes: 1. Prepare an index of what has been done, 2. Send a letter to Ecology to inform them the Plan Update is not done but is being worked on, and 3. Send a letter to the legislators expressing the same. The WRIA 1 Planning Unit Caucuses voting in favor of the above motion made by the Water Districts Caucus and seconded by Private Well Owners Caucus included Agriculture, Diking/Drainage, Environmental, Fishers, Forestry, Land Development, Non-Government Water Systems, Port of Bellingham, Private Well Owners, Public Utility District, and Water Districts. The Small Cities and Whatcom County Caucus abstained from the vote, and the State Caucus recused themselves. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions regarding the above information, which is being submitted on behalf of the WRIA 1 Planning Unit. Regards, NOTE: The same letter will be sent to the 40 th and 42 nd District Legislative Representatives. Cc: Mary Verner, Water Resources Program Manager, Dept. of Ecology Senator Doug Ericksen Representative Luanne Van Werven Representative Sharon Shewmake Jack Louws, Whatcom County Executive WRIA 1 Planning Unit WRIA 1 Watershed Management Board

12 Catalog prepared by Geneva Consulting for WRIA 1 Management Team meeting, January 3, 2019; Modifications were made based on the January 3 meeting and are shown in track changes Catalog of Documents Related to the WRIA 1 Watershed Plan Update (ESSB 6091) This catalog represents work completed from March 1 through December 5, 2018 as part of the WRIA 1 process for preparing a WRIA 1 Watershed Plan Update (Plan Update) in accordance with the Streamflow Restoration Act (ESSB 6091). The documents cataloged below are in WRIA 1 Dropbox folders that correspond to the catalog headings. ( Process Related Diagram of Plan Update Approval Process, March 1, 2018 Diagram was approved by the WRIA 1 Planning Unit and WRIA 1 Watershed Management Board, which includes the Initiating Governments, reflecting the iterative process for completing and approving the WRIA 1 Plan Update. Included as Appendix A in draft WRIA 1 Plan Update. Working Timeline, Milestones, Meeting Topics, April 24, 2018 Diagram was a working timeline to support having a completed and approved Plan Update by February 1, Proposed Schedule for Adoption of WRIA 1 Watershed Management Plan Update for ESSB 6091, October 23, 2018 with update on October 29, 2018 The detailed schedule was developed in October given new information from Ecology regarding their two week review time and that adoption by Ecology is on the final locally approved Plan Update and must occur by February 1, To be added based on January 3 rd Management Team meeting: Timeline updates presented to the County Council in presentations from County Staff; 2. Projected meeting dates with anticipated agenda topics for Planning Unit meetings; 3. Public comment presented to County Council, if available. Policy Issues Table of Policy Issues, December 5, 2018 The positions reflected in the summary table of policy issues for the WRIA 1 Watershed Management Board entities is as of December 5, Several member entities indicated interest in continuing to refine policy positions in order to reach a common position between the WRIA 1 Board entities. The WRIA 1 Planning Unit voted on a policy package that is represented in the table. The draft Plan Update versions have a placeholder where the policies would be incorporated when agreement is reached. Additionally, outcomes of policies may also result in re-evaluation of information in the ecological effects analysis completed by technical staff at Lummi Nation Natural Resources and Nooksack Tribe Natural Resources (refer Assessing the Ecological Effects of WRIA 1 Watershed Plan Update, December 5, 2018, Nooksack Tribe Natural Resources and Lummi Nation Natural Resources description in Technical Memos ). 1 Whatcom County, as lead agency, was informed in October 2018 that the locally approved plan update needed to be submitted to the Department of Ecology on January 15, 2019 to provide two weeks review. The working timeline from April 2018 reflects the understanding of the timeline in April that the County Council could approve the Plan Update on February 1, Page 1 of 3

13 Catalog prepared by Geneva Consulting for WRIA 1 Management Team meeting, January 3, 2019; Modifications were made based on the January 3 meeting and are shown in track changes November 8, 2018 Policy Package The WRIA 1 Planning Unit developed a policy package to discuss with their caucuses, which they then approved on November 28, The policy package is also reflected in the Table of Policy Issues, December 5, 2018 referenced above. Communication Related to Policy Issues This is a compilation of the communication submitted by the WRIA 1 Planning Unit caucuses expressing their positions on some of the policy issues. Technical Memos BERK Consulting Population Memo, August 2, 2018 and RH2 Addendum (population table) Final technical memorandum describing work performed by BERK Consulting for re-aggregating the parcel-based allocation of growth projections from the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan Update to the aggregated sub-basin level that was used for the Plan Update planning process. Two scenarios were calculated by BERK: Adopted Growth Projections Modified Rural Pattern that was used for the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan Update, and Historic Shares that represents the historic growth in the non-uga and UGA areas. The Adopted Growth Projections was selected for the Plan Update for 6091 to be consistent with the County Comprehensive Plan Update. Included as Appendix B in draft WRIA 1 Plan Update. Potential Consumptive Use Impacts of Domestic Groundwater Permit-Exempt Wells Over the Next 20 Years in WRIA 1- Final Update, August 21, 2018, RH2 Engineering Final technical memo outlining estimated consumptive use by aggregated sub-basin for six different outdoor water use scenarios. The memo also describes five options for estimating future growth outside of UGAs that will be served by a domestic groundwater permit-exempt well (DGWPE) over the next twenty years. The basis for the growth projections used in the RH2 memo and calculations is the BERK Consulting projections described in the BERK memo. For planning purposes of the Plan Update, WRIA 1 Planning Unit and WRIA 1 Watershed Staff Team selected Option 4 and Scenario 4 for calculating estimated consumptive water use. Included as Appendix C in draft WRIA 1 Plan Update. Final Task 2 Deliverable - Projects and Actions, October 2, 2018, RH2 Engineering This technical memo uses the estimated future DGWPE well consumptive use calculations for the aggregated sub-basins and evaluates a series of actions and projects intended to offset the consumptive use over the next 20 years. The suite of projects and actions evaluated are a subset of a larger spreadsheet of potential projects identified through the Plan Update planning process. Included as Appendix D in draft WRIA 1 Plan Update. Assessing the Ecological Effects of WRIA 1 Watershed Plan Update, December 5, 2018, Nooksack Tribe Natural Resources and Lummi Nation Natural Resources The purpose of this technical memo is to address element 4 of the Interim Guidance for Net Ecological Benefit by describing and reporting on findings of an assessment of the ecological effects of the draft Plan Update. Included as Appendix H in the draft WRIA 1 Plan Update. Draft Versions of Plan Updates, Appendices, and Comments Received DRAFT 6091 WMP Update_WST Review This version of the draft Plan Update was provided to the Watershed Staff Team (WST) for initial review on November 13 th for purposes of identifying substantive issues, gaps, etc. prior to distributing the draft to the WRIA 1 Planning Unit on for their review. WST met on November 19 th and identified some sections that could be revised prior to distributing to the Planning Unit on November 20 th. Unfortunately, due to the timelines, not all Page 2 of 3

