TO: - - Chehalis Basin Partnership
FROM: - - Kahle Jennings
SUBJECT: - - Latest Draft of the Operating Procedures
Enclosed is the most recent version of the draft Operating Procedures. According to my notes the review of this draft material was stopped at the end of Chapter 4 (General Procedures).
This is the information I promised to send out at the Friday September 27th meeting. I expect it will be discussed at the October meeting.
Hopefully we are nearing the end of this process.
Chehalis Basin Partnership (CBP) Draft Operating Procedures
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Chapter 3: Roles
Chapter 4: General Procedures
Chapter 5: Managing Partnership Membership
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C
APPENDIX D
APPENDIX E
Chehalis Basin Partnership
Draft Operating Procedures Manual
September 2002
This booklet is a guide for members of the Partnership. It summarizes the legal framework and past organizational decisions of the Partnership. This document was adapted from the Chehalis Basin Partnership interim by-laws (February 26, 1999) and the Quilcene/Snow and Skokomish/Dosewallips Operating Procedure Manuals.
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Chapter 1: History and Overview
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1.1 - - Definitions
Chehalis Basin Partnership or "Partnership" - A non-governmental organization formed to work on the shared interests of multiple governments and organizations in the Chehalis watershed. The Chehalis Basin Partnership serves as the Planning Unit under the Watershed Planning Act and the Citizens' Advisory Council under the Sal Recovery Act (See the Intergovernmental Agreement in Appendix A).
Initiating governments - The Watershed Planning Act (RCW 90.82) required that certain governing bodies agree to establish a Planning Unit that would assume the responsibility of overseeing the development of a local watershed plan for a specific WRIA or WRIAs. These governing bodies within each WRIA - all counties, the largest city or town, the water supply utility obtaining the largest supply of water and by invitation, each tribe with reservation lands in the planning area are defined in the law as the Initiating Governments.
Intergovernmental Agreement -
Lead Agency - the organization designated to enter into and manage contracts on behalf of the Planning Unit established under the Watershed Planning Act.
Lead Entity - the organization designated to enter into and manage contracts under the Salmon Recovery Act.
Planning Unit or "Local Planning Unit" - A group representing a wide range of water resource interests within a WRIA or multiple WRIAs that is responsible for preparing a watershed plan addressing the elements identified in the Watershed Planning Act.
RCW - Revised Code of Washington, the laws of the state of Washington passed by the state legislature.
Salmon Recovery Act -
WAC - Washington Administrative Code, the regulations established by state agencies to implement the laws (RCW) passed by the legislature.
Watershed Planning Act (90.82 RCW) - Legislation passed in 1998 that initiated local watershed planning and provided funding for Planning Units organized by Initiating Governments. (See Appendix F).
Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) - Washington State is divided into 62 geographic areas based on surface water resources. These geographic/resource areas are codified in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-500-040 as Water Resource Inventory Areas.
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1.2 - - Mission Statement
The Mission of the Chehalis Basin Partnership (Partnership) is to coordinate local, tribal, state, federal and private efforts to reduce the effects of flooding, enhance fish resources, improve recreational opportunities, protect and restore water quality, protect surface water flow and ground water resources, protect recognized beneficial human uses of surface and ground water while at all times recognizing the relationship of these issues to the economic health and sustainability of the basin.
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1.3 - - History
The first formal meeting of the Chehalis Basin Council - the group that would eventually become the Chehalis Basin Partnership -- occurred on January 16, 1997. The draft vision statement of this initial group stated:
"The Chehalis Basin Council serves in an educational and advisory capacity to help local governments, tribes and other interests collectively manage natural resources in a more comprehensive and coordinated way. The goal is to improve the environmental, social and economic health of the Chehalis Watershed.
Participants seek to take greater control over their own destiny through collaboration, advocacy, education and stewardship. A central goal is to create more effective working relationships between governments (cities, counties, tribes, state and federal), community leaders (business, agriculture, environment, timber, recreation), and citizens. The council will also serve as a sounding board and as a forum for new approaches and ideas."
Based on the principles described above, the Partnership has taken on new responsibilities as the state legislature passes new laws designed to address growing concerns about water availability, water quality, and habitat for threatened or endangered fish species. Additional responsibilities have followed as state agencies find ways to use the structure provided by local planning groups to allow for more public involvement in state agency actions. The activities that the Chehalis Basin Partnership is currently involved in are described in sections 1.4 through 1.10 that follow.
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1.4 - - Watershed Planning
The 1998 Legislature passed the Watershed Management Act (Chapter 90.82 RCW) to provide a framework for local citizens, interest groups, tribes and government to work collectively on solutions to water quantity, flow, water quality and habitat concerns. The Watershed Management Act designated "Initiating Governments" and authorized them to form local groups called "Planning Units" that are responsible for assessing local conditions and developing local water management plans. The Initiating Governments designate a lead agency to administer grants from the state to fund the work. All tribes with reservation lands in the Water Resource Inventory Area(s) [WRIA(s)] must be invited to participate in the planning process [90.82.060].
