WRIA 9 (Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed)



WRIA 9 (Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed)

Steering Committee

Draft Summary for April 12, 2007

ATTENDEES

Steering Committee:

|Name |Affiliation |

|Councilmember Dow Constantine (Co-Chair) |King County |

|Councilmember Bill Peloza (Co-Chair) |City of Auburn |

|Al Barrie |Trout Unlimited/Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group |

|Noel Gilbrough |US Army Corps of Engineers |

|Paul Hickey |Tacoma Public Utilities |

|Steve Hirshey |WA Department of Ecology |

|Susie Kalhorn |Vashon-Maury Island Community Council |

|Kirk Lakey |WA Department of Fish and Wildlife |

|Mayor Joan McGilton |City of Burien |

|Councilmember Deborah Ranniger |City of Kent |

|James Rasmussen |Green/Duwamish Watershed Alliance |

|Councilmember Dennis Robertson |City of Tukwila |

Other Attendees:

|Name |Affiliation |

|Councilmember Rose Clark |City of Burien |

|BJ Cummings |Duwamish River Cleanup |

|Julie Hall |City of Seattle |

|Mike Mactutis |City of Kent |

|Pat Sumption |Green/Duwamish Watershed & Friends of Green River |

|Karen Bergeron |WRIA 9 Habitat Project Coordinator |

|Dennis Clark |WRIA 9 Public Outreach Coordinator |

|Linda Grob |WRIA 9 Administrative Assistant |

|Doug Osterman |WRIA 9 Watershed Coordinator |

|Gordon Thomson |WRIA 9 Plan Manager |

I. Welcome and Introductions

Bill Peloza, Co-Chair, opened the meeting and invited attendees to introduce themselves.

II. Public Comment

Doug Osterman, Watershed Coordinator, discussed the letter that was sent to Mayor Greg Nickels, City of Seattle, regarding wetlands mitigation at the Joint Training Facility (JTF), as well as the letter Mayor Nickels wrote in response. Doug explained that one of the outcomes of this complex situation is that Seattle will be training its employees on procedural review and internal coordination of the City’s capital project proposals. He said we suggested they include information in the training on the relevant provisions of the Salmon Habitat Plan, and Karen Bergeron, Habitat Project Coordinator, and Dennis Clark, Public Outreach Coordinator, are already working on items to include in Seattle’s training documents. Doug commented that this is a positive outcome for our WRIA with one of its most complex cities.

James Rasmussen reminded the committee that he brought up the JTF at the last meeting, and he said it warms his heart to see that action was taken. The other side of the issue is the cities and the county are approving regulations that they don’t follow, and it is very hard to get information from them. We finally got some information from Seattle, which is rectifying the situation. He said many groups (Green/Duwamish Alliance, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, etc.) have been doing this work longer than the WRIA has been in action, and it has been a long slow battle. We have the Salmon Habitat Plan finished, and now the work really starts. Holding government agencies responsible is what we as groups will continue to do.

BJ Cummings from the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition reported that after Seattle built on the wetlands in error, the late John Beal called them on it, and contacted the Army Corps of Engineers. John had spent 30 years working on Hamm Creek with lots of volunteers, and he died while working on the JTF issue. The settlement does a good job, but wetland habitat functions will not be replaced under negotiation, and the city was asked to provide more than off-site mitigation. The Seattle City Council agreed with us, but Mayor Nickels didn’t want to pursue it. Now he has asked facilities to at least look at our recommendations. James Rasmussen reiterated that trading one habitat for another is not a good option, because it is not worth eliminating something to get it. BJ said we are arranging for a site visit, but we were forced to sue to get city documents disclosed.

Noel Gilbrough explained that when John Beal was doing a planting with Colonel Debra Lewis of the Corps in 2004, he brought up the fill, and she acted on it. He said we need to generate stewardship, because if we don’t we’ve lost the battle.

Dennis Clark announced that Earth Day is Saturday, April 21. The Duwamish Alive event that day will include nine events in the Duwamish and Longfellow Creek.

Dow Constantine reported that Vashon/Maury Island interests are locked in a battle to the death with state legislators over the proposed gravel mine expansion on Maury Island. The Legislature is considering Senate Bill 6011, which places a two-year moratorium on the gravel mine. He said if any of you care about our Salmon Habitat Plan and our shoreline please consider supporting this bill. Joan McGilton commented that the Suburban Cities Association was opposed to the bill, and when she asked why she was told they were getting pressure from roads people because of the cheap gravel produced by the gravel mine.

