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The February 1996 flood crisis presented an opportunity for Lewis County government to take action on the issue of flood control. Because the disaster spurred a wave of citizen demand for a resolution to the problem, public support for govemment action - such as imposing land use restrictions and spending tax dollars on flood reduction projects - was strong in the months following the inundation. But to some extent, Lewis County has let the opportunity slip by, allowing short-term growth agenda goals to limit policy decisions to spending money on studies and on its plan to allow growth to continue uninterrupted by applying engineering solutions to the flood problem instead of changing land-use laws.
The development of effective public policy requires the involvement of a broad spectrum of stakeholders - local, state, tribal and federal government, as well as the general public. This is especially true when proposed policy will address an envirom-nental issue with broad public impact, such as flood control on the Chehalis River. In order to ensure that such policy is responsive to the needs of the affected community, local government must take a lead role in policy development. Initiatives in land use planning and growth management should be anchored in a community-based process that develops a vision for the future. (Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development Web site, 1999)
Local government can take several steps to improve the policy development process. Communication between government and citizens - in both directions should be strengthened and maintained. The system of committees and advisory groups initiated by local government for the purpose of gathering policy-related information must be structured to ensure good communication between the groups, agencies, and elected officials. In establishing the membership of these advisory-type groups, government must ensure broad representation of a diversity of perspectives that reflect community values that are not dominated solely by the growth agenda. Government must also ensure that such participation is meaningful and can affect policy outcomes. Broadening public participation of such groups must not be used as a means to provide a veil of legitimacy to advisory groups that are in reality controlled by the growth coalition.
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"The government needs to ... reach out and explain what govenunent does and how it serves the interests of citizens." (Berman, 1997: 2) Timely public access to information is critical to developing and maintaining government credibility. Recent research indicates that three out of four Americans believe government does not put the needs of its citizens before other agendas. (Hart and Teeter, 1999: 1). In the survey conducted by the researchers as part of this project, 45 percent of Lewis County residents reported dissatisfaction with the amount of information provided by Lewis County government on proposed flood control plans.
Open, continuous communication has been identified as a core principle in any effective public participation program. The pr 'ect survey indicates that 84 percent of Lewis County residents get their information on county flood policy decisions through their local newspaper. A smaller percentage - 53 percent - report they get flood policy information from radio news reports.
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1.) The executive committee of the Chehalis River Flood Hazard Reduction Project can improve communications delivered through news media by ensuring that media outlets in Lewis County receive reports, meeting notices and other materials and information on a regular and timely basis.
2.) A large part of the population that will be impacted by the proposed threecounty flood management project live in Thurston and Grays Harbor counties. In those communities, local news media cannot conveniently access materials produced by Lewis County government, resulting in weak media coverage of proposed flood plans. In addition to delivering information on flood planning by mail, Lewis County government may consider adding a page to their existing Web site that provides up-to-date information that is accessible to anyone with a computer.
3.) Develop a periodical newsletter for broad delivery of government flood policy information throughout the three counties most affected by Lewis County flood planning. The newsletter content could be developed through cooperation between local government stakeholders, including the executive committee of the Chehalis River Flood Hazard Reduction Project, Chehalis River Partnership and the Lewis County Flood District Zone Control Plan Citizen's Advisory Committee and its Alternatives Subcommittee, and produced by Lewis County government planning staff. The publication could include reports on the activities of these government stakeholders; dates and agendas for upcoming meetings; and information that addresses common questions about land use and flood plains. It should also provide infon-nation on how to gain access to additional government materials on flood planning. The newsletter could be funded through grant money and delivered as bulk mail or as an insert in local newspapers. This kind of newsletter would improve public awareness of land use and flood plain issues and policy development and establish broader public understanding of the activities and role of local government related to these issues. The Chehalis River Council reports that Lewis County has been invited to distribute information through the council's quarterly newspaper insert, Drops of Water, but has declined. This publication, which reaches 45,000 readers throughout the valley, may be an effective way to distribute information about flood policy planning.
4.) Broaden the opportunities available for people to provide direct input on land use and flood plain management policy, such as an 'open house' model that allows citizens to participate in a more accessible, non-adversarial manner than that 'ded by a traditional public hearing. At an open house, visitors can examine information and displays related to the policy issue and talk with government staff and elected representatives directly involved in the policy-making process. This model allows public administrators, planners or others involved in the process a chance to share their expertise and help develop greater public understanding of the role of government as well as the development of flood policy. Lewis County govemment has held such public meetings in the past, but it is the recommendation of the researchers that such meetings may prove more effective if held more frequently. Lewis County government should also work to ensure broader public participation in these meetings. Several useful approaches include actively advertising the meetings and sending notices to citizens who have provided public comments on similar issues through letters or meeting attendance.