Under the law, the Planning Unit must at a minimum 1) assess the availability of water and the needs for water to support fish and human development and 2) develop strategies for managing that water that strike a balance competing resources. The Planning Unit may also choose to address fish habitat, water quality and instream flow requirements in the plan. There is considerable flexibility in the law for the Planning Unit to determine the planning process and to direct the focus of the planning process on areas or elements of particular importance to local citizens. The law also includes constraints on the activities of Planning Units. For example, the Planning Unit does not have the authority to change existing laws, alter water rights or treaty rights, or require an implementing agency to take action which it has not agreed to during plan development.
As described in the opening paragraphs, the Chehalis Basin Partnership (Partnership) was forming before the Watershed Planning Act (90.82 RCW, ESHB 2514) was passed. The Partnership was designated as the Planning Unit under RCW 90.82 for the entire Chehalis Basin (WRIAs 22 and 23) by the Initiating Governments, and initially chose to address water quantity, water quality and fish habitat in its plan. Later the Partnership also consented to look at existing in stream flows.
The Chehalis Basin Partnership formalized its organization and outlined its intentions for the planning process in WRIAs 22 and 23 through an Intergovernmental Agreement. A copy of this agreement is attached as appendix A.
The Responsibility of the Partnership under the Watershed Planning Act is to agree collectively to a plan that will assess the quantity of water in the river basin, and to propose strategies for managing the water resources of the basin in such a way that the water resources will supply water in sufficient quantities to:
Ensure stream flows necessary to sustain fish populations;
Provide water for future out-of-stream uses;
Ensure that adequate water supplies are available for agriculture, energy production, population growth and economic growth.
The strategies may include increasing water supplies through water conservation, water reuse, the use of reclaimed water, voluntary water transfers, aquifer recharge and recovery additional water allocations, or additional water storage and water storage enhancements. [90.82.070(2)]
Once the plan has been developed and approved by the Local Planning Unit it must be approved by each county government with jurisdiction in the planning area. [90.82.130]
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1.5 - - Salmon Recovery
During 1998 and 1999, the legislature passed several bills relating to salmon recovery. The legislation directly affecting the Partnership were Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2496, passed by the legislature and signed into law (RCW 77.85), which tasks the Washington State Conservation Commission with evaluating the habitat factors that limit the success of salmonids in Washington State; and Senate Bill 5595, passed by the legislature and signed into law (RCW 77.85), which creates the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, which is responsible for awarding grant and loans to for salmon habitat projects and salmon recovery activities.
These legislative actions concluded that repeated attempts to improve salmonid fish runs throughout the state of Washington failed to avert listings of salmon and steelhead runs as threatened or endangered under the federal endangered species act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.). These listings threaten the sport, commercial, and tribal fishing industries as well as the economic well-being and vitality of vast areas of the state. The intent of the legislature is to begin activities required for the recovery of salmon stocks as soon as possible, although the legislature understands that successful recovery efforts may not be realized for many years because of the life cycle of salmon and the complex array of natural and human-caused problems they face.
The legislature concluded that it is in the interest of the citizens of the state of Washington for the state to retain primary responsibility for managing the natural resources of the state, rather than abdicate those responsibilities to the federal government, and that the state may best accomplish this objective by integrating local and regional recovery activities into a state-wide plan that can make the most effective use of provisions of federal laws allowing for state leadership in salmon recovery. The legislature also concluded that a state-wide salmon recovery plan must be developed and implemented through an active public involvement process in order to ensure public participation in, and support for, salmon recovery. The legislature also concluded that there is a substantial link between the provisions of the federal endangered species act and the federal clean water act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.). The legislature further concluded that habitat restoration is a vital component of salmon recovery effort. Therefore, the intent of the legislature is to specifically address salmon habitat restoration in a coordinated manner and to develop a structure that allows for the coordinated delivery of federal, state, and local assistance to communities for habitat projects that will assist in the recovery and enhancement of salmon stocks.
The legislature concluded that a coordinated framework for responding to the salmon crisis is needed immediately. To that end, the salmon recovery office should be created within the governor's office to provide overall coordination of the state's response; an independent science panel is needed to provide scientific review and oversight; a coordinated state funding process should be established through a salmon recovery funding board; the appropriate local or tribal government should provide local leadership in identifying and sequencing habitat projects to be funded by state agencies; habitat projects should be implemented without delay; and a strong locally based effort to restore salmon habitat should be established by providing a framework to allow citizen volunteers to work effectively.
To implement the intent of the legislation, the Partnership and its members became active participants and worked with the Conservation Commission to develop a Habitat Limiting Factors report for the Chehalis Basin. The work on the Limiting Factors Analysis led to the formation of a Technical Advisory Group, which consisted of private, federal, state tribal and local government personnel with technical expertise in the watershed.
The Partnership furthered their salmon recovery efforts by determining, through joint resolutions passed by counties, cities, and tribal governments, that Grays Harbor County would be the lead entity for salmon recovery in WRIAs 22 and 23. Through this effort, the Partnership develops annually a habitat project list with a work schedule that ensures restoration activities are prioritized and implemented in a logical sequential manner.
