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HomeMy WebLinkAboutres2014-015clean WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 2014 — 67 CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Council Office Agenda Date Assigned to: Originator: 2/4/2014 2/11/2014 Natural Resources Division Head: _ _ 3/11/2014 NR/Council Dept.Head: Ca'4' ILL Prosecutor: Purchasing/Budget: Executive: 1 1 TITLE OF DOCUMENT: Resolution declaring the Council's intent to create a Water Action Plan ATTACHMENTS: SEPA review required? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Should Clerk schedule a hearing ? ( ) Yes ( ) NO SEPA review completed? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Requested Date: SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE: (If this item is an ordinance or requires a public hearing,you must provide the language for use in the required public notice. Be specific and cite RCW or WCC as appropriate. Be clear in explaining the intent of the action.) This will be a discussion of whether to pass a resolution stating our intent to create a Water Action Plan that would spell out the various water quality, quantity, and habitat issues the Council would like to move forward as part of the 2015/16 budget discussions. The resolution would also ask/direct our various partners and advisory committees to begin work to provide us with recommendations for the plan. COMMITTEE ACTION: COUNCIL ACTION: 2/11/2014: Substitute discussed and held in 3/11/2014: Council Approved 7-0 Committee. Councilmembers are to bring Res. 2014-015 forward prepared redline/strikeout amendments. 3/11/2014: Approved amendments and forwarded to Council (came to committee already amended) Related County Contract#: Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution Number: Res. 2014-015 Please Note: Once adopted and signed, ordinances and resolutions are available for viewing and printing on the County's website at: www.co.whatcom.wa.us/council. PROPOSED BY: Weimer SPONSORED BY: Weimer INTRODUCTION DATE: 2/11/2014 RESOLUTION NO. 2014-015 DECLARING THE WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL'S INTENTION TO CREATE A 2014 WATER ACTION PLAN TO STEER OUR 2015/16 BUDGET DELIBERATIONS, AND ASKING OUR VARIOUS PARTNERS TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE PLAN. WHEREAS, over 100 bodies of water in Whatcom County are listed as impaired or threatened under the Clean Water Act, but only 6 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) water quality improvement projects have been started by the Department of Ecology; and WHEREAS, Wild salmon runs are an integral aspect of the cultural, social, environmental, and economic environment of Whatcom County, yet historical land use practices along our streams and rivers have deteriorated critical habitat and North/Middle Fork spring Chinook and South Fork spring Chinook stocks are less than 5% of their historical populations; and WHEREAS, there is a growing demand for water for new residential, agricultural, fire protection and industrial use, at a time when many in-stream flows already do not meet legal levels set to protect fish, climate change threatens to reduce water availability further, and a large proportion of existing rural water users do not have legal water rights; and WHEREAS, fecal coliform pollution from livestock, humans, domestic pets, and wildlife has been found throughout the county putting human health at risk, has closed major commercial shellfish growing areas throughout the county costing shellfish growers significant business, and has been increasing in recent years; and WHEREAS, phosphorus pollution into Lake Whatcom is putting at risk the drinking water source for over 95,000 people and increasing the costs to the taxpayers for water purification; and WHEREAS, Whatcom County has created multiple water related advisory committees, including, the Portage Bay Shellfish Protection District, the Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District, the Marine Resource Committee, the Birch Bay Shellfish Protection District, the Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee, and the Birch Bay Watershed and Aquatic Resource Management District, made up of committed and creative people concerned enough to volunteer their time to work on a range of water issues; and WHEREAS, Whatcom County worked with the Lummi Nation, the Nooksack Tribe, the City of Bellingham, and Public Utility District#1 to create the WRIA 1 Watershed Management Project, which includes the multi-stakeholder Planning Unit to provide planning, review and input on county water issues; and WHEREAS, Whatcom County has worked with Nooksack Tribe, the Lummi Nation, the City of Bellingham, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and a citizen advisory committee of diverse interests to develop and adopt the WRIA 1 Salmonid Recovery Plan, the local action plan and the response to the federal ESA listing of Chinook salmon; and WHEREAS, Whatcom County's various advisory committees and water protection programs have generated well over 300 projects meant to protect our waters, only a handful of which can be implemented each year; and WHEREAS, many water resources management processes in the County are largely disconnected, leading to difficulty in implementation of established plans, disagreements over proposed plans, and inconsistency in application of laws and codes at various levels of government; and WHEREAS, the many unresolved water issues throughout Whatcom County undermine the County Government's ability to be predictable, inspire