Finding Common Ground Maintaining Watershed Partnerships Through Long Term Planning and Political Processes Today’s O er ie
1. Introduction 2. Partnership
Christopher Anderson Scenario Watersheds Program Manager 3. Analysis and
Discussion of Challenges 4. Success Stories
Maggie Allio Rwakazina, AICP Watershed Planner
1. Watershed Planning
An Integrated Approach to Watershed Management Regulatory Drivers for Clean Water
An Integrated Approach to Watershed Management
DRINKING WATER STORMWATER SUPPLY
WASTEWATER DRINKING WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM
CUSTOMER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Clean Water Act (Amended 1972)
Goals: Fishable, Swimmable, Drinkable Waterways
Established: • Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States. • Made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. • Recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)
Goals: Protect public health by regulating the atio ’s pu li dri ki g water suppl .
Established: • Established national standards to ensure consistent quality for public drinking water. • Public notification and education of water quality and chemistry
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND National Pollution Discharge Elimination System –NPDES (1972)
Goals: 1972 Amendments to the CWA included a permitting program to protect public health and aquatic life and assure that every facility treats wastewater.
Established: • Permits setting pollution limits for dischargers • Specifies monitoring and reporting requirements for each discharger • Enforcement action for non-compliant dischargers
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND O e-Water Approa h & Sour e Water Prote tio
Clean Water Act Clean Water Act Ambient WQ Erosion and Sediment Control Standards Clean Water Act MS4 Discharges Other Flow Policy DRINKING Clean Water Act STORMWATER WATER SUPPLY CSO Policy Other Allocation Clean Water Act DRINKING Permitted Discharges WASTEWATER WATER SYSTEM TREATMENT
Safe Drinking Water Act DISTRIBUTION CUSTOMER Treated WQ Standards and SYSTEM Guidelines
Other Customer Safe Drinking Water Act Communications Corrosion Control, Pathogens
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Who Are Watershed Stakeholders?
Municipalities
Utilities Counties
Watershed
Water Users Regulators
Watershed Organizations
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND 2. Creating a Partnership
Lenapehoking River Watershed Scenario
Scenario Setting
You are all stakeholders living or working in the Lenapehoking River Watershed.
Please divide into groups and select a stakeholder profile sheet. The profiles include details on county, city, borough, business and nonprofit partners.
Please read your profile carefully and prepare answers to the questions provided. Select a speaker for your group to participate in the guided discussion.
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Discussion Questions
1. Would you be willing to contribute resources (funding, in-kind services or volunteers) to a regional watershed partnership effort? (Yes or No)
a. If yes, you are a voting member and will have a voice in drafting policy for this initiative.
b. If no, you may still attend meetings, but will not be able to vote on decision making.
2. What resources to you have to contribute to the partnership?
3. What are you looking to gain through participation?
4. What are the top three goals that you think the partnership should work towards?
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND 2. Discussion and Analysis Partnership Challenges Tools for Success Implementation Planning & Metrics
Partner Profiles
• Keystone County Conservation District • Pocono Forge Borough • City of Pennsport • Lenapehoking River Heritage Area • Youse Brewery • Le apehoki g Ka aker’s U io
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND What challenges do you foresee this and other watershed partnerships may face?
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Challenges facing watershed partnerships
Watersheds do not align with political boundaries
PA’s ho e rule harter Water Quality improvements are expensive CWA is now mostly regulated through unfunded mandates Long-term and slow progress: hard to see results Not often at the top of political or citizen priorities Diffuse and difficult to understand without expertise and experience managing water resources
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND What are the advantages of bringing together a watershed partnership?
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Mandates vs. Vision
National CSO policy MS4 Stormwater Regulations Act 167
Sense of Place Shared Problems Recreational Opportunities
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND What results do you think are necessary to keep the partnership engaged over time?
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Water Quality improvement take decades, so celebrate the small successes:
Demonstration Outreach events projects
A shared Passing and watershed enforcement of identity local ordinances
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND What are the key ingredients for a successful partnership?
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND DIAD Partnership Model
•Diversity (of Stakeholders)
+ •Interdependence (of Interests)
+ •Authentic Dialogue
Reciprocity/Relationships/Creativity/Learning = •
Innes and Booher 2010 What tools may be valuable for keeping a long-term watershed partnership engaged?
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Tools for finding common ground
• Non-governmental Wondollock and organizations Yaffee (2000) • A paid coordinator suggest several tools to promote • Joint Fact Finding collaboration: • Memorandums of Understanding
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND How do you measure success of a watershed partnership when applying for grants or other funding?
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Framework for evaluating collaborative approaches
Evaluation Approach Example Metrics
Improved Information Citizen awareness Inputs MS4 permit requirements Quality of the process Self-assessments Process Partner-derived objectives Results of the plan Adoption rate Outputs Response in press/ social media Performance Plans and policies Miles of stream restored Directly connected impervious area Outcome Environmental Indicators LBS of Sediment reduced Average daily D.O.
Based on Margerum 2011
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND 4. Successful Case Studies
Examples of collaboration in the greater Philadelphia watersheds.
Schuylkill Action Network
• Founded in 2003 to support an EPA Source Water Protection grant • Highly engaged partners, ranging from regulators, municipalities, non-profits, County Conservation Districts • All workgroups support the strategic plan through the development of their own annual work plan • Success is tracked and reported to partners on an annual basis
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Schuylkill Action Network
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Delaware Valley Early Warning System
115 intake sites 28 water suppliers 29 industrial user • Exelon, Sunoco, Valero, PP&L
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND 3. The long game
Thinking through how to maintain engagement over time Scenario – Part 2 Congratulations on 10 successful years of partnership in the Lenapehoking Watershed! Here’s the current state:
• Despite rapid development in parts of the watershed and many successful restoration projects, Water Quality in the Lenapehoking has remained the roughly the same.
• Despite your best efforts at collaboration, the number of highly engaged stakeholders has dwindled and the partnership is beginning to wonder what’s e t?
• A new Governor is in Harrisburg and the state house majority party has changed hands. This is causing uncertainty on how environmental programs will be enforced.
• A Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL) for trash may be developed for this watershed which would regulate the amount of trash in the Lenapehoking and its tributaries.
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND How do you think the partnership will have changed and what is necessary to continue to succeed?
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND Maggie Allio Rwakazina, AICP Christopher Anderson Watersheds Planner Watersheds Program Manager Trans-Pacific Engineering Corporation Public Affairs Division
[email protected] [email protected]
REFERENCES
Allio, M. (2013) Darby-Cobbs Watershed Case Study. Community and Regional Planning, Temple University
Barletta, M., Dahme, J., and Maimone, M. (2007). Lessons Learned in Multi-municipal Watershed-based Planning and Partnership Formation. Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Symposium Villanova University.
Innes, J. and Booher, D. (1999). Consensus Building and Complex Adaptive Systems: A Framework for Evaluating Collaborative Planning. APA Journal. 65(4), 412-423.
Innes, J. and Booher, D (2010). Chapter 2: How Can Theory Improve Practice? Planning With Complexity: An Introduction to Collaborative Rationality for Public Policy. New York: Routeledge.
Margerum, R. (2011). Beyond Consensus: Improving Collaboration to Solve Complex Public Problems Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
Wondollock, J. and Yaffee, S. (2000). Making Collaboration Work: Lessons from Innovation in Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: Island Press.
PHILADELPHIA WATER | FINDING COMMON GROUND