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1.6 - - Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration
Coordinating efforts to reduce the effects of flooding is part of the original mission statement of the Partnership. Currently two projects are underway in the Chehalis Basin. The first, the Centralia Flood Damage Reduction Project, sponsored by Lewis County, focuses on reducing flood damage to the greater Centralia-Chehalis area and I-5. This project was under development and was one of the reasons for forming the Partnership. The second project, the Chehalis River Basin Ecosystem Restoration Project, sponsored by Grays Harbor County, is an investigation of the needs of the entire Chehalis River Basin, with the goal of addressing degraded environmental conditions, identifying opportunities for enhancing habitat, and addressing localized flood and erosion problems.
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1.7 - - Water Quality Committee and Funding Programs
A Water Quality Committee (WQC) was established to coordinate water quality issues including integrating Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements into the watershed plan developed by the Partnership, carrying out local prioritization of grants and loans submitted to Ecology, and integrating information on water quality issues and activities so that the Partnership can include them in the watershed plan.
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1.8 - - Water Conservancy Boards
Develop and insert description here.
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1.9 - - Legislative
Develop and insert description here.
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1.10 - - Other
Develop and insert description here.
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Chapter 2: Composition
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2.1 - - Chehalis Basin Partnership
An Intergovernmental Agreement identifies specific governments, organizations and interest groups that may participate as "members" on the Chehalis Basin Partnership, but it does not limit membership exclusively to those groups.
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An organization's participation as a member of the Partnership is discussed in Chapter 5.2.1.a - - Organizations that have signed the Intergovernmental Agreement
As of December 2000, the following organizations are members of the Chehalis Basin Partnership (Partnership). Appendix "B" is a list of the specific individuals that represent each member organization. (Appendix B still must be developed)
(NOTE: Organizations designated with an asterisk "*" have a signature block on the Intergovernmental Agreement, but have not actually signed the agreement)
- Grays Harbor County
- Lewis County
- Mason County
- Thurston County
- City of Aberdeen
- City of Centralia
- City of Chehalis
- City of Cosmopolis*
- City of Elma*
- City of Hoquiam
- City of McCleary
- City of Montesano
- City of Napavine
- City of Ocean Shores
- City of PeEll
- City Westport*
- Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis
- Quinault Indian Nation*
- Port Districts (a representative appointed jointly by the port districts in the Chehalis River Basin. The Port of Centralia signed the agreement on behalf of all port districts.)
- Water Supply Utilities (a representative appointed jointly by the water supply utilities in the Chehalis River Basin. Boistfort Valley Water Company and Grays Harbor Water District #2 both signed the agreement. )
- Department of Ecology (on behalf of state agencies)
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2.1.b - - Other organizations identified in the Intergovernmental Agreement that are eligible for membership in the Partnership
Public Agencies
- Washington Department of Agriculture
- Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Washington State Department of Natural Resources
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Geological Survey
- Bureau of Reclamation
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- National Marine Fisheries Service
- U.S. Forest Service
- U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
- Natural Resources Conservation Service
Non-Governmental Major Interests (a minimum of four members)
- Weyerhaeuser (representing forestry interests)
- Washington Cattleman's Association (representing agricultural interests)
- Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force (representing fisheries interests)
- Business Representative (none designated)
- Recreational Interest representative (none designated)
- Environmental Interest representative (none designated)
- Industrial water users (none designated)
Private Citizens
- Each of the counties (four total) that have decided to participate in the Partnership may appoint one private citizen to sit as a member of the Partnership. This member will represent the interests of the Citizens' Advisory Committee and other private citizens of their county.
These are the Chehalis Basin Partnership members that are specifically identified in the Intergovernmental Agreement. The composition of the Partnership may be changed if it is determined that important interests are not represented (Chapter 5 of these operating procedures addresses membership).
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2.1.c - - Other Interested Parties (Non-Members)
Alternatives to actual membership in the Partnership exist for those individuals, agencies or organizations that are interested in the Partnership. They may request to:
- Be placed on mailing list for agendas, minutes and other material (budget permitting),
- Make presentations to the Partnership,
- Be a representative on task groups that the Partnership forms to deal with specific issues related to their interests;
- Be a technical advisor to the Partnership, and/or
- Request that an existing Partnership member work with the individual, agency or organization to represent its interest on the Partnership
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2.2 - - Steering/Technical Advisory Committee
A Steering Committee was formed early in the process of organizing the Partnership. A Technical Advisory Committee was authorized in the Intergovernmental Agreement forming the Partnership. As the focus has shifted from organizing the Partnership to managing the various activities described in Chapter 1, the need for a Steering Committee decreased and the need for a Technical Advisory Committee increased. However, both functions are needed and there is a great deal of overlap between the people who have been participating as members of the Technical Advisory Committee and the people who participated as members of the Steering Committee. Currently the Technical Advisory Committee also serves as the Steering Committee.