confidence and foster responsibility as outlined in the County's Charter; and WHEREAS,many of these water issues create uncertainty for the future of agriculture, fisheries, residential and industrial development, and environmental protection; and WHEREAS, County personnel and financial resources may be insufficient to implement solutions to these water problems in a timely manner; and WHEREAS, state and federal agencies often lack the local knowledge and do not allocate the resources to address these problems in a fair and flexible way tailored to the needs and hopes of Whatcom County residents; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Whatcom County Council does hereby declare its intent to create a high-level Water Action Plan to help guide priority program implementation and budget allocations for the 2015/16 budget; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Whatcom County Council asks the County Executive to assign staff in the Planning and Development Service Department, the Health Department, and the Public Works Department to work with the Council to better understand our current levels of service for water related programs in terms of money and staff, to make recommendations for needed programs, and help determine what various increments of expansion or reduction of those programs would cost and how they could be paid for; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Whatcom County Council asks our water advisory committees, governmental partners (both internal and external), the Lummi Nation, Nooksack Tribe, stakeholder groups interested in water resource issues, and all the interested citizens of Whatcom County, to provide us focused recommendations as outlined in Exhibit A. ArRO- 4., 1 Ith day of March , 2014. AT'L. •�' ��� WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL 42 WHATCOM COUNTY,WASHINGTON %„;: •ft..41112, - 11110 - Z-■"-----;, ----------"--------j----- Dana=Brown:Dtyi �fgr oftl Council Carl Weimer, Council Chair Jff . • •. •, APPR AS' 'O OitIVI: �rrrrriiii�1�- ivil Deputy Prosecutor EXHIBIT A The Whatcom County Council is interested in working as rapidly as is possible to address the following water issues. It is our hope that the groups named under each issue, and others who are interested, will provide the County Council focused recommendations on those issues by 8/1/2014, or earlier if possible. This timeframe is meant to allow the County Council enough time to consider each recommendation so we can provide direction to the County Executive in the creation of his two year budget for the years 2015 and 2016 that will need to be approved by the County Council late in the fall of this year. To increase efficiency, the Whatcom County Council recommends primarily using outside certified engineering contractors with expertise in water issues to develop these programs rather than already stretched County staff. Issues we hope to address (in no priority order): Bacterial Pollution Affecting Shellfish Growing Areas— Many of the rivers, streams, and lakes of Whatcom County are polluted with bacteria from a variety of sources including livestock, human sewage, domestic pets, and wildlife. The County already has many programs meant to address this issue, but they may need to be refocused or expanded, reduced, eliminated, or new programs may need to be added or replace existing programs. We ask the following groups to provide us their recommendations on what programs within the County's authority are working, what needs to be changed, reduced, eliminated, or expanded, what new programs could be added, and whatever level of detail you can provide on costs in terms of money and staff. Entities Information is requested from: Portage Bay Shellfish Protection District, the Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Public Health Advisory Board,the Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District, the Marine Resource Committee, the Birch Bay Shellfish Protection District, the Whatcom Watersheds Information Network, the Whatcom County Conservation District, Farm Friends, Lummi Nation, Nooksack Tribe, WA Department of Ecology, WA Department of Agriculture, WRIA 1 Planning Unit, RE Sources, all other interested entities. Program areas of particular interest: • Concerns with Whatcom County's Septic System Regulations • Concerns with Whatcom County's Conservation Program on Agricultural Lands (CPAL) • Concerns with the County's current enforcement of the Critical Areas Ordinance to reduce fecal coliform pollution • Nexus between buffers and fecal coliform pollution and whether CREP type programs have worked and should be expanded or reduced • Nexus between storm water runoff and fecal coliform pollution and what might be done to address any connections. • Education efforts focused on domestic pets • Opportunities to provide incentives for the beneficial use of manure including recommendations as to best available science related to the timing of the application of manure. • Financial &Technical Assistance for livestock owners to implement best practices • Adequacy of current monitoring efforts • Other high priority areas within the County's authority • Opportunities to improve the economic viability of manure digesters, so that it would be practical to process all agricultural waste that could cause pollution through a digester, thus significantly reducing the number of potential sources of large pollution events. • Identify the most cost effective, least intrusive method to ensure compliance with Septic Tank system health and safety requirements. Beginning