III. Approval of Summary

|The Committee unanimously approved the summary for the January 25, 2007 meeting. |

IV. Updates

Salmon Recovery Funding Board Round 8:

Karen Bergeron announced that the draft Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) guidelines for this round come out tomorrow. A project is ineligible if it doesn’t fit the guidelines, so we will have to be careful when we send projects to the SRFB. For this year they also are encouraging phasing projects. She explained that we want a draft list of projects by the July 12 Steering Committee meeting, so we are moving the dates up for pre-proposals. We will be soliciting volunteers for the Project Committee at the next Implementation Technical Committee. Final SRFB applications are due to WRIA 9 on August 13, and the final decision will be made by SRFB in December.

Legislature and WRIA 9 and Regional Salmon Recovery Council:

Doug Osterman reported that the state agreed to an allocation of $18 million for projects over the next two years. The federal appropriation for the Pacific Salmon Fund is back up to $90 million thanks to Senator Patty Murray, but Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska are fighting for bigger chunks of the fund. Our piece will be $30-$40 million per year, but the Tribal and Forest and Fish allocations will also come out of that amount. Doug said it is anticipated there will be roughly $26 million each year for the next two years, which means about $35 million for SRFB to distribute. SRFB then divvies it up; Puget Sound’s share will be about 35%. The Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council (PSSRC) has a proposal for how to allocate funds that differs from previous years. Shared Strategy’s recent allocation, which was approved by PSSRC, is 3.5% which is at least 50% less than in the past. Doug commented that being really targeted with our project proposals is important, and the days of submitting seven projects for $7 million and receiving $1.8 million are over. We have to get the right price tag and be ready to go, and he asked that people please let Karen Bergeron know that over next two weeks.

Discussion:

▪ Joan McGilton questioned how doing portions of projects fits in with this new strategy. Doug Osterman responded that it fits really well. For example, if $300,000 is about the amount you would need for design and feasibility, ask for that instead of the whole project amount.

▪ Al Barrie asked what will happen when we have designed projects sitting on the shelf, and then want to shift money to other projects. Doug Osterman explained that he thinks SRFB will want to see applications to carry out the next phase of the projects, so we want to make sure we don’t have twenty design projects in a given grant cycle.

▪ Dennis Robertson asked where site acquisitions come in. Doug Osterman replied that acquisition projects can be staged, too. For the Beaconsfield on the Sound project the first phase was a landowner willingness survey, and the next step was technical feasibility.

▪ Doug Osterman reported that at a meeting of lead entities in Yakima, Tim Smith of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that the legislature is currently including about $12 million in the proposed Estuary and Salmon Recovery Fund (ESRP). $5 million of the projects are currently “earmarks” in the state budget. WRIA 9 has two of the earmarks, about $2.2 million for the Seahurst Park seawall phase II project in Burien and the Duwamish Gardens estuary project in Tukwila.

Updated 3-Year Habitat Work Schedule:

Gordon Thomson, Plan Manager, reported that the 3-Year Habitat Work Schedule was originally put together at the request of Shared Strategy so they could demonstrate to the state and Washington D.C. that WRIA 9 has projects ready to go within three years. He said we were asked to update the list this year. The Pier 90 project was taken off the list because it is not happening within three years. Two projects were added: Ellisport Creek pocket estuary on Vashon Island, and City Light South on the Duwamish River (the mitigation project connected with the Joint Training Facility (described above under public comment). Gordon explained that we updated the year columns on the work schedule to show 2007 as year two. Harvest and hatchery integration projects will also be added to the three-year priority list.

Discussion:

▪ Doug Osterman commented that we submitted three projects from the three-year priority list, North Winds Weir, Duwamish Gardens, and Fenster/ Pautzke Levee, as the WRIA 9 projects to include in the Governor’s $100 million capital budget request to the legislature. The Governor, however, did not ask for $100 million—more in the $40 million range for “accelerated salmon habitat project implementation”.

▪ Noel Gilbrough remarked that at one time the goal was supposed to be $100 million from the state and $100 million from the federal government. He asked how much is coming from the federal government. Doug Osterman responded that we are not getting the anticipated amounts from either the federal or state governments (the projected funding amounts of the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan).

▪ Susie Kalhorn reported that the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust is a primary implementer of projects on the islands. She said it might behoove us to ax several of the Vashon acquisition projects in the plan and add restoration projects. She commented that we are always reacting to deadlines, and she asked if there is a way we can be more proactive. She requested 30-days notice to work on the 3-Year Work Schedule, instead of a week. Gordon Thomson explained that a constraint this year was the Shared Strategy deadlines that were set without conferring with watersheds. Dennis Clark explained that 30-days notice is doable, and that he would sit down with Linda Grob and Lori Larkin, Vashon/Maury Island Basin Steward, to figure out a better way of working with the Vashon/Maury Island groups.