The Steering/Technical Advisory Committee should reflect the diversity of the organizations that are members of the Partnership. Participation in the Steering/Technical Advisory Committee is not exclusive; any member of the Partnership can request to be named a member. The following organizations are strongly encouraged to participate on the Steering/Technical Advisory Committee: each county, major cities, both the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and the Quinault Tribe, the Citizen's Advisory Committee, a group representing fish restoration interests, and a small community caucus.
When the committee is serving in its technical/scientific role, it may request that Partnership organizations assign additional technical staff to ensure the committee has adequate technical expertise.
See the detailed description of the roles of the Steering/Technical Advisory Committee in Chapter 3.
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2.3 - - Citizen's Advisory Committee
A Citizens' Advisory Committee was authorized in the Intergovernmental Agreement forming the Partnership. This committee provides a forum for private citizens to participate in the general activities of the Partnership. The citizens on the Advisory Committee are selected by the Commissioners of the county they live in to represent the varied interests of the general citizenry within the Chehalis Basin.
According to the Intergovernmental Agreement, each county selects one citizen to sit as a member of the Partnership. This person represents the interests of the individual private citizens in the basin on the Partnership and is also a member of the Citizens' Advisory Committee. In addition to appointing a citizen to serve as a member of the Partnership, each county appoints three additional citizens to sit on the Citizen's Advisory Committee.
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2.4 - - Water Quality Committee
The interim by-laws adopted by the Chehalis Basin Partnership on February 26, 1999 included provisions for establishing additional committees as needed to focus on specific issues related to the Partnership's responsibilities. After some members of the Partnership committed time to serve on a working committee to develop the Summary Implementation Strategy (SIS) for the Grays Harbor Fecal Coliform Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), the suggestion was made to form a Partnership Water Quality committee.
The Water Quality Committee is composed of individuals with some interest, stake or expertise in the subject of water quality. The members have an interest in the outcome of the work the Partnership is doing and the ability to apply a working knowledge of the impacts that water quality decisions would have in the Chehalis Basin and its residents.
Partnership participants that should strongly consider having a representative on the Water Quality Committee include:
Quinault Indian Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis, Conservation Districts, water purveyors, local governments, fisheries interests, environmental interests, recreational interests, business interests, forestry interests, and agricultural interests.
One or more working groups, comprised of the above entities plus other stakeholders, may be established to concentrate on specific TMDL issues.
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2.5 - - Fiscal Agent
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2.5.1 - - Fiscal Agent for Purposes of Watershed Planning under RCW 90.82
Grays Harbor County has been designated by the Partnership as Lead Agency under the Watershed Planning Act.
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2.5.2 - - Fiscal Agent for Purposes of Salmon Recovery under RCW 77.85
Grays Harbor County has been designated by the Partnership as Lead Entity under the Salmon Recover Act.
Chapter 3: Roles
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Chapter 3: Roles
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3.1 - - Chehalis Basin Partnership
Commitment to participating in the regular Partnership meetings is expected of all members. Each member of the Partnership is also responsible to participate in the work of the Partnership and its sub-committees when they have the experience or expertise to do so.
The role of the Partnership and its members include:
- Actively representing each member's organization or area(s) of interest.
- Developing an Annual Plan of Work and project work plans for special projects such as Watershed Planning and Salmon Recovery.
- Provide direction to its fiscal agent on a general expenditure plan and contracts for services.
- Ensuring that the requirements of the Watershed Management Act, Salmon Recovery Act, and any other responsibility the Partnership has taken on are met.
- Approving policies that direct the work of the Partnership.
- Developing and accepting the final watershed plan as described in 90.82 RCW.
- Identifying appropriate items for the Partnership agenda, forwarding these agenda items to the Chair, Ecology Representative or Lead Agency, and making the necessary arrangements for the speakers or presenters needed to address the agenda item.
Each member organization must select and (as appropriate) formally appoint a primary representative for the organization. Member organizations may also appoint an alternate for the primary representative. The primary representative sits at the table during Partnership meetings and is the person authorized to speak on behalf of the member organization. The alternate should be as active and involved as the primary representative so that they can step in at a moment's notice to represent the member organization if the primary representative is unable to do so. Both the primary representative and alternate should be able and willing to:
- Prepare for, attend, and participate in all Partnership meetings (one meeting per month requiring approximately 4 to 8 hours per month).
- Participate in additional meetings of subcommittees or work groups as necessary (an additional 4 to 8 hours per month).
- Communicate on a regular basis with other people in the member organization to inform them of Partnership discussions and facilitate consensus within the member group on key issues (perhaps 4 to 8 hours per month).
- Present fairly the interests and ideas of the member organization as a whole to the Partnership regardless of personal feelings.
- Recognize the legitimacy of the concerns and interests of others, whether or not they are in agreement with them.
- State their concerns and interests clearly, listen carefully to others, and explore issues from all points of view before forming conclusions.
- Give the same priority to solving the problems of others as to solving their own.
