Draft Issue Paper Review Process
The following process is recommended for review, revision and approval of Issue Papers to go into the Draft Report. Please look at the schematic of the process on the last page.
Steering/Technical Committee Review
It assumes that the Steering/Technical Committee gets copies of draft issue papers it will discuss at a meeting in advance of that meeting. At the meeting the STC would hear a brief presentation concerning the paper's major issues, conclusions and recommendations, and then would have an opportunity to ask questions. It is critical that the STC members read the Issue Papers prior to the STC meetings in order to minimize the need to bring everybody up to speed on the topic so discussions can be substantive.
Given the number of issue papers being developed for the plan, one suggestion is that the STC divide into two or three smaller groups or teams (with balanced representation) so the group can review multiple issue papers simultaneously. The small groups would use a common format for their discussions; these would occur during regularly scheduled STC meetings. After the discussions are over, each small group will report to the full group the major issues it discussed and identify any recommended changes.
If the STC decides not to split into smaller groups, it will need to be efficient in its review process in order to effectively evaluate the large number of issue papers under consideration.
If no changes are recommended, the issue paper will be ready to send to the Chehalis Basin Partnership in advance of its next meeting for consideration.
If changes are recommended, the author will receive a summary of the small group reports and the ensuing full group discussion - or, if only the full group discussed the paper, the STC comments on it - to assist with revisions. The revisions should be made prior to the next STC meeting (or a specified STC meeting) and sent to the group in advance of that meeting. Final review of the revised draft should occur quickly at that STC meeting. At this point, the revised draft would be ready to send to the Chehalis Basin Partnership for review and consideration at its next meeting.
If the STC is having a problem deciding which option or "solution" it wants to recommend in a given issue paper, the group may use the "Choosing by Advantages" approach.
Chehalis Basin Partnership Review
The CBP would receive copies of the issue papers to be discussed at an upcoming meeting in advance of that meeting. At the meeting they would also receive a short briefing on the paper, describing the major findings and solutions/recommendations.
Following the briefing and group discussion of each issue paper, the CBP could recommend one of three next steps:
Authorize that it go into the draft Watershed Plan
Authorize that it go into the draft Watershed Plan with (specified) changes
Be returned to the STC for additional revisions and a second review by the CBP
In the last case, the draft issue paper would again go to the author along with a summary of the CBP discussion, to facilitate revisions. The revised issue paper would be sent to the group for a second review prior to the next CBP meeting.
Public Review
After CBP authorization to include a particular issue paper in the draft Watershed Plan, the paper will be posted on the Grays Harbor Web site, or potentially the Triangle site, for public review and comment. An email will be sent to the entire CBP mailing list, including attendees of the Study Area Meetings, informing them of the availability of the issue paper for review.
Comments received will be brought forward through the STC to the CBP for consideration and integration into the issue papers.
Note : Before issue papers are sent to the CBP, but after the STC decision-making process, issue papers will be sent through the Triangle writing team for editing.
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