WRIA 62 WMP 032305 - Washington State Department of Ecology

March, 2005 -78- 023-1289-003.3040
4.6 Background and Rationale for Economic Impact and Community Involvement Issues
The following sections provide background information for the economic impact and community
involvement issues.
4.6.1 EC-1a Background and Rationale
Problem Statement: There are insufficient resources to support implementation of all the
actions in this plan.
The Planning Unit acknowledged that there are insufficient Watershed Planning Phase IV funds to
support implementation of all the actions in the Plan. As a result, the Planning Unit agreed that it
would be important to prioritize actions for implementation and identify other potential funding
sources to support Plan implementation. Appendix K provides information on potential funding
sources that could be considered by the Implementing Body. A summary of the information is
provided on Table 4-9.
4.6.2 EC-1b Background and Rationale
Problem Statement: There is a need to identify and inform local communities about resources
to assist local communities in complying with water regulation.
Members of the Planning Unit feel that, in some cases, it does not appear that regulatory agencies
consider the cost to local communities of water regulation. Funds and technical assistance are not
made clearly available to the local community to help them to comply with new water regulations.
Concern was expressed that the cost associated with Federal, State and local water regulation is not
clear to the local community. However, Ecology and the County (as per State law) are currently
required to do a cost-benefit analysis for new regulation and these analyses are available to the public.
In addition, the Watershed Planning Unit acknowledged that many of the Best Management Practices
and specifications are written for the western Washington climate and are not always relevant to
eastern Washington. The Planning Unit felt that there was a need to educate the public on water
related laws and regulations and help them to comply with water regulation. The laws and
regulations include (but are not limited to) bank stabilization, riparian management, wetlands,
wellhead protection, critical areas ordinances and shorelines management. It will be the
responsibility of the Implementing Body to compile a list of these laws and regulations and to
develop educational materials to inform local communities. Information on potential funding sources
to assist local communities comply with regulations are included within Appendix K.
4.6.3 EC-2 Background and Rationale
Problem Statement: There is a need to ensure meaningful community input to water
regulations.
This issue has two components: the first is related to how public input is addressed and the second is
related to educating people so that they are able to be involved.
Comment was provided by some Planning Unit members that the public often feel like second rate
citizens when asked by agencies to comment. Often comments are not acknowledged and the public
feel that their comment is a waste of time and that the decision has already been made irrelevant of
their concerns.
WRIA 62 WMP 032305