Potential Oversight Responsibility

·         Department of Ecology

·         Washington Department of Agriculture

·         Conservation Districts

·         Washington State University Cooperativeerative Extension

·         National Resource Conservation Service

Interim Milestones (IM)

Potential IM Participant(s)

Timelines

1.       The Partnership will investigate and consider the applicability of the enhanced Idaho One-Plan method of identifying BMPs (best management practices) to meet water quality goals.  The enhanced Idaho One-Plan method identifies the cost of applying best management practices for water quality improvements and the relative costs associated with higher water quality benefits.  The expense of meeting the higher water quality benefit relative to optimal BMPs could then be funded (or sponsored) by the watershed organization

·         Omit this milestone

2.       Conserve water at exempt wells in rural areas. (public outreach, financial incentives, fee-based support programs, coop extension, conservation districts.)

·         This is should be done through WMP Objective #4

·         Washington Department of Agriculture (funding)

3.       Develop policy recommendations to preserve water rights

·         (Delete this task) 

4.       The Partnership should encourage water purveyors to develop a coordinated water conservation effort that benefits all purveyors of the Chehalis Confederated Chehalis Confederated Tribes and Quinault Indian Nation Basin.  Such an effort would provide an economy of scale by pooling purveyor resources and ideas into a regional approach[i]

·         Delete this task

5.       The current management of water (irrigation) rights is difficult to manage.  The Partnership recommends a review and reasonable amendments to the current system.  This process must include active participation from the stakeholders[ii]

·         Department of Ecology

·         Conservation District

·         Chehalis Confederated Tribes and Quinault Indian Nation

·         Washington Department of Agriculture

6.       Develop and implement agricultural water conservation and irrigation efficiency efforts through regional or irrigation district infrastructure improvements[iii]

·         Conservation District

·         Cooperativeerative Extension

·         Washington Department of Agriculture

·         Chehalis Confederated Tribes and Quinault Indian Nation

7.       Develop and implement on-farm agricultural water conservation and irrigation efficiency efforts[iv]

·         Conservation Districts

·         National Resource Conservation Service

·         Washington State University Cooperative Extension

·         Washington Department of Agriculture

·         Department of Ecology

8.       Develop and implement on-farm agricultural water conservation and irrigation efficiency efforts

·          

9.       Streamline irrigation water rights review and appropriation process to get water where it is needed now[v]

·         Department of Ecology

·         Conservancy Boards

·         Chehalis Confederated Tribes and Quinault Indian Nation

10.   Designate a water efficiency coordinator position[vi]

·         Department of Ecology (Chehalis Basin Partnership)

11.   The current “use it or lose it” law is a disincentive to conserve water for agriculture. Therefore, the Partnership recommends considering a management system to allow the agricultural community to combine resources and “share” water rights to become more efficient. Partnership might also consider recommending a “water master” who could work with conservation districts or irrigators to use water efficiently and minimize impacts on stream flows[vii]

·         Department of Ecology

·         Chehalis Confederated Tribes and Quinault Indian Nation

·         Conservation District

·         Washington Department of Agriculture

·         (Coordinated at a single meeting with several topics)

12.   Recommend changes to the state’s “use it or lose it” law to allow saving water without losing water rights[viii]

·         Same groups as 11 – (coordinated at single meeting with several topics)

13.   Encourage consideration of the Trust Water Rights Program as a method to preserve water rights and allow water to go to the streams[ix]

·         Department of Ecology

·         Chehalis Confederated Tribes and Quinault Indian Nation

·         Department of Fish and Wildlife

·         Ag community

14.   Provide opportunities between the Partnership and the agricultural community to consider cooperative efforts to simultaneously support agriculture and stream flows. This could lead to a coordinated effort involving farm bureaus, conservation districts, the Washington Department of Agriculture and/or individual members of the agricultural community, including a resource for technological information[x]

·         List to the left

Resources Needed for Project:

Estimated Cost for Project:

Project Coordinator:

Permits or Approvals Needed: