HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources April 20 20041
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DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee
minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they
are not the final approved minutes.
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Natural Resources Committee
April 20, 2004
Committee Chair Sharon Roy called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. in the
Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
Present: Absent:
Seth Fleetwood None
Laurie Caskey- Schreiber
Also Present:
None
COMMITTEE DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL
1. DISCUSSION (CONTINUED) AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE SALMON
RECOVERY INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE LUMMI NATION,
NOOKSACK TRIBE, WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND
WILDLIFE, WHATCOM COUNTY, AND THE CITIES OF BELLINGHAM,
BLAINE, EVERSON, FERNDALE, LYNDEN, NOOKSACK, AND SUMAS
(AB2004 -115A)
Roy stated the administration submitted a substitute for page four.
Jeff Monsen, Public Works Director, stated the City of Bellingham approved
interlocal with the amendment to page four, as submitted.
Roy moved to amend page four as submitted. She agreed that the old
language made her uncomfortable.
Motion to amend carried unanimously.
Roy moved the agreement as amended.
Motion carried unanimously.
2. DISCUSSION REGARDING WRIA 1 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
PROJECT (AB2004 -025A)
Sue Blake, Resources Planner, stated she would describe some of the water
resource inventory area (WRIA) -wide programs, including the compliance program
and the water use tracking program. Additionally, she would explain the feasibility
and trans -basin importation.
Natural Resources Committee, 4/20/2004, Page 1
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DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee
minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they
are not the final approved minutes.
Hal Hart, Planning and Development Department Director, gave a Power
Point presentation (on file) regarding the compliance program. Compliance efforts
include outreach and education, technical assistance for the community, and formal
enforcement, which is how regulations impact what happens on the ground. Their
emphasis is on all three.
Jeff Chalfant, Senior Planner, stated a fourth element to compliance is
compliance monitoring.
Roy asked if these four steps are what the Planning Department staff does
now. Hart stated it does to a degree. They are bringing in the cities, County, and
tribes so everyone says the same thing.
Roy asked if they are also including the concept of inter - departmental. Hart
stated that's correct.
Hart continued reading the presentation regarding the compliance program
goals. The Compliance Program Implementation Committee (CPIQ is made up of
all stakeholders that have regulatory authority. They will meet to focus on the
resource and continual improvement of protecting the resource.
Chalfant stated goal four, prioritized formal enforcement, is designed to
improve enforcement efficiency by improving interagency communications, so the
appropriate people are taking the lead on appropriate actions. That's followed by
addressing enforcement protocols that are more streamlined and effective. A
protocol is a process of identifying an enforcement issue, issuing tickets, mediation,
determining penalties, and taking the person through the process of appeals. Make
that protocol more streamlined.
Roy asked if the Compliance Program Implementation Committee would
make recommendations to the County Council. Hart stated the committee could
provide feedback to the Council.
Hart continued to read the goals of the compliance program from the
presentation.
Chalfant stated one challenge is whether they can measure environmental
benefits. That is something they want to do, but it's costly. Having it be effective
is tougher than they might think.
Caskey- Schreiber stated there will be new information coming forward on
best available science. She asked if this area would integrate that information.
Chalfant stated it would. This program will have a strong tie to the natural resource
policy integration program. They're both forming committees to discuss similar
issues that all revolve around environmental regulation, the effectiveness of that
regulation, and consistency among the jurisdictions and within agencies. An
element of the natural resource policy integration program is to have a repository
of best available science.
Natural Resources Committee, 4/20/2004, Page 2
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DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee
minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they
are not the final approved minutes.
Hart stated a lot of this will tie into other County initiatives. He continued
the presentation.
Chalfant stated the program lead may rotate between various agencies. The
estimated resources haven't yet been evaluated. It's likely significant resources will
be required for a program like this. There are opportunities for resource sharing
amongst the different agencies.
Roy stated she knows they have to establish projects based on annual
budget. However, that can be a reason for not doing things. Oftentimes, it's a
matter of shifting priorities with the resources they have. Sometimes it may appear
they don't have the money, but maybe something else with less impact can be
shifted. Do an evaluation process of what they are doing now that does and does
not produce results. There are too many people saying they can't do things
because there isn't enough money while those same people are doing things they
shouldn't be doing. She will trust the County managers to do that evaluation. She
hopes that the first thought in everyone's heads is not that they need more money
to do all this. She hoped everyone will sit down and reevaluate how their existing
resources are spent.
Chalfant stated this program recognizes that how they currently approach
compliance might not be effective. The way this program is designed is
surrounding education and outreach. Often there can be more effective tools to get
to the end goal. Formal enforcement tends to not be effective because of all the
associated due process and the length of time it takes to go through the court
process. Ultimately, they may be more effective by providing education and
technical assistance. They have not done the fourth element, compliance
monitoring, before.