with education, but reinforced with enforcement. Water Quantity and Availability Issues -There is a continuing demand for water for agriculture, residential development, , fire protection, and industrial and commercial uses even though many current water users do not have legal water rights and too often the required minimum in-stream flows set to protect fish are not being met. Whatcom County took the lead in the WRIA 1 Watershed Project in part to address this serious problem, but to date the problem has not been well defined or addressed. Nearly ten years ago our Watershed Plan adopted a goal "to assess water supply and use, and develop strategies to meet current and future needs." We ask the following groups to provide us their focused recommendations on what programs within the County's authority are needed to help us reach that goal. Entities Information is requested from: WRIA 1 Planning Unit, WRIA 1 Joint Board, Farm Friends, Agricultural Advisory Committee, Bertrand Watershed Improvement District, North Lynden Watershed Improvement District, Department of Ecology, Lummi Nation, Nooksack Tribe, all other interested entities. Program areas of particular interest: • What information, studies, personnel, etc. are necessary to move a process similar to the Lower Nooksack Strategy forward? • What data collection is needed to move a groundwater model forward? • What other studies are needed to move a groundwater model forward? • Options and cost for integrating groundwater and surface water models • Studies or pilots needed to test water storage opportunities • Suggested pilots for setting in-stream flows within each watershed • Needs for updating the Whatcom County Coordinated Water Supply Plan • Information needs on water use Lake Whatcom TMDL Response—The WA Department of Ecology will soon release a final Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study that will form the basis for a needed response plan by the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County. That plan will require significant reduction of the amount of phosphorus entering the lake, as well as deal with bacterial pollution of the lake and many of its tributaries. The County, the City, Sudden Valley and the Lake Whatcom Water &Sewer District have all implemented many successful programs to address these problems and have formed the Lake Whatcom Management Program to coordinate efforts. Even so it is clear that the level of effort will need to be increased. We ask the following groups to provide us their focused recommendations on what new programs within the County's authority not already part of the Lake Whatcom Management Program should be considered, what existing programs need to be expanded or reduced in the next two years, and what policy and funding decisions need to me made to help us reach this goal. Entities Information is requested from: the City of Bellingham, the Whatcom Watersheds Information Network, the Lake Whatcom Policy Work Group, Sudden Valley Homeowners Association, Lake Whatcom Water & Sewer District, WA Department of Ecology, RE Sources, all other interested entities. Program areas of particular interest: • Programs to retrofit existing development to control runoff • Education programs to enlist the assistance of watershed residents • The adequacy of current septic system regulations compared to encouraging additional sewer hookups • Equity between programs to assist existing development versus regulatory requirements on future development • Policy discussions about whose responsibility it is to pay for needed programs. (landowners vs. government, Lake Whatcom Watershed residents vs. Lake Whatcom water drinkers, City vs. County, etc.) • Identify the most cost effective, least intrusive method to ensure compliance with Septic Tank system health and safety requirements. Beginning with education, but reinforced with enforcement. • Programs to prevent contamination from urban stormwater runoff by providing for a long- range plan to construct and/or replace impervious roadways with pervious asphalt in all areas that drain to fragile and/or endangered water bodies as described in in the Lake Whatcom Watershed Management Plan, prepared for Whatcom County by the Institute of Watershed Studies, WWU, December 1986, Revised July 1987, with contributions by the Lake Whatcom Watershed Advisory Committee. Habitat Issues—Land use practices along our rivers, streams and shorelines have deteriorated habitat important to the survival of salmon, steelhead, and many other species of fish and wildlife. While Whatcom County's Critical Areas Ordinance and Shoreline Management Program have been recognized as some of the best in the state, many habitat issues have not been addressed and some species are still threatened. While the Nooksack salmon recovery effort has many excellent partners that have been able to take advantage of many funding opportunities and provide significant stream and habitat enhancement work, there clearly is still much to do. Thinking of the County's budget in the short term (2-5 years) we ask the following groups to provide focused recommendations on how our regulations, program implementation, program priorities, and funding could be better used to move the highest priority habitat issues forward. Entities Information is requested from: Lummi Nation, Nooksack Tribe, Whatcom Conservation District, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee, Watershed Improvement Districts, Marine Resource Committee, WRIA 1 Planning Unit, Whatcom Land Trust, RE Sources, City of Bellingham, WRIA 