An evaluation component should be included in the open house format to solicit public feedback and address issues immediately as soon as they arise. For example, meeting participants may be invited to complete a survey card asking their views on the issue at hand. (Connor, 1997: 4)
This type of information is invaluable to the development of effective public policy. The flood survey completed by the researchers indicated that 61 percent of respondents report that they discuss the flood issue with friends or family. Improving the quality and quantity of information delivered to the community about floo policy development will encourage a "domino effect" by which members of the public can then inform and educate each other about the issue.
5.) Broaden the range of participants in government-sponsored citizens' advisory groups. A review of the membership of citizens' groups appointed by the Lewis County Board of Commissioners clearly indicates the growth agenda is overrepresented. Lewis County government should take steps to broaden public participation in these groups to include people who represent views other than those held by the powerful and influential growth coalition.
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Numerous local, state, tribal and federal agencies have an interest in Chehalis River flood management policy. At the local level, several govemment-initiated committees are directly involved in flood policy development, including: the Chehalis River Flood Hazard Reduction Project Executive Committee, the Chehalis Basin Partnership and the Lewis County Flood District Zone Control Plan Citizen's Advisory Committee (including the Alternatives Subcommittee). Confusion over the role of each committee was a persistent theme throughout the interviews conducted for this project. This confusion is illustrated in a complicated graphic provided by the Lewis County planning office that identifies the various committees and government agencies involved in flood policy development. (See Appendix V)
C larifying the roles and responsibilities of the various agencies and committees and communicating that infon-nation to the public is critical to the success of Chehalis River flood policy planning. Poor communication and coordination will result in policies that are made not through thoughtful planning, but through inaction or default. Without communication and community-based planning, such an approach will simply reinforce the status quo in which the local growth coalition controls development of public policy that affects their interests.
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1.) A letter of understanding should be established between the stakeholder committees and agencies involved in land use and flood policy development and enforcement in the basin. At minimum, such an agreement must include the Chehalis River Flood Reduction Project Executive Committee, the Chehalis Basin Partnership and the Lewis County Flood Project Citizens' Advisory Committee and its Sub-Altematives Committee, as well as the various agencies represented on those committees.
2.) In addition to clarifying the relationships between the various committee and agency stakeholders, the membership of each committee and advisory group must be reviewed to ensure broad, effective representation of diverse interests in the community. At the time of this research, growth coalition members constitute the majority within all of the land use and flood policy committees, including the Lewis County Planning Commission, the Flood Project Citizens' Advisory Council, and other groups. When policymakers do not take into account all values and perspectives within the community, the resulting public policy is weighted toward the interests of the most powerful group, which in the case of Lewis County is the local growth coalition.
Throughout the course of this project, Lewis County elected representatives and staff have cited economic development as the primary goal of county land use and flood policy. However, when respondents included in our survey project were asked to name the top three concerns they believe Lewis County government should consider when developing flood policy, economic development was ranked the lowest. Nearly half of responses to the same question - 45 percent - said passing land use laws to control flooding should be among the county's top three concerns in flood policy making.
While the health of the local economy is important to the community, Lewis County has already developed a reputation for extreme winter flooding. Lewis County Commission Chairman Richard Graham admits this reputation has hurt the county's ability to attract new businesses and strengthen the local economy. With that in mind, it appears critical that Lewis County immediately begin to develop land use regulations that protect current investment in the community, prevent the spread of flooding, reduce the cost to taxpayers of infrastructure repairs and disaster aid and increase the community's attractiveness to business investment.
The success of Lewis County flood policy development depends not only on the actions and intentions of policymakers, but also on public willingness to accept changes in land-use laws aimed at addressing the issue. Social attitudes determine how people perceive, use and interact with the natural environment. Changes in social attitudes that result in a willingness to follow new land and resource use practices can be expected to occur slowly (Cairns, 1972: 427). Educating the public about the benefits of leaving old land use practices behind in favor of new ones will help the community move from a "frontier" philosophy, in which humans aim to subdue nature, to a "spaceship" philosophy in which the watershed community members recognize that the actions of one can impact others -or the community. (Cairns, 1972: 428)
Social resistance is not the only obstacle to the adoption of new land and resource use; government agencies may also resist change. In addition, planning or engineering experts who have narrow training in one specific discipline may lack the ability to see the big picture. Communities may also choose to sacrifice environmental quality in favor or economic develop andjobs that come with it. (I 972:428). Land use and flood control policy, as with most environmental planning, is a complex issue that cannot be effectively addressed without the participation of as many stakeholders as possible, coupled with an effective approach to communication.
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