Exploring Regional Management

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Exploring Regional Management

• NGA Ocean Policy Conference
• September 2003

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Ocean Governance Findings

• Lacks vertical coordination among different
  levels of government
• Lacks horizontal coordination among agencies
  within the federal government
• Is based on political and jurisdictional
  boundaries and does not take into account
  comprehensive planning and implementation to
  address ecosystem needs, and performance
• Continues to be dominated by stove-pipe single
  resource management programs and
• Is disconnected from land and water governance
  structures.

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Management Silos

• Laws
• Agencies
• Programs
• Process Driven

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Regional Commission Model

• Manageable environmental problem
• Shared Resource/Shared Sense of Region
• Transboundary/Transjurisdictional Management
• Governmental expertise applied within a matrix of
  local participation initiative
• Toolbox of technical and financial assistance

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Think and Act Like a Region

• Regional Collaboration
• Involves people and organizations with
  diverse viewpoints working across political and
  jurisdictional boundaries, public and private
  sectors, and multiple disciplines to sustain
  social, economic, and environmental values of
  particular places.
• (from Lincoln Institute of Land Policy)

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Regional Governance

• No one right answer
• Customize to particular places
• Key feature is strong regional partnerships
• Public and Private Sectors
• Principles/Goals/Plans/Outcomes
• Link regional effort to established
  decision-making systems

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Management Themes and Principles

• Integrated Management
• Manage ground and surface water as an integrated
  system, by hydrologic units, including both
  quality and quantity and considering all phases
  of the water cycle. (Need to protect headwaters
  to protect the ocean/Solutions transcend
  political boundaries)
• Integrated management is crucial to improving
  outcomes.
• Improved land management is essential for
  enhanced water quality and hydrologic integrity.

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Management Themes and Principles

• Adaptive Management
• Decision frameworks should be flexible to
  accommodate innovations and adapt to new
  knowledge.
• Measure environmental performance by results and
  outcomes.
• Sound decision making must be based on the best
  available scientific understanding.

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Management Themes and Principles

• Pollution Prevention
• The most effective way to eliminate pollution is
  to prevent it from occurring.
• Markets Before Mandates
• Use economic and other incentives, where
  feasible, to achieve resource management
  objectives.
• Public-private partnerships
• Public-partnerships and enhanced cooperation are
  necessary for improved outcomes.

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Results Based Management

• Goal Setting (Objective Driven)
• Establish measurable targets for assessing
  environmental progress
• Quantify baseline (current conditions) and
  monitor trends (are conditions improving or
  worsening)
• Reporting An informed public is critical to an
  improved environmental future.

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Case Studies

• The Chesapeake Bay Program
• - Gubernatorial Executive Council Model
• The Great Lakes Commission
• - Bi-national State/Federal Compact Model
• The Delaware River Basin Commission
• - State/Federal Legislative Compact Model

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• Basin Facts
• Largest un-dammed river east of the Mississippi
  330 miles
• 13,539 square mile drainage
• 17 million water users
• Port complex, including Philadelphia, Camden
  and Wilmington, is the largest freshwater port in
  the world
• Three reaches included in National Wild and
  Scenic River System
• World class trout fishery in the tailwaters of
  the NYC reservoirs
• Tremendous economic significance for the region.

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Why the DRBC was created

• Water supply shortages and disputes over the
  apportionment of the basins waters
• Severe pollution in the Delaware River and its
  major tributaries and
• Serious flooding.

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Delaware River Basin Commission

• Signatory Parties
• State of Delaware
• State of New Jersey
• State of New York
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• United States

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General Powers

• Coordination
• Planning
• Regulation
• Management
• Development

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Functional Responsibilities

• Water Supply
• Pollution Control
• Flood Protection
• Watershed Management
• Recreation

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Responsibilities and Activities

• Conduct Studies
• Prepare and adopt plans, including Comprehensive
  Plan
• Declare droughts and impose restrictions
• Designate areas for special protection
• Regulate water quality and quantity
• Sponsor and fund water projects

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Advisory Committees

• Water Quality Committee
• Flood Committee
• Flow Management Committee
• Information Management Committee
• Monitoring Committee
• Toxics Committee
• Watershed Council

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• DRBC Water Quality Program
• Planning, Monitoring, and Assessment
• Standards and Regulations
• Basinwide Water Quality Standards
• Wasteload Allocations
• TMDLs
• Interstate Toxics Management
• Special Protection Waters Program

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Special Protection Waters
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Delaware Estuary and Delaware Bay
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FECAL IS WAY D O W N
DISSOLVED OXYGEN UP FROM 2 TO 7
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Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have fish
advisories for PCBs in the Delaware River.
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Estimated Penta PCB Load by Zonefor All Source
Categories Sept. 1, 2001 March 31, 2003
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Estimated Penta PCB Loadby Source CategorySept.
1, 2001 March 31, 2003
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Adopting the TMDLs

• An unprecedented level of coordination among
  regulators has been required.
• EPA will promulgate the TMDLs for all three
  states. Advantages include
• Simultaneous process one set of comments, one
  set of responses, one set of revisions.
• One venue for legal challenges.
• Reasonable assurances can be provided in each
  state only if the TMDL is also promulgated in the
  other two.

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TMDL ImplementationAdvisory Committee

• DRBC believes TMDLs cannot be implemented without
  active stakeholder participation.
• Will convene IAC in September 2003 and continue
  for two years. Composition
• Regulatory agencies (6)
• Industrial Dischargers (4)
• Large Municipal Dischargers (3)
• Small Municipal Dischargers (2)
• Wildlife Fishery Interests/Env. Groups (5)

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The flood warning recommendations were developed
through the DRBC Flood Advisory Committee.
Members include Delaware Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Control
New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection New York Department of
Environmental Conservation
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection New York City Department of
Environmental Protection Delaware
Emergency Management Agency New Jersey
Office of Emergency Management New
York Office of Emergency Management
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural
Resources Conservation Service U.S.
Geological Survey National Weather
Service U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
National Park Service
Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
Hydroelectric Industry Water
Resources Agency University of Delaware
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RECOMMENDED FLOOD WARNING IMPROVEMENTS
Endorsed by the DRBC Flood Advisory Committee
NOTE Depicted locations of new rain gages are
approximate.
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(No Transcript)
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On-line flood hazard assessment is a developing
tool in flood mitigation planning
Neshaminy Creek Floodplain Bucks County,
PA Source www.HazardMaps.gov FEMAs on-line
multihazard mapping center
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Governance for Sustainable Seas

• Proven regional governance concepts
• -Measurable goals and standards
• -Regional institutions capable of carrying out
  policy
• -Special protection areas
• -Permanent advisory committees
• -Need for planning, management and regulatory
  powers
• -Need for dedicated funding, investment and
  other incentives

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Governance For Sustainable Seas

• Yet to proven governance concepts
• - Regional Ocean Ecosystem Councils
• - Independent National Oceans Agency
• - Permanent Interagency Oceans Council
• (Need to invest in existing institutions and link
  to established decision making systems)

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Improving Effectiveness of Ocean/Coastal
Governance

• National Ocean Policy Act- measurable goals and
  standards
• Need to enhance governance, in partnership with
  the states and territories, to address ecosystem
  management at the regional, state and watershed
  scales
• Need to link to existing decision-making systems
  and connect land and water governance structures
  (CZMPs NEPs RBCs Fishery Commissions)
• Need to support sustained and dedicated funding,
  investment, and other incentives for state and
  local governments efforts to address priority
  coastal and ecosystem management problems.