14 Catalog prepared by Geneva Consulting for WRIA 1 Management Team meeting, January 3, 2019; Modifications were made based on the January 3 meeting and are shown in track changes comments provided by WST were discussed and/or addressed on November 19 th and some WST members were still reviewing. Therefore, while the version of the draft Plan Update released on November 20 th was intended to address some of the comments, the WST was also reviewing those revised changes at the same time the WRIA 1 Planning Unit was conducting their review so it is not known whether the changes addressed the concerns originally identified by WST members on November 19 th. The WST comment forms are part of this catalog; line numbers, page numbers, etc. will correspond to this version of the draft Plan Update. Compiled WST Comments, Substantive Comments provided by Watershed Staff Team members on the November 13 th distributed Draft 6091 WMP Update_WST Review document. Line numbers, page numbers, etc. will correspond to the WST review version of the Draft Plan Update. Compiled WST Comments, Non-Substantive - Comments provided by Watershed Staff Team members on the November 13 th distributed Draft 6091 WMP Update_WST Review document. Line numbers, page numbers, etc. will correspond to the WST review version of the Draft Plan Update. DRAFT 6091 WMP Update_Sections Revised_11/20/18 This version of the draft Plan Update included revisions to some sections that had been discussed by the WST at its 11/19/18 meeting prior to release to the WRIA 1 Planning Unit on 11/20/18. The WRIA 1 Planning Unit comments are on this version of the draft WMP Update, and any references to line numbers, page numbers, etc. should correspond to this draft. Planning Unit Comments and Common Themes The Planning Unit comments have been compiled into a single file and include a document that organizes Planning Unit comments by common themes, and provides an index of each of the Caucuses comments and their original comments. Any references to pages, lines numbers, etc. are on the 11/20/18 version of the draft WMP Update. Appendices for Draft Plan Update The appendices are the same for both versions of the draft Plan Update (WST Review draft and 11/20/18 Draft): o Appendix A Diagram of Approval Process (refer to description under Process ) o Appendix B Berk Population Memo (refer to description under Technical Memos ) o Appendix C RH2 Consumptive Use Memo (refer to description under Technical Memos ) o Appendix D RH2 Projects and Actions Memo (refer to description under Technical Memos ) o Appendix E - RH2 Project Matrix o Appendix F Summary of WST Projects and Programs o Appendix G Project Comments from WRIA 1 o Appendix H Assessing the Ecological Effects of WRIA 1 Watershed Plan Update (refer to description under Technical Memos ) o Appendix I DGWPE Well Consumptive Use Monitoring Plan Sheets (Excel spreadsheet) o Appendix J Project Monitoring and Effectiveness Template (Word document) o Appendix K Monitoring and Adaptive Management Diagram Draft-Alternative-6091 WMP Update This document was presented by three of the Planning Unit caucuses as an alternative to the 11/20/18 Plan Update and intended to address substantive comments they had related to length, readability, content, etc. Page 3 of 3

15 First steps toward initiating a 2005 WMP update Inventory available resources and identify or establish interim internet repository thereof: WMP and supporting documents DIP Lower Nooksack Strategy State of the Watershed Report Lower Nooksack Water Budget others? 1.x Implementation review by Geneva Consulting 2.0. Revisit and reaffirm the four goals of the 2005 WMP: Water Quality Water Quantity Instream Flow Habitat 2.1. Establish Measurable Objectives for each goal Link existing monitoring program with Objectives set forth in General Approach to Structure and Format: 3.1. Make no amendments to any prior WMP documents 3.2. Update would be a wrapper around the original documents 3.3. Focus on implementable actions: Update should be a detailed implementation plan: What will be done, spelled out in detail; Who will do it When: start, expected finish, etc. Where: WRIA-wide, drainages, specific locations How: spell out actions in detail; How adaptive management process will operate Budget: Costs Sources of funds 4.0. Adaptive Management Process: replace with proposal found in 6091 update, suitably amended by PU to fit a broader context than just the 6091 update Revisit WRIA-wide programs: 5.1. Natural Resource Policy Integration 5.2. Compliance 5.3. Water Use Efficiency 6.0. Integration of PU WMP update with WMB Five-year Plan