The Puget Sound Partnership’s Leadership Council approved a ranked list of state agency supplemental budget requests and state and federal policy priorities to advance Puget Sound restoration and protection.
“Prioritizing investments is critical to unifying our region around the highest priorities for Puget Sound and helping our leaders make the most of limited resources,” said Ron Sims, Leadership Council Vice Chair and former King County Executive.
The Partnership coordinated with the Office of Financial Management to independently prioritize and rank state agency budget proposals. The ranked list reflects the priorities in the Action Agenda, the federally approved regional plan to restore the health of Puget Sound.
“By continuing to work together as a region, we will advance Puget Sound recovery and protect its economic, environmental, and cultural assets for generations to come,” said Marc Daily, Interim Executive Director of the Puget Sound Partnership.
These priorities have been delivered to the Governor’s Office. The Governor will submit his supplemental budget request to the Legislature in the next few weeks. The policy priorities will be used to guide the Leadership Council in supporting the mutual interests of local partner organizations during the state and federal legislative sessions. The 2014 state legislative session begins Jan. 13.
2014 Puget Sound funding priorities are ranked as follows:
1. Local Government Planning Support, Department of Commerce
2. Beach Monitoring Fund Shift, Department of Ecology
3. (tie) Road Maintenance and Abandonment Planning, Department of Natural Resources
3. (tie) Culvert Injunction Requirements, Department of Fish & Wildlife
5. Managing Aquatic Invasive Species, Department of Fish & Wildlife
6. Rail-vessel Oil Spill Risk, Department of Ecology
7. CERB Urban Economic Development Loans, Department of Commerce
8. Water Pollution Control Revolving Program, Department of Ecology
9. Addressing Livestock Inputs, State Conservation Commission
10. Voluntary Stewardship Program, State Conservation Commission
11. Remedial Action Grants, Department of Ecology
12. Compliance with Product Laws, Department of Ecology
13. Clean-up Toxic Sites – Puget Sound, Department of Ecology
14. Forest, Fish & Adaptive Management, Department of Natural Resources
15. Public Works Trust Fund Preconstruction, Department of Commerce
16. Expand Cleanup Capacity, Department of Ecology
17. Implement Puget Sound District Activities, State Conservation Commission
2014 Puget Sound state and federal policy priorities
State:
· Support efforts to prevent and control sources of pollution, fix/retrofit existing infrastructure, and educate individuals to become part of the solution.
· Support efforts that advance multiple benefits, including nearshore habitat protection and restoration, fish passage, human safety, water quality, and economic prosperity. Support fish passage improvements as part of infrastructure investments, where appropriate.
· Support efforts to address and monitor the effects of ocean acidification, with an emphasis on abating impacts to shellfish restoration efforts. Support the recommendations and implementation of the Washington State Shellfish Initiative and Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification.
· Support efforts to protect and restore infrastructure funding for the Public Works Assistance Account, prioritizing projects with the greatest water quality benefit. Provide issue awareness concerning the funding gaps for the implementation of the Action Agenda.
· Support efforts to protect Model Toxics Control Account (MTCA) funds and effectively protect people and the environment from toxic chemicals, clean up contaminated toxics sites, and provide grants for stormwater projects. Provide issue awareness concerning the funding gaps for the implementation of the Action Agenda.
· Support efforts to better manage, enforce, and control terrestrial and aquatic invasive species, streamline and expand the program to allow it to work more effectively.
· Support efforts to sustain and enhance state and local oil spill readiness and response programs. Ensure oil-handling facilities, oil tankers, and large commercial vessels operating in Washington waters are appropriately equipped to respond aggressively and in coordinated fashion to any type of spill. Provide issue awareness concerning opportunities to reduce the threats from oil spills, maintain readiness to respond to spills and support for the technologies for response and restoration.
Support Product Stewardship efforts that encourage responsible disposal of items with high-level toxic or hazardous materials from entering Puget Sound and have been developed through a broad stakeholder process with law enforcement, waste management companies, product manufacturers, and local governments.
Federal:
· Focus the region on efforts that provide multiple benefits that address fish passage, human safety and economic needs by funding critical repairs and updates to aging US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) infrastructure located at the Buckley Diversion Dam, Dungeness Dike Setback, and the Chittenden (Ballard) Locks.
· Provide issue awareness to the Administration and Congress concerning the funding gaps and barriers to the implementation of the Action Agenda and the need for:
o Appropriations for ecosystem restoration that include USACE General Investigations and Authorized Restoration programs, NOAA Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund and the Protected Species accounts.
o An authority that will designate Puget Sound as a formal federal priority to fast-track restoration efforts and protection of water quality.
· Provide issue awareness concerning opportunities to reduce the threats from oil spills and maintain readiness to respond to spills and support for the technologies for response and restoration.
· Advance policy and funding efforts to monitor and address the effects of ocean acidification with a focus abating impacts to shellfish restoration efforts.
About the Partnership
The Puget Sound Partnership is the organization leading the recovery of Puget Sound. The Partnership coordinates the efforts of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists, businesses and nonprofits to set priorities, implement a regional recovery plan, and ensure accountability for results. For more information, go to www.psp.wa.gov.