Members commit to:
- Search for opportunities: creativity will make a better plan.
- Listen carefully: ask questions to understand and make statements to explain or educate.
- Act on "fact" not "rumor".
- Attempt to protect each other and the process politically with constituencies and general public.
- Attempt to reach consensus on a plan.
- Be an advocate for an agreed plan.
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3.2 - - Steering/Technical Advisory Committee
Commitment to participating in meetings of the Steering/Technical Advisory Committee is expected of all members.
The role of the Steering/Technical Advisory Committee is to:
1. - - Review administrative, process and policy issues, evaluate alternative approaches to policy and action items, and make recommendations to the Partnership.
2. - - Evaluate the technical or scientific needs of the Partnership as it works on the issues described in Chapter 1, make recommendations on how to fill those needs, and review technical work performed by others.
When serving as the Steering Committee, this committee may:
- Recommend rules of process,
- Help interpret legislation and recommend direction for the Partnership
- Recommend priorities and action items for the Partnership,
- Provide guidance (develop options or recommendations) to the Partnership,
- Periodically review status of work and funds, and
- Establish benchmarks to measure progress.
- Work with the Partnership's fiscal agent to develop and distribute quarterly budget reports.
Topics may include defining roles, identifying issues, evaluating alternatives, impacts, and tradeoffs of choices, and proposing alternatives and recommendations to the Partnership.
The Steering Committee is responsible for quality control/quality assurance for all work products and will report regularly to Partnership.
The Partnership has final decision-making authority on all policy matters.
When serving as the Technical Advisory Committee, this committee's tasks include:
Identifying, gathering and organizing available technical data needed to accomplish watershed planning in support of any consultants retained by the Partnership.
Develop intergovernmental or other working agreements with agencies and organizations responsible for delivering/producing data or other elements needed to complete watershed planning.
Provide technical oversight and product review of all elements of the watershed planning process.
Prepare or review all Requests for Proposal (RFP) for completion of work and work products for Phase II (Level 1 and Level 2 assessments) and Phase III (development of a watershed management plan), in consultation with the Partnership.
Consistency of participation in the Steering/Technical Advisory Committee is important. If a committee member cannot attend a meeting, a designated alternate may sit at the table. It is the responsibility of the committee member to designate an alternate and keep this alternate informed so that they are able to fully participate in the absence of the regular member.
Steering Committee members are expected to entertain all perspectives on issues and alternatives, seek to identify areas of agreement, and clarify reasons for differing points of view on alternatives. Each member is responsible for informing their constituency and speaks for their interest group.
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3.3 - - Citizens' Advisory Committee
Members of the Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) are informed citizens who bring to the Chehalis Basin Partnership unique perspectives on the Chehalis basin. Members represent a variety of viewpoints, and provide a measure of how the general public may view Partnership actions. The CAC establishes its own agenda's and holds its own meetings.
The CAC reviews Partnership work products and provides formal recommendations to the Partnership. The CAC has the opportunity to review and comment on evaluations and recommendations prepared by the Steering/Technical Advisory Committee. The CAC also hosts information al presentation s by state, federal, and local experts on important watershed issues, to help committee and Partnership members make informed decisions.
A critical function of the CAC is advising the Partnership on how to inform the general citizenry within the Chehalis Basin about the goals, actions, and outcomes of the work of the Partnership, and how to involve this citizenry in the work of the Partnership.
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3.4 - - Water Quality Committee
Water Quality Committee members are expected to commit to participate in organized meetings.
The role of the Water Quality Committee is to:
- Evaluate alternative approaches to policy and action items related to water quality and make recommendations to the Partnership.
- Evaluate the technical or scientific needs of the Partnership as it works on the issues described in Chapter 1of this document, make recommendations on how to fill those needs, and review technical work performed by others.
- Work in conjunction with the Ecology on current and future TMDLs.
- Work with Ecology to establish early and affective communication between effect parties. At a minimum, this would include early notice when a water body falls short of the water quality standards, the opportunity to share local knowledge and data during the development of water quality reports, and a commitment from all parties to work collectively towards a positive constructive solution.
- Develop a list of prioritized water quality projects for consideration and acceptance by the Partnership.
- The Partnership has final decision-making authority on all policy matters.
When serving as the Water Quality Committee, this committee's tasks include:
- Identifying, gathering and organizing available technical data needed to accomplish watershed planning in support of any consultants retained by the Partnership.
- Developing intergovernmental or other working agreements with agencies and organizations responsible for delivering/producing data or other elements needed to complete watershed planning as it relates to water quality decisions.
- Providing technical oversight and product review of all elements of the watershed planning process as it relates to water quality decisions.
- Consistency of participation in the Water Quality Committee is important. If a committee member cannot attend a meeting, it is the member's responsibility to keep informed so that they are able to fully participate.
- Water Quality Committee members are expected to entertain all perspectives on issues and alternatives, seek to identify areas of agreement, and clarify reasons for differing points of view on alternatives. Each member is responsible for informing their constituency and speaks for their interest group.
