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Regional Water: Recently, I attended a
meeting of the North Coast Integrated
Regional Water Management Planning
partnership (NCIRWMP.) I am serving as a
delegate to replace retired Supervisor
Bill Hoy. Former Etna Mayor, Marilyn
Seward, represents Siskiyou County on the
technical advisory and project ranking
committee. Seven counties, (Humboldt, Del
Norte, Trinity, Sonoma, Siskiyou,
Mendocino and Modoc,) participate in the
policy committee where County Supervisors
from each county sit as delegates. A
flexible framework has been established
and formalized in a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) to allow counties to
work together cooperatively on a
basin-wide scale to improve water quality
and salmonid habitat within the North
Coast region.
Although the counties have agreed to
partner in reviewing, prioritizing and
ranking projects for funding consideration
on a regional level, projects originate
and are implemented at the local community
level. The NCIRWMP is seen as the
framework for integration of state
priorities with local planning efforts.
Although NCIRWMP serves as a regional hub
for information about statewide planning
goals and objectives, local elected
officials retain local control and
jurisdiction over their General Plans and
planning functions.
NCIRWMP was formed in response to the
passage of Proposition 50 by the voters.
Prop. 50 authorized $500 million to be
used for water management projects to
improve water quality and improve local
community water infrastructure and
security. Under statewide frameworks,
required regional coordination reduced the
number of disjointed and competing
requests for funding. The North Coast
counties worked together to develop a
regional application for funding of ranked
projects.
The California Department of Water
Resources (DWR) ranked the North Coast
application as highest among all 50
competitors. Out of $125 million available
in this application round, $25 million was
awarded to the North Coast region. Projects
in Siskiyou County selected for funding
include $1.9 million for restoration of the
Shasta Water Association Dam; $878,274 for
Aruaja Dam restoration; $318,105 for the
City of Etna Water Supply. It also appears
that $327,461 may have been awarded for the
Scott River Water Trust Phase III
implementation, but this award may be
rescinded due to legal issues. (The initial
application process has also been an
absolute nightmare of bureaucracy, causing
great frustration to our local applicants.)
It is apparent that future Prop 50 funding
cycles and other bond money, such as
Proposition 84 and Proposition 1E, will be
allotted according to a similar process.
Discussion also began on the possibility
of looking at other issues such as
transportation and flood control on a
regional basis. In the sense of respecting
local control and jurisdiction, NCIRWMP
has been a workable regional coordinating
partnership which could serve as a model
for other efforts such as the Bureau of
Reclamation's CIP (Conservation
Implementation Program.) However,
state-level bureaucracies and requirements
render the process unwieldy and a
disappointment to local disadvantaged
communities that lack other resources upon
which to draw to solve water
infrastructure and water quality problems.
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