Hart continued the presentation on compliance and the CPIC.
Caskey- Schreiber stated she read Mr. Hart's email, which brought up some
good points. Mr. Hart looked at the big picture and identified areas that aren't
linking together yet, which is frustrating. Hart stated they're making great strides
in creating the links. The three programs he's most concerned about are natural
resource policy integration, compliance, and the LID make those broad links. They
are going to shape growth in the ways they're all talking about. The Planning
Department, Engineering Division, and Water Resources Division are working
toward broader integration. Even if there's no money now, they're still moving
toward integrated teamwork. The County is headed toward the customer service
model.
Caskey- Schreiber stated the hardest thing is that the County is so busy now
that it gets caught up in the issues that need to be addressed immediately, rather
than trying to sculpt the bigger picture. Hart stated that's correct, but they can do
both more effectively. The sooner they move toward a one -stop shop, the sooner
they can integrate issues.
Natural Resources Committee, 4/20/2004, Page 3
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DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee
minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they
are not the final approved minutes.
Blake stated she would discuss the trans -basin feasibility programs. She
needs feedback for the next Planning Unit meeting. They need to identify the
sections they particularly do or don't like for inclusion in the public review draft of
the plan. The initial feedback from the Council was that it was concerned about the
feasibility analysis of importation from both British Columbia and Skagit County.
The purpose of the Skagit River analysis is not to investigate the option of
importing water in from the Skagit basin, but to compile information already put
together about some of the impediments to importation, for future reference. At
this point, the recommendation is written so that State Department of Ecology
(DOE) staff would take a month to compile what they already know of the situation.
Caskey- Schreiber stated she doesn't want to invest any funds toward a full
scale feasibility study. It's a closed watershed. It's not a viable option. Don't
waste money and time to look at alternatives to sustainable use. Blake stated she
needs to know how important it is to take this out of the plan. The project doesn't
require County resources. If this is a comment about this project, staff needs that
direction.
Roy stated it will cost the DOE. The County relies on the DOE for lots of
things. She doesn't want DOE to waste their time, either.
Fleetwood stated he agreed. There's no new information here. The Council
rejected it once already. Watershed management planning is about assessment of
capacity and limitations. He is not familiar with any authority that says they should
contemplate importing water from other locations. Watershed management is to
assess capacities and limitations basin -by- basin. This project doesn't recognize
that.
Caskey- Schreiber moved to recommend to the full Council that it remove
reference to exploring the feasibility of importation of water from the Skagit River.
Fleetwood asked if the purpose is not necessarily to increase development
capacity, but to also be prepared for emergencies. He asked if there is something
that refers to preparing for emergencies. Blake stated she doesn't believe there's
anything in the Act that requires them to look at this for emergencies. The
Coordinated Water System Plan looked at trying to evaluate existing water supplies,
future needs, and how they may meet those needs, including finding new supplies.
Finding new supplies could mean importation from other areas or within other areas
of Whatcom County. The concept has been supported in other documents.
Caskey- Schreiber stated it's troubling to go down that track. They must
accept responsibility for managing their own watershed. It's risky to look at
alternatives in other jurisdictions.
Roy stated she's troubled by the use of the word "emergency," which can be
interpreted in many ways.
Natural Resources Committee, 4/20/2004, Page 4
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DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee
minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they
are not the final approved minutes.
Motion carried unanimously.
Blake stated next is the program to evaluate the feasibility of trans -basin
importation from British Columbia, on appendix J.4 and section 3, page 50.
Fleetwood asked if the reasons for this project for British Columbia are
different from the reasons for the Skagit River basin. Blake stated they are not the
same reasons.
Caskey- Schreiber stated she agrees with removing this from the plan. With
2.5 million people across the border, British Columbia may someday look to
Whatcom County for water. Blake stated they will see increasing pressure from
many parts of the country to install pipelines.
Roy moved to recommend that the full Council remove the program to
evaluate the feasibility of trans -basin importation from British Columbia, on
appendix J.4 and section 3, page 50.
Motion carried unanimously.
Blake asked if there are concerns about any other projects from appendix J
going forward.
Bruce Roll, Water Resources Division Manager, stated he would speak on
water use tracking program, on appendix I.5. As they sort through the water rights
quagmire, they will need to get more specific information. Over sixty percent of the
agriculture community are non - committed users. Instream flow is a cornerstone of
the project. Develop a strategy to maximize the amount of water that can be
instream and also accommodate out -of- stream uses.
Today, they have a better understanding of the number of water rights that
exist. A library of existing information has been created. They don't know the
exact number of rights that people are using. This program begins to describe how
to manage paper water. County staff has focused on managing the wet water,
knowing that at some point they need to reconcile the two. The Bertrand Water
Improvement District (WID) is an example of that. The timing of this example is a
concern in terms of when and how to track and regulate use.
(Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.)