▪ Al Barrie inquired how the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan and the Puget Sound Partnership fit in with Shared Strategy. Doug Osterman replied that the legislature is, as part of the creation of the Partnership organization, merging Shared Strategy with the Puget Sound Action Team. The merged organization will consist of five committees under an Executive Director, and will be the super agency for Puget Sound. With this merger happening, questions are arising about how to keep moving forward with salmon recovery project implementation without getting “lost” in the new organization. Al Barrie remarked that the way the Puget Sound Partnership is lining up there are some competing interests involved with deep pockets that aren’t good for fish.

▪ Dennis Robertson called $300,000 to $500,000 from the SRFB for projects “peanuts”. He said we may need to come up with a new strategy for how we can actually accomplish things, and find another way to play the game. He said we don’t want to play politics for $300,000. Al Barrie said that amount is an insult. Doug Osterman explained that we brought up those same points to Shared Strategy and the state, and got very little attention.

▪ Noel Gilbrough reported that we are trying to get the Ecosystem Restoration Project (ERP) set up for $4-$6 million a year, but we need the match. He said the $300,000 to $500,000 is not even enough to meet local matching requirements of the ERP.

▪ Bill Peloza proposed writing a letter to SRFB to put ourselves on record. Dennis Robertson suggested we need more than just a letter.

▪ Joan McGilton remarked that one of the things she finds frustrating is we listed the projects and dollar amounts, but we didn’t know where the money would come from, and Shared Strategy assured us they would find the money. Now all of a sudden we have the new Puget Sound Partnership and new groups with elected officials. We know what it’s going to cost, we know the budget, but we don’t know where the funds will come from. Doug Osterman commented that we probably need to look at the funding strategy in our Habitat Plan, and update it now that funding options have changed. This WRIA has more than chipped in and done its part.

▪ Dennis Robertson suggested the Steering Committee meet every two months instead of quarterly, using the extra meetings to talk about money. Joan McGilton said we need to find the right vocabulary that’s not salmon-centric.

▪ Doug Osterman explained that the Forum/Management Committee wants to work on the funding issue, and the Steering Committee could have an ad hoc funding committee in conjunction with them. He noted that no one is leaving WRIA 9 off the hook for the wild population on the Green.

▪ Kirk Lakey noted that KCD funding is $1.2 million compared to $300,000 by SRFB. He said we should use SRFB as the match for other projects, and not the other way around. Dennis Clark said the total KCD budget this year is about $1.2 million, and the bulk of the WRIA 9/KCD funds are going to support projects.

▪ Doug Osterman remarked that in a letter to SRFB we could point out that because of recent funding decisions our ability to do projects is diminished, but we are still expected to implement the Habitat Plan. Our funding has gone down yearly since the plan was approved.

▪ Bill Peloza noted that a funding plan developed by an ad hoc committee would need to be brought to the Management Committee for review.

▪ James Rasmussen suggested we go after the money we want to get, and then spend less of it on projects. Instead we could fund people to work on grants, and on things like training veterans.

|Dennis Robertson volunteered to spearhead a Funding Ad Hoc Committee to develop a funding plan. Other members of the ad hoc committee |

|include Noel Gilbrough, Joan McGilton, Susie Kalhorn, James Rasmussen, and Al Barrie. Doug Osterman volunteered as the staff contact. |

V. Discussion of Proposed Re-Allocation of Existing Lower Green River Acquisition SRFB Grant to Kent

Dennis Clark reported that in 2003 a Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) grant of $975,000 was awarded to the City of Kent for Lower Green River Acquisitions. At the time, Kent proposed the purchase of the 34-acre Rosso Nursery property. The property subsequently changed ownership and its cost increased dramatically. This has made it impossible to purchase the desired property. He said that Kent is in the last year of the five-year grant agreement with SRFB, and Kent does not spend the money this year, it will have to return it to SRFB. WRIA 9 staff sent a letter to Kent on the need to act, and we are now asking for reallocation of the funds to purchase nearby properties that will provide the same benefits.

Mike Mactutis, City of Kent, explained that Kent worked with the new owner of the Rosso property (Teufel Nursery) last year in a final effort to make the project succeed. In the end, however, we couldn’t work out the conditions they wanted. Consequently, Kent has identified other, nearby projects that would provide similar benefits. Like the original proposal, these projects would be acquisitions. In a later phase, they would be restored. All of the alternative projects are along the Green River except for one (Matelich) that is next to Teufel Nursery on a tributary stream. The Lotto property is first on the list, due to the willingness of the landowner (the owners were already negotiating to sell), followed by acquisition of the Flowers and Desimone properties. Dennis also listed a sixth property, Duwamish Gardens, which would only be included only if money was left over from the other, high-priority acquisitions funded through this grant.