The Department of Ecology administers state/federal grant and loan programs designed to fund projects that protect and restore water quality. Ecology has an established internal process for evaluating and ranking the hundreds of project proposals it receives annually. Ecology's process allows for a local role in determining funding priorities -- projects receive additional rating points if all the projects received from within an individual WRIA go through some kind of local evaluation and ranking process.
Local Planning Units (such as the Partnership) that are looking at water issues within watersheds (or "Basins") made up of one or more WRIAs are eligible to carry out the local prioritization. The result of this local prioritization is a ranked list of all the projects received from within the same Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA).
The Partnership has accepted the responsibility to carry out this local prioritization because it allows local projects to receive additional points (based on its local priority) that are added to Ecology's numerical score from its internal review/ranking process. These additional points help local projects when they compete against other projects from across the state. If the Partnership -- or some other local group made up of many of the same members -- does not carry out the local prioritization, local projects will have to compete statewide without the benefit of having these additional points.
The local prioritization process is described in WAC 173-95A-050 and Chapter 3 of Volume One of Ecology's FY 2001 Funding Guidelines.
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3.5 - - Fiscal Agent
The Fiscal Agent has the authority to make day-to-day administrative, budget and contract decisions. The Fiscal Agent can approve expenditures consistent with approved scopes of work and contracts. The Fiscal Agent can recommend policies that are needed to carry out day-to-day functions of the Partnership, but the final decision on policies is made by the Partnership.
3.5.1 - - Fiscal Agent for Watershed Planning under RCW 90.82
Do we need to develop and insert language here or is the above paragraph enough?
3.5.2 - - Fiscal Agent for Salmon Recovery under RCW 77.85
Do we need to develop and insert language here or is the above paragraph enough?
As other funding opportunities become available the Chehalis Basin Partnership may select an organization from its membership to serve as fiscal agent for these funding sources.
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Chapter 4: General Procedures
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4.1 - - Meetings
The Chehalis Basin Partnership
The Partnership will meet at least monthly, generally on the fourth Friday of the month. In cases where that day conflicts with a holiday or some other high priority event that involves a significant number of Partnership members the meeting date may be changed upon request of the members affected. Partnership meetings are open to the public and will be announced to members and other interested parties with a direct mailing at least one week in advance.
The Chair may call special meetings of the Partnership. Special meetings are open to the public and will be announced to members and other interested parties with a direct mailing at least one week in advance.
The Steering/Technical Advisory Committee
The Steering/Technical Advisory Committee will generally meet monthly, but this schedule may be modified as needed. Meeting times, locations and agendas will be set by the Chair of the committee based upon the direction of the Partnership and consultation of the committee members. When possible, Steering/Technical Advisory Committee meetings will be announced at the Partnership meeting immediately preceding the planned meeting dates. Steering/Technical Advisory Committee meetings are open to any Partnership member and the public.
The Chair of the Steering/Technical Advisory Committee will be a member of the Chehalis Basin Partnership appointed by the Partnership.
Citizens' Advisory Committee
The Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) generally meets monthly. Meetings of the CAC are announced at meetings of the Chehalis Basin Partnership. Each CAC member will be sent an announcement providing the time, location and topics of discussion for upcoming meetings.
The Chair of the Citizens' Advisory Committee will be a CAC member selected by the committee.
The Water Quality Committee
The Water Quality Committee will generally meet monthly, but this schedule may be modified as needed. Meeting times, locations and agendas will be set by the Chair of the committee based upon the direction of the Partnership and consultation of the committee members. When possible, Water Quality Committee meetings will be announced at the Partnership meeting immediately preceding the planned meeting dates. Water Quality Committee meetings are open to any Partnership member and the public.
The Chair of the Water Quality Committee will be a member of the Chehalis Basin Partnership appointed by the Partnership.
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4.2 - - Quorum
Chehalis Basin Partnership
A quorum for the purpose of holding a Partnership meeting exists when any number of designated Partnership members are in attendance at any regularly scheduled Partnership meeting that has been announced following the procedure described in section 4.1 above. However, no decision may be made by the Partnership unless at least ten designated members are present at a regular monthly or special meeting.
Citizens' Advisory, Steering/Technical and Water Quality Committees
These committees are advisory in nature and do not need a quorum.
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4.3 - - Observers
Meetings of the Partnership and all sub-committees will be open to the public. Seating at Partnership meetings will be arranged so that it is clear to the public who the Partnership members are, and individual Partnership members will be identified with a name placard.
At each meeting, comment periods will allow observers to offer comments related to issues at hand, subject to time limits determined by the Chair.
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4.4 - - Terms of Office and Election of the Chehalis Basin Partnership Chair and Vice-Chair
The Chair and Vice-Chair are appointed annually the Partnership to serve one-year terms. The period of the term is January 1 to December 31. Nominations for Chair and Vice-Chair will be made at the October Partnership meeting. Appointments to the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair will be made at the November meeting of the Partnership using a consensus process.