Roll continued to state they're not ready to corner people about their water
use.
Caskey- Schreiber asked who would eventually do the tracking. Roll stated
they haven't defined that yet. He doesn't advocate that the County do it. It's not a
water rights holder. Through development of the tools, they've attempted to have
the best available science so they can make informed decisions. There will be a lot
Natural Resources Committee, 4/20/2004, Page 5
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DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee
minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they
are not the final approved minutes.
of information available to use to make decisions and estimate how much water is
being used without getting into the issue of paper water. He
advocates using that approach until there is a strategy in place in various basins.
Roy asked if this appendix is related to the paper water rights, and staff
would like to see implementation come after they've done on- the - ground work.
She asked if that request is in the document. Roll stated that is his preference.
The view is not included. It is a concern. The question is the timing. The first
element is water use registration reporting, which would generate a fee to register
people who are using water. The question is where and when to apply this
approach. That's the first element. Element two is a water committee, which is not
clearly defined. It would be a water interest group to help resolve water issues in a
particular area. There is a long way to go before there will be a functional water
committee. Element three is identified in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW)
as an alternative for regulating water once they determine how much water is
available. The State Department of Ecology (DOE) has a provision to create a DOE
staff position called a water master, which would regulate and negotiate water
contracts in a particular area. The position also is educational. The fourth element
is instream flow implementation and drafting of contracts and agreements that
people may agree to when setting up a flow regime. Craft agreements to allow
people to use water in return for enhanced habitat.
The community is now beginning to receive the plan and understand what is
and isn't potentially available. As they look at issues, identify first the big users.
Then consider how much they need to deal with individuals in a particular basin.
Have the large parties agree to a flow regime, and water may not be an issue to
deal with for the individual users.
Fleetwood asked what happens if they don't get negotiated agreements. Roll
stated the County goal is to do as much as possible to achieve agreements. Create
as many win -win situations as possible. This doesn't predetermine there won't be
an adjudication. Ultimately, as they go through the entire basin regarding instream
flows, they will need to validate the new flows. They will have to look at who is
actually using water and who isn't.
Roy asked if this section is an indication of the onerous regulation for people.
It seems there are a couple of options. One is to draft a statement that the Council
wants to put this off, or remove it from the plan altogether. Roll stated many of
the elements described, such as Bertrand, have to address how many people are
actually using water. That group will have to work through the approach that will
work best. It is helpful to have tools for gathering and managing the resource.
Caskey- Schreiber asked Dr. Roll's vision of how implementation should
proceed. Roll stated the document gives people a level of knowledge they've never
had. It forces people to act and make tough decisions. He advocates piloting some
of the novel actions to see how they work before they are applied WRIA -wide.
There are people who want to start with pilot projects, and others who want to start
with projects WRIA -wide. It is helpful to have pilot projects that solve the water
Natural Resources Committee, 4/20/2004, Page 6
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DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee
minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they
are not the final approved minutes.
rights issues in a win -win situation. Water rights won't be solved overnight. The
water rights issue has to be dealt with. Within the next several years, agree on
flow regime for fisheries and out -of- stream users. They are getting a series of
models that will help the County manage land use and its impacts on water quality
and quantity. Translating the information into land use policy is next. The lake
loading model is a more elaborate model being created to provide insight on the
quantities and sources of pollution, and the strategies to deal with the sources.
Another project is monitoring. These are all ideas the community should invest in,
not just the County. Over time, he should be able to determine whether water is
getting better or worse in a drainage. See how management actions translate to
changes in water quality.
Caskey- Schreiber stated this is a big, onerous section. They could begin to
support pilot projects for the water use tracking system, see what evolves, and
then redefine the project a bit.
Roll stated he's hearing that it's premature to move forward yet with the
water use tracking program. See how people in the Bertrand area solve some of
the issues with how they will regulate and keep track of their water use.
Roy stated they will see how the pilot project goes. It may cause them to
make adjustments to the program.
Roll stated he wanted to talk about the Bertrand proposals. They have tried
to discuss the major projects in section three. He's going to the Planning Unit with
great feedback. Everyone agrees on public education and involvement. He asked if
there are any other sections or projects of concern.
Roy stated they've already talked about the Bertrand Creek issue. Roll
stated there is more recent information about that. The proposal from the County
Executive is to create a supplemental budget request to deal with the Bertrand
issue with the Council at a later date. They will work on a proposal and convey
potential funding sources. He's not asking for any more guidance from the Council
right now.
Roy agreed. Much of what they're trying to discover hinges on the Bertrand
Creek project. She would urge that the Council support moving forward.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 10:40 a.m.
Natural Resources Committee, 4/20/2004, Page 7
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DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee
minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they
are not the final approved minutes.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
I11-00i71
Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Sharon Roy, Committee Chair
Natural Resources Committee, 4/20/2004, Page 8