Dennis Clark noted that WRIA 9 staff have met with the County’s River and Floodplain Unit staff to determine which properties would be eligible for funding for subsequent restoration phases through the new County-wide flood district. (Many habitat restoration projects increase floodwater conveyance/storage capacity and thus meet dual needs of flood protection and fish.) Kent and WRIA staff also are in contact with Mike Ramsey, the SRFB manager of the grant, and Shared Strategy supports the reallocation for these properties.

Bill Peloza remarked that the Management Committee recommended this re-allocation at its January 21 meeting. Noel Gilbrough announced that the lower portion of Mill Creek and Riverview Park will be constructed in the next two years, and they fit in well with this proposed re-allocation.

|The Steering Committee unanimously approved the proposed change of scope to the Lower Green River Acquisition (Rosso) project so that funds|

|can be spent in order on the following nearby, related projects: |

|Acquisition of Lotto property |

|Acquisition of Flowers property |

|Acquisition of Desimone property |

|Removal/cleanup of buildings on Desimone property |

|Acquisition of Koch property |

|Acquisition of a portion of Matelich property. |

VI. Plan Implementation Update and H Integration

Implementation Technical Committee:

Gordon Thomson reported that two meetings of the Implementation Technical Committee (ITC) were held, and Kirsten Holsman of People for Puget Sound, has joined as a new member. The most positive occurrence is the participation of the Muckleshoot Tribe, as well as Kirk Lakey of WADFW and Paul Hickey of Tacoma Public Utilities, so for the first time all of the “H’s” are represented. Gordon explained that the next meeting is May 3, when the ITC will be working on a ten-item list, including preparing a baseline monitoring report, and pursuing an analysis of the AHA calculator. Shared Strategy has asked all watersheds by the end of year to address six H-integration questions, which the ITC will begin working on.

Gordon announced that we have received a grant from Department of Ecology to work on water coordination issues, such as the supply of water for fish. He said we are just starting to get our feet wet.

Paul Hickey asked if there is anything written on that yet. Gordon replied that he can provide what was written in the grant, but we haven’t identified specific issues yet. Gordon agreed to send copies of the grant to Paul Hickey, Susie Kalhorn, and Pat Sumption, of Friends of the Green River.

Steve Hirshey (WADOE) clarified that the $50,000 grant is for water quantity for instream flows.

Steelhead Listing:

Gordon announced that the steelhead listing is due in a couple of weeks. Several options are possible, including take no action, list under chum, and include under specific regulations. He said that because our Habitat Plan is an ecosystem-based plan it will address a lot of that.

Discussion:

▪ Noel Gilbrough remarked that this makes us look like geniuses for have an ecosystem-based plan, but the bad news is the steelhead are always there, meaning there is no fish window.

▪ Al Barrie asked if the listing will be for both spring-run steelhead and fall steelhead. Kirk Lakey responded that he thought it would be both. He said we have destroyed habitat in streams for steelhead rearing, and we only have foraging bull trout, not spawning. Where you have both they are year round.

▪ Doug Osterman mentioned that Chris Drivdahl of the Governor’s Puget Sound Initiative is trying to put something together for steelhead.

▪ Kirk Lakey said steelhead weren’t listed on March 9 because there are so many questions. If we continue down our current path a coho listing is coming.

Plan Amendment Process:

Gordon reported that projects need to be in the Habitat Plan to be included on our 3-Year List. He said we are trying to figure out the plan amendment process for adding projects, and need to put together the list of projects that you want included now. He will bring a preliminary list of new projects back to the Steering Committee in July for review and for approval at the September meeting.

Susie Kalhorn asked what written format should be used for the new projects. Dennis Clark recommended using a format as close as possible to Chapter 7 in the Plan.

Noel Gilbrough explained that the Ecosystem Restoration Project people are putting together their own 5-year plan.

VII. Public Comment

Steve Hirschey announced that King County and the Cascade Water Alliance have contributed a $5 million grant to work on a county-wide water supply plan. The grant will fund five committees, including ones on climate change, stream ranking, and re-claimed water. The Source Exchange Committee will work with water suppliers to retire wells to help flows in another place. Three big utilities have also funded a $3 million update to look at water supply. Steve will send links to information on the new grants to Dennis Clark.

Susie Kalhorn requested that any Steering Committee members with the ability would please remind our state legislators about concerns with Senate Bill 6011 and the Glacier gravel dock on Maury Island.

Dow Constantine announced that he and fellow King County Councilmember Julia Patterson are holding an open meeting in the City of SeaTac. He requested that people come to the meeting to educate the two councilmembers and King County about want you want done.

VIII. Wrap Up/Next Steps

Doug Osterman said he is will be working on helping the ad hoc funding committee get established and writing a letter to SRFB (with a “cc” to the governor). He explained that we will be getting project focused within the next two months, and will work to match projects with funding sources.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. The next Steering Committee meeting is July 12, 2007.

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