Any Partnership member is eligible to serve as Chair or Vice-Chair. If there are individual opinions on the appropriateness of any Partnership member serving as Chair of or Vice-Chair, these opinions should be expressed and considered during Partnership discussions held prior to the nomination process and elections.
If circumstances arise where it is in the best interest of the Chehalis Basin Partnership to replace the Chair of Vice-Chair, a new Chair or Vice-Chair can be appointed by a simple majority when at least ten Partnership members are present at a regular or special Partnership meeting.
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4.5 - - Administrative and Facilitation Support
The Fiscal Agent for any special project will provide administrative and facilitation support for the activities of the Partnership and all sub-committees related to the special project.
According to the Intergovernmental Agreement, Ecology will provide staff support to the Partnership for general Partnership activities. This includes preparing and distributing meeting agendas and meeting summaries, maintaining member and mailing lists, keeping records of meetings, and other related information.
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4.6 - - Meeting Summaries/Results
For each meeting of the Partnership and its sub-committees a written summary of discussion and comments will be prepared and available for public review. These summaries will describe highlights of the meeting, areas of agreement or disagreement, recommendations or options the Partnership is being asked to consider, and a record of decisions made by the Partnership. The results of each committee meeting will be provided to the Partnership. Meeting summaries for each Partnership meeting will be approved or modified at the next Partnership meeting.
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4.7 - - Decision Making
i.) - - Recommendations for action may come from designated sub-committees or any Partnership member.
ii.) - - The Partnership may make a decision immediately or assign the issue to a sub-committee for further review and recommendations.
iii.) - - Whenever possible, the need for a specific decision or action will be identified at least one month in advance. Information necessary to make the decision should be provided at least one month in advance at all possible. If it is not possible to provide the information at least one month in advance, then the information should be sent out to Partnership members with the meeting announcement. This will allow time for Partnership members to think about the issues under consideration and discuss them with their member organizations and other Partnership members if necessary.
iv.) - - Actions of the Partnership will be determined through a consensus based decision-making process. Consensus is explained further in Appendix D.
v.) - - A record of decisions, action items and their status will be maintained and included with each meeting summary.
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4.8 - - Public Communication
The Chehalis Basin Partnership is not obligated to follow the detailed requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act; however, the Partnership will make every effort to meet the intent of that act. In providing public information, the following guidelines will apply:
1. - - All official public statements on behalf of the Partnership will be made by the Chair or his/her designee;
2. - - Only documents approved by the full Partnership will be represented as official Partnership documents;
3. - - In public discussions, individual Partnership members will provide a disclaimer that their statements are personal opinions and are not necessarily those of the Partnership;
4. - - Following each Partnership meeting, a summary of the meeting topics and discussions will be prepared. This summary will be mailed to the Partnership members in advance of the next meeting where the opportunity to correct the meeting summary will be provided. Meeting summaries will be made available to the public.
5. - - Partnership staff will manage Partnership documents and records.
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Chapter 5: Managing Partnership Membership
( THIS FOLLOWING SECTION HAS NOT BEEN DISCUSSED BY THE SUB-COMMITTEE BUT THAT IS BEING PLANNED TO OCCUR PRIOR TO THE OCTOBER PARTNERSHIP MEETING )
The purpose of this chapter is to maintain the Partnership's balance of interests and effectiveness.
The Intergovernmental Agreement that formed the Chehalis Basin Partnership identifies several member groups and in many cases provides specific direction on how the representatives of the member groups are to be appointed. These Operating Procedures do not modify or amend the language of the Intergovernmental Agreement where it provides specific direction. In cases where the Intergovernmental Agreement is silent the Operating Procedures are intended to guide the Partnership's actions regarding membership.
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5.1 - - Member Groups Identified in the Intergovernmental Agreement with a Defined Process for Selecting Representation.
The Intergovernmental Agreement identifies nine groups of potential members: counties, cities, tribes, water supply utilities, port districts, state departments, federal agencies, major interests and private citizens. For seven of these groups the Agreement provides specific direction on the number of Partnership members each group may have and on how representatives for each group are designated:
Counties: each county in the basin, appointed by the respective county;
Cities: each interested city and town in the basin, appointed by the respective jurisdictions;
Tribes: The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and the Quinault Indian Nation;
Water Supply Utilities: a representative appointed jointly by the water supply utilities in the basin;
Port Districts: a representative appointed jointly by the port districts in the basin;
Major Interests: a minimum of four members representing various major interests in the basin, appointed jointly by the counties and the tribes;
Private Citizens: one private citizen from each of the counties, appointed by the respective counties.
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5.2 - - Member Groups identified in the Intergovernmental Agreement without a defined Process for Selecting Representation.
The Intergovernmental Agreement identifies the federal and state agencies that may become members but does not define how representatives from those agencies shall be designated.
State Departments: Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Ecology.
Federal Agencies: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Geological Survey, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Marine Fisheries Service, Forest service, Corps of Engineers and Natural Resource Conservation Service.
Representatives for these agencies shall be appointed by letter from the head of the agency or its appropriate regional office.