1 Salmon Recovery Board and Salmon Recovery Staff Team, and all other interested entities. Program areas of particular interest: • Concerns with Whatcom County's Conservation Program on Agricultural Lands (CPAL) • Concerns with the County's current enforcement of the Critical Areas Ordinance and Shoreline Management Program to protect habitat • Nexus between buffers and in-stream temperature and habitat problems and whether CREP type programs have worked, should be expanded, reduced, or replaced • Needed studies, models, and policy changes to the County's flood program • Concerns with the County's staffing levels regarding to salmon, near shore protection, and other habitat issues • Other high priority areas within the County's authority Stormwater Issues (outside of Lake Whatcom Watershed)—According to the Puget Sound Partnership "stormwater is the leading contributor to water quality pollution of urban waterways in the state." Currently areas of unincorporated Whatcom County near of the cities of Bellingham and Ferndale, and the Birch Bay area are required to control stormwater pollution under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Permit (NPDES) from the Department of Ecology. The velocity of some stormwater runoff and the pollutants it carries has the ability to ruin habitat and pollute our waters. We ask the following groups to provide focused recommendations on what changes, if any,to the County's current stormwater program need to occur to address these issues. Entities Information is requested from:The Birch Bay Watershed and Aquatic Resource Management Committee (BBWARM), RE Sources, the WA Department of Ecology, WRIA 1 Planning Unit, Marine Resource Committee, the Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Flood Control Zone advisory committees, all other interested entities. Program areas of particular interest: • Should Low Impact Development requirements (i.e. minimizing impervious surfaces, native plants, infiltrating runoff, clearing limits, etc.) be required in certain areas outside of current NPDES covered areas? • Concerns with the Whatcom County Code to prevent stormwater impacts to downstream property owners when upstream properties are cleared or developed? • Concerns with current County funding levels for stormwater improvements • The need for better education programs to encourage low impact development techniques • Possible incentive programs to encourage low impact development and stormwater infiltration. • Other high priority programs within the County's authority • Programs to prevent contamination from urban stormwater runoff by providing for a long-range plan to construct and/or replace impervious roadways with pervious asphalt in all areas that drain to fragile and/or endangered water bodies as described in in the Lake Whatcom Watershed Management Plan, prepared for Whatcom County by the Institute of Watershed Studies, WWU, December 1986, Revised July 1987, with contributions by the Lake Whatcom Watershed Advisory Committee. Other overlapping issues - The following issues should also be considered during the course of the development of the Water Action Plan • Fire Flow requirements: Valued Added Agriculture processing industries offer our community the opportunity to use the raw agricultural products we are producing to create finished products that will: (1) employee our citizens, (2) reduce the environmental impact of transporting raw materials often long distances to out-of-county processing facilities and (3) provide us with byproducts that can be used as fertilizer. Expansion of these industries should be encouraged. In order to be permitted these agricultural facilities have to be able to demonstrate that they have ready access to large quantities of water well beyond their normal daily use requirements. This high volume need is limited to the few hours supply required to quickly suppress a fire in the extremely unlikely event that one would ever occur at their facility. Therefore we are seeking recommendations as to how we can guarantee access to water for fire suppression to all industrial, commercial and institutional users without adversely affecting these organizations daily water budget economics or the need to acquire water rights above and beyond their non-fire related requirements. • Water Conservation: While we cannot economically "make" more water we can reduce our current and future use of water for agriculture, residential, industrial and commercial uses by adopting better water conservation techniques, technologies and building code provisions. Many areas around the world have been experiencing water related stress for decades and several of them have identified innovative approaches to reducing their water consumption, often at little or no additional net increases in costs to their citizens. Whatcom County has the opportunity to get an early start at incorporating these best practices through such things as education outreach and the incorporation of new water conservation standards within the building code. Therefore we are seeking recommendations as to how we can create a water conservation program for Whatcom County. • Water Recycling and Reuse: In addition to the opportunities to stretch our current water supply through conservation, we also have the opportunity to add to our available supply of water through better recycling and reuse of the waste water we are currently discharging to the ocean. Therefore we are seeking additional recommendations as to how we can better recycle and reuse water that is byproduct of other activities.