The Chehalis River Council was sent this information on Watershed Management Areas. This seems to deal with WaDOE strategy to meet changing needs as defined b y the legislature and other outside influences.
Watershed Management Areas (WMAs) are groups of Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs) used by Ecology to coordinate and prioritize our water quantity, water quality, and fish habitat. WMAs are established for Ecology work planning purposes and are not intended as an organizing boundary for local governments. An initial map depicting WMAs has been established. These boundaries were developed by optimizing workload drivers from several Programs and are not ideal for any one Program.
The boundaries on the map are flexible for the near future and subject to change based on:
The WMA Teams will be formed around the objectives stated below. These objectives were developed with emphases on Ecology's goals of protecting water quality, managing water quantity, protecting and restoring fish habitat. Each WMA Team should review the objectives often while prioritizing watershed efforts. These objectives are to protect and enhance our state's waters. Local priorities must be considered during these reviews.
First of all, since the teams will be matrixed from our formal organizational structure, they will need strong and ongoing support from Senior Management in order to be effective. Work planning in Ecology must become more flexible to allow for plans developed in WMAs to dovetail with work plans developed by programs. The specific staffing is described below under the three headings:
Watershed Management Area Teams are being created to enhance Ecology's focus on water quality, water quantity, and fish habitat. The Teams will develop and carry out workplans that address the priority actions the Department has resolved to carry out related to the listed objectives. The Team will serve as a two-way information conduit for Ecology programs, form partnerships to complete assigned tasks and coordinate activities with federal, state, tribal, local agencies and other organizations.
Teams will be tailored to each WMA and will work in an identified WMA. The Regional Management Team (RMT) and Program Managers will collaborate on the selection of team members. Team members will consist mostly of staff from regional offices, but some HQ staff will also be team members (e.g. EILS, Industrial, and Dam Safety), depending on local objectives and priorities. Each program that is conducting activities related to the objectives in the WMA will assign staff to the team. The team concept is intended to geographically group programs together in order to efficiently and effectively achieves the environmental goals and objectives.
The WMA team will work together to assess the needs and priorities for the WMA. This may entail local outreach (scoping), data collecting and data analysis, alternative strategies, negotiations, and developing work plans.
The WMA team will coordinate with other Ecology teams and reconcile related efforts. Coordination will also be needed with other state agencies, tribes, community initiatives, and local governments, particularly where WRIAs cross jurisdictional boundaries.
The WMA team will strive to develop and implement creative solutions to watershed problems, improve coordination between Ecology programs, develop prioritized action plans, and be involved in, or conduct, education/outreach activities. The team will also compile and display data in a way which improves local understanding of environmental issues, assess and identify additional data needs, participate in regional planning, and request needed short term assistance outside of the workplan.
The WMA team's primary activities will relate to restoring water quality through the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) (point and nonpoint) process, carrying out Ecology's activities in response to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings, determining instream flows, water allocation and shoreline management. Where local WMA process is underway (proposed HB 2514) the team will work through that process.
WMA teams will have designated team leaders for coordination of team planning, communication, assessment, over-seeing team activities, producing a workplan and reporting progress to RMT.
WMA team members will remain organizationally in their designated program. Team responsibilities and workloads will be reflected in the CQs of the team members.
Each WMA will have a designated person to lead the team and represent Ecology in a HB 2514 planning process and otherwise be the focal point for Ecology on issues related to the stated objectives. Work will be conducted using an adaptive management approach and will normally follow a five-year cycle. The WMA workplan will be reassessed annually to develop priorities.
The WMA team leader will be responsible for coordinating activities to meet our water quality, water quantity, and fish habitat objectives. The team leader will incorporate planning, education/outreach, and regulatory activities into a cross-program approach. The team leader will also research watershed information, be a liaison and a facilitator in representing Ecology's Watershed Management Area team. This will be accomplished by organizing and directing a team that meets and coordinates on a regular, defined basis. The team leader will coordinate the work in the following way:
The team leader will also be the focal point for Ecology externally for the stated objectives. The main activities include:
The WMA team leads will be selected based on a collaborative effort of the RMT and the Program Managers. Leaders will be selected based on knowledge, skills and abilities to fulfill the job. Team leader positions are generally assumed to be full-time positions, but in selected situations could be part-time, based on local needs and determined by RMT. The reporting relationship for this person is yet to be determined. Options include reporting to the Regional Director, reporting to line Programs, to RMT and hybrids of these.
An Assessment Team will be formed to support the WMA team regarding watershed analysis, which includes data and information collection and mapping needs. The Assessment Team will consist of Ecology staff from our Headquarters office. The Assessment Team, in conjunction with the WMA team leader, will develop products that contribute to the WMA; i.e., 1) a product that will assist the WMA team by listing the key watershed analysis process; and 2) prepare an outline of historical data for the WMA.
The Assessment Team and WMA team leader will generate products that will aid the WMA team on issues of concerns and opportunities for restoration and mitigation. A high level of analysis will be used to point the way for further detailed evaluation. The assessment team will produce a standard set of map overlays showing the extent of problems in the WMA.
The Assessment Team will be an inter-program team to carry out this analysis for all WMAs in the state. The Assessment Team will be Ecology's contribution to inter-agency analysis of WRIAs.
The results of this pre-scoping analysis will be used as part of the WMA team scoping process. To accomplish this, the analysis needs to be completed in the year prior to the scoping year. The detailed studies of these areas fit into the context of the WMAs years 2 and 3; efforts and decisions about how to address problems commence in year 4.
WMA Teams will develop an annual workplan based on an adaptive management approach that emphasizes a scoping, data collection/data analysis, implementation and reassessment cycle. The workplan will normally be based on a five-year cycle. The plan should include projects from, at a minimum, Water Quality, Shorelands Environmental Assistance, Water Resources, and Environmental Investigations. The plan can include other Ecology programs, based on the objectives and water needs in the WMA.
The workplan should be reviewed annually to make sure the priorities are meeting the needs of the objectives.
This process is about how Ecology can most efficiently and effectively coordinate and implement related work in a specified geographic area. Ecology is committed to carrying out its work in close collaboration with local governments, tribes, and citizens.
This collaboration includes the following elements:
Scoping/Assessment - Tribal governments, local governments, and state agencies will be directly involved in the design and implementation of baseline scoping/assessment. Existing data will be compiled into a "watershed story" so that all entities of government can set priorities with the same knowledge.
Formal Plan - Ecology will be a direct participant (represented by the team leader) on comprehensive management groups established pursuant to proposed HB 2514. Ecology's work will be carried out in direct concert with local plans.
Informal - Where comprehensive management plans are not being prepared, Ecology will coordinate implementation to the extent practicable and provide assistance to organize local watershed groups.
The WMA Team will coordinate priority activities with those of other state and federal agencies working on issues related to the objectives.
Coordination of efforts and on-going communication with state and federal agencies is vital to accomplish the stated objectives.
The coordination and communication should be built on the extensive work completed by the Joint Cabinet. The Joint Cabinet, being a cross-agency team, is key to this endeavor.
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