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5.3 - - Other Members
If the Partnership determines the need to add representation from additional groups it may do so by consensus agreement and request that the group appoint a representative.
If an interest group or organization wishes to join the Partnership, the following process is established:
Application Process:
1. - - The interested party will be asked to provide the following information in writing.
a) The name of the interest group organization.
b) The mission, purpose and goals of the interest group or organization.
c) The number of individuals that are involved in the interest group or organization.
d) Why the interest group or organization should be added to the Partnership, including:
The issues the interest group or organization is involved in;
How those issues relate to the Partnership mission, purpose and goals;
How those interests might affect and be affected by Partnership decisions;
Why the interest group or organization is not adequately represented by current Partnership members;
How adding the interest group or organization would benefit the Partnership's work.
e) A statement of support for the Partnership's Purpose and Goals, and concurrence with the Partnership Ground Rules?
h) The name of the representative and alternate from the interest group or organization that will participate on the Partnership?
Selection Process:
1. - - Upon request Partnership staff will describe this process and criteria for applying for membership and provide the applicant with information on the composition of the Partnership, the Partnership's work program, its organization and Ground Rules.
2. - - The Steering Committee will review the submitted written material and, if necessary, interview the applicant to identify their interest in the watershed, and will advise the applicant about alternatives for involvement in the Partnership.(see Section 2.1.6)
3. - - The Steering Committee will make a recommendation to the Partnership on applications for membership.
4. - - The Partnership will make decisions on recommendations for membership after reviewing and discussing submitted materials and interview information when applicable. The applicant are welcome attend the meeting at which this a decision is made. Approval of new members is by consensus agreement.
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5.4 - - Replacing Partnership Members
Circumstances may arise where members of the Partnership resign, or are unable to adequately represent their interests.
In situations where a Partnership member representing a specific interest group or organization resigns, the Partnership will defer to that organization to designate a replacement. In the event that no replacement has been designated within two months, a Partnership member will be contact the interest group or organization to request that the vacant position be filled. If after the request has been made the vacant position is not filled within two additional months, the interest group or organization will be notified that they have not fulfilled their obligations and are no longer considered to be an active member of the Partnership.
In situations where, due to lack of attendance at the Partnership meetings, the Partnership agrees a particular interest or organization is not being adequately represented, the designated representative of the interest or organization will be contacted by a Partnership member to determine their level of interest in participating in the Partnership. The results of the contact will be reported back to the Partnership for action. Action, based on consensus agreement of the Partnership, may consist of a letter to the interest group or organization requesting active participation or replacement of the interest group or organization with a different one.
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APPENDIX A
Intergovernmental Agreement
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APPENDIX B
Individual Partnership Members
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APPENDIX C
Lead Entity Resolutions
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APPENDIX D
Consensus
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APPENDIX E
Ground Rules
Ground rules are agreed upon procedures for working together in a group. They establish trust by setting guidelines that are fair and help the group get work done efficiently. They clarify group procedures for conducting meetings, reporting results, resolving differences, and accomplishing the task of the group.
The purpose of ground rules and operating procedures is to provide a framework for fruitful discussion and exchange that guide, rather than constrains, the interaction. Ground rules also make explicit the common expectations with which the participants undertake the watershed planning process and participate on the Partnership. These rules describe the purpose of the process, the manner in which the several interests are structured for effective participation, the decision making process, the responsibilities of the participants to one another and to their constituents, and the principles of collaborative decision-making.
Ground Rules for Group Discussion and Operations
Respect others' values and viewpoints. Every idea has merit and the group needs to know what individuals think about issues.
Suspend assumptions and listen carefully. It is important to recognize each member's concerns and feelings and to ask questions for clarification if necessary.
Speak in a way that educates the other members of the group about your point of view.
It is acceptable to disagree; the group expects a variety of opinions. The group agrees to have an open discussion of ideas. Each member of the group must respect other's right to disagree otherwise the discussion is not open.
Open dialogue is important. The purpose of the meeting and planning together is to bring issues out into the open, provide greater understanding of the member's perspectives, share insight, reduce hostilities, build trust, and develop productive long-term working relationships.
One person should speak at a time; everyone will have an opportunity to speak.
Speak from your own experience and if you are not speaking for yourself, identify whose ideas you represent.
Stay as objective as possible, put-downs and disparaging remarks are not productive.
Humor is appreciated.
Members will seek to share discussion time, encouraging everyone to participate fully.
Members will enter into dialogue with the intent to identify areas of agreement wherever possible, but also to clarify differences when they occur, listen carefully, share discussion time, ask questions, educate each other, and search for common understanding.
Participants accept the responsibility of keeping their associates and constituency groups informed of the progress of the discussion and to seek advice and comments.
Participants agree to state needs, problems, and opportunities, not positions -- positive candor is an effective tool.
Members will strive to keep any communications with news media concerning the planning effort on a positive note. All will be mindful of the impacts their public and private statements will have on the success of this effort. October 3, 2002
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