Centennial Clean Water Fund and EPA-319 grants project rankings were announced and can be viewed on Ecology’s web site at: www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/2006.

Project proposals were evaluated and scored by Ecology staff, with input from other agencies, to determine the highest priority water quality projects and to determine funding distribution from the Centennial Clean Water Fund, the federal Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Fund, and the State Revolving Fund.

Through these three funding programs, Ecology offers grants and loans to local governments, Indian tribes, and some not-for-profit organizations to help address our state’s most critical water quality problems. Legislative appropriation for the 2005-07 biennial budget will occur in the spring of 2005.

“There were only two Kitsap area grant applications this year. The Kitsap Home Builder Foundation’s Low Impact Development Standards Implementation proposal ranked 28 out of 104 applications. This is good news,” said Sally Lawrence, Department of Ecology’s Water Cleanup (TMDL) Lead for Kitsap County.

Ranking well above the proposed cutoff for activity projects, the $182,550 grant is eminently assured of funding through the EPA-319 Non-Point pollution fund administered by Ecology.

“Port of Illahee’s Surface Water Management Plan did well but was ranked 53rd, just below the proposed cutoff at project number 48. The actual funds cutoff will depend on the amount approved by the Legislature during the upcoming session,” added Lawrence.

Ecology identified 66 activity and facility projects proposed for funding for a total of $91.7 million based on Governor Locke’s 2005-07 Biennial Capital Budget and the 2005 Congressional budget.

“Because the priority list is based on Locke’s proposed budget, depending on legislative appropriation, there may be more or less Centennial funds available for activity projects,” explained Brian Howard, Coordinator for Ecology’s Water Quality Program.

“The reason water pollution control facility projects ranking lower than the Illahee project are proposed for funding is because 2/3 of the Centennial funds available are reserved for communities that can demonstrate financial hardship while just 1/3 of the funds during a cycle are reserved for activity projects.”

While the Port of Illahee ponders the outcome of the final funding decision, the KHBF has began meeting to discuss strategy with their proposed partners in anticipation of a future contract.

At the invitation of Ecology’s TMDL coordinator and the Navy, KHBF’s Art Castle will talk to a Community Advisory Committee about LID and the grant to develop LID standards at their meeting February 24 in Port Orchard. The group advises the 3 ENVVEST partners (Ecology, EPA and Navy) on public outreach for the Sinclair-Dyes Inlet Fecal Coliform TMDL.

In an initial strategy meeting, Castle and Grant-Solutions met with Tribal members Rob Purser, Fisheries Director and a partner in the proposal, and Tribal spokesperson Leonard Forsman.

“I am eager to get the leadership team together. We need to determine what techniques are viable, what is the best way. I believe in having something workable in the end and I’m really a closet pragmatist,” Castle apprised them with a smile.

“We have an obligation to balance growth to protect our resources and quality of life. I think there is a misconception that the Tribe comes in at the end of the game and plays the ‘bad cop’ when in fact we often end up with just two options, sue them or let them do it. The council members are faced with making that choice, and it is always a difficult one,” Forsman said.

“This will be implementation at a 5-government level and we’ve never ran the stakeholder project to see what it’s going to say. I think we need to do some things to get UGAs to work, too, but if you can’t make it pencil… it won’t happen,” replied Castle.

“We have many of the same issues here on the reservation. We need to provide opportunities for young people and affordable housing is a big issue. We can’t develop more and not effect the resources. You can’t provide lower prices with less houses available in a supply and demand situation. I think everyone grudgingly agrees we need more housing,” added Forsman.

“I think the biggest concern we have is protecting quality of life but the day-to-day issues are driven by the bottom line. At some point in time, we need to look at recovery and responsible growth. Home values will be affected in the future due to loss of water quality and beneficial use,” Purser said.

As the discussion turned to how the plan could be implemented and the steps that would come, Castle and the Tribal members agreed that LID offered positive things we can all do and many things they could agree on. The Tribe offers resources and even possible opportunities for model BUILT-GREEN building projects using LID and affordable housing on the reservation.

“The Casino was built to a higher stormwater standard. Even the parking garage, though an afterthought because we had to protect the stream and shorelines in lieu of more level parking spaces, became a desirable attribute to the whole project,” declared Purser, “people love it.”

“I think we’ll be looking to other countries, the east coast, and see how they resolved the issues of narrower streets and what’s ahead of us in technology. I don’t think in some cases we’ll need to reinvent the wheel,” he said.

Asked why they wanted to be involved, Purser replied, “Because we want to help. Species are going extinct at alarming rates. The youth now learn what effects other things and will develop better ideas in the future, too. My ancestors also believed we had to preserve trees and wetlands, it was cultural.”

All agreed that the next steps would not mean drastic changes, but gradual acceptance over time… and a lot of education along the way.