Watershed Management Plan Outline

Chehalis Basin (WRIA 22 & 23)

Workshop Summary

Friday, July 13, 2001

Lucky Eagle Casino, Oakville

9:00am - 12 noon

Welcome & Introductions

Lee Hansmann (Grays Harbor County) welcomed participants to the workshop and asked each person to give name and affiliation. Bob Wheeler (BW, Triangle Associates) described the purpose of the workshop and asked each participant to state his/her vision of success for the day, BW then presented an overview of Watershed Management (2514) planning process, including the roles in that process of the Chehalis Basin Partnership, Steering/ Technical Committee, and Citizens' Advisory Committee (see diagrams). One participant noted that there should be participation from either County or State Health Departments, since there are water purification issues on the table.

The 2514 component of Partnership business is in the second of three phases: Phase One is the organizational phase, Phase Two is the Technical Assessment Phase, and Phase Three is the production of the actual Watershed Plan and implementation program. The current focus is on producing an outline for the Watershed Plan in order to guide and inform the Phase Two, Level Two studies.

What We Heard from Interviews with the Partnership

BW then walked the group through the summary of interviews conducted with Chehalis Basin Partnership members regarding the 2514 planning process. A written summary of these interviews is available from Lee Hansmann or Chris Page, (email: cpage@triangleassociates.com), if you have not seen it yet.

Vision, Mission, Goals for Chehalis Basin Watershed Management Planning Process A brief discussion occurred to clarify the difference between the terms "vision" and &emission." It was decided to treat these terms as equivalent for the purpose of developing a statement to guide the Partnership's 2514 planning. BW referred the group to a suggested draft vision/mission statement that emerged from the interviews conducted by Triangle Associates:

Draft Vision: A water management plan that will eventually result in effective and equitable management of the water in the Chehalis Basin to sustain healthy populations of native fish and healthy communities.

One person commented that "native fish" did not necessarily mean "wild fish" and that

this might need to be clarified to capture the appropriate goal.

Each person then stated his/her goals for the watershed planning process. Common themes that emerged included the need for balancing environmental needs with sustainable local economies, a desire to minimize government regulation, and the need for citizens and communities to support the Watershed Plan and any recommendations in it - before it goes to local governments for approval. Specific goals articulated include:

  • Show leadership, since other watersheds around the state are watching.
  • Use public education and common sense to figure out what will and won't work.
  • Include public outreach component along the way for buy-in and sign-off by citizens.
  • Focus on environmental improvements that also save money.
  • Get buy-in along the way from local agencies that will eventually sanction the Plan.
  • All agencies must participate, as well as anyone else who has a vested interest.
  • Avoid having any salmonid runs in the Basin put on the Endangered Species List.
  • Minimize new regulations and balance sustainable environment with economic development.
  • Recognize that water is both a public and a private right; use cooperative, not regulatory approach.
  • Use caution in recommending new regulations, since the Partnership will have to answer to citizens about the Plan.
  • Obtain/approach consensus on goals/vision for the Plan, and get buy-in from all cities, counties, and people in the Basin as well as approval by state and federal government agencies.
  • Keep in mind the overall Chehalis Basin Partnership goals and vision.

    NOTE: - Please refer to the previously distributed "Summary of Interviews " document for additional goals as articulated during individual discussions with Triangle Associates.

    A question was raised regarding the expressed wish to avoid government regulations: How can the water quality goals for the Basin be achieved without regulation?

    Review & Discuss Draft Outline

    The group then considered the draft Watershed Plan outline (see attached), which makes the assumption that planning for such a large river basin will be more feasible if the Basin is divided up into sub-regions. The concern was expressed that since it took so long to get all the parties in the Chehalis Basin to come together that the group should not be divided. This was addressed by making it clear that if working groups are established for each sub-region, they must be held accountable to the entire Partnership via a thorough timeline and regular checkpoints. The whole Partnership would be responsible for guiding and approving the work of each sub-region workgroup. This discussion led to the development of a chart depicting the development of the Watershed Plan in Phase Three (see attached "Sub-Region Work Group Schematic").

    Discussion of Sub-region divisions ('Sub-Regions')

    While the Partnership embraced the idea of dividing the Chehalis River Basin (WRIAs 22/23) into sub-regions, time did not allow for a thorough discussion of how the Basin might be divided. The options for this division might include by County (which would ease implementation and administration of the Plan) or by sub-region according to sub-basins that drain into different areas. This latter division might include a sub-region for those watersheds that drain into Grays Harbor (sub-basins 21-30 as defined in the Level One Assessment), one for those watersheds that drain into the lower Chehalis (sub-basins 14-20), one for those that drain into the middle Chehalis (sub-basins 11-13) and one for those that drain into the lower Chehalis (sub-basins 1-10).

    (if time) Discuss Phase 2, Level 2 Technical Studies There was not sufficient time for this.

    Wrap-up + Next Steps

    At the July 27 regular meeting of the Partnership the group will re-visit the vision/ mission and goals put forth at this July 13 workshop. Also at that meeting, the Partnership will review the revised draft Watershed Plan outline and provide input on it. Then at the August 24 Partnership meeting, the group will work further on its goals and hopefully approve a vision/mission statement. In addition, any last thoughts for the Plan outline will be collected then in order to incorporate them into the final outline, which will be approved at the September 28 meeting,



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