Watershed Management Framework

    Moving the clean water program to a watershed approach will require a cooperative, intergovernmental effort and a high degree of involvement and support of the public and the private sector. Engaging the full range of public and private interests in the transition to the watershed approach will require the development of an institutional framework to support watershed management. This Action Plan recommends an institutional framework to support watershed restoration and protection efforts, including a new National Watershed Forum, federal program coordinators, and reinvention opportunities.

Stakeholder Involvement is Key "The Watershed management approach enables all stakeholders to cooperate and participate with government...As more emphasis is placed on developing and implementing watershed action plans and total maximum daily loads, there will be a growing need to coordinate the efforts of responsible agencies and document stakeholder agreements such as pollution reduction goals, pollutant load allocations, management solutions, funding options, and implementation schedules." -- Clean Water for Texas: Solving Water Quality Problems, August 1997

National Watershed Forum

A National Watershed Forum will be convened to provide a coordinating mechanism for the development of watershed assessment, restoration, and protection efforts. The Forum will include a total of about 20 members, including representatives of:

• federal agencies;
• state agencies;
• tribal governments;
• local governments;
• other stakeholder organizations; and
• watershed partnerships and citizens.

KEY ACTION: The Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, and Defense, and the Administrator of EPA, in cooperation with states and tribes, will convene a National Watershed Forum to coordinate watershed assessment, restoration, and protection.

Program Coordinators

Federal agencies are committed to improving access to information on programs and assistance available to achieve clean water goals. One step toward improving the local focus of clean water programs is to provide staff or resources to assist state and local watershed efforts, by serving as federal program coordinator.

Federal program coordinators will be familiar with conditions in the watershed and will help state, tribal, and local officials, and others get access to information about the watershed and federal water quality programs and services that apply to the watershed. In some watersheds, additional personnel from other interested agencies may work with the federal program coordinator. Federal program coordinators may be employed by one of several federal agencies. If the watershed is coastal, for example, NOAA might provide the coordinator. In areas with predominantly federally owned or managed land, the appropriate land management agency might provide the coordinator. Agencies will consult to ensure that responsibilities are evenly spread among their staff, possibly rotating every few years.

The direct involvement of citizens in identifying problems and devising solutions is key to the success of watershed strategies. Local, non-federal watershed coordinators can provide a focal point for engaging citizens and building commitment to watershed restoration and protection strategies. These local coordinators may work for conservation districts, resource conservation and development councils, local watershed councils, or other nongovernmental organizations.

KEY ACTION: By July 1999, federal agencies will use Watershed Assistance Grants or other appropriate means to support local watershed coordinators and will identify agency staff who can help coordinate federal programs for watershed restoration and protection.

Reinvention Opportunities

Although many federal and state agencies have already undertaken activities to provide nonregulatory incentives and streamline program operations to facilitate watershed management, much work remains.

To spur more innovative programmatic changes, federal agencies will review program operations to identify strategies and frameworks to: increase collaboration; eliminate inconsistencies; provide incentives for voluntary, nonregulatory actions; make permitting programs more flexible, efficient, and predictable; and, most important, ensure environmental improvements. For example, the use of trading in watersheds was a key element of the President's 1995 initiative for reinventing environmental protection. Such approaches --with appropriate safeguards to ensure compliance --can be used to achieve higher water quality in watersheds at lower cost.

Federal agencies will work together with states, tribes, and the National Watershed Forum to incorporate an assessment of federal reinvention opportunities into the report on watershed health submitted to the President, the nation's governors, and the public at the end of the year 2000. This process will also provide an opportunity for federal agencies to coordinate goals developed for the Governmental Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and to focus programs to better attain these goals.

KEY ACTION: Federal agencies will prepare an analysis and implementation plan (with milestones and measures) detailing opportunities (including staff training) to orient federal programs and regulatory processes on a watershed basis and make these programs more collaborative and innovative.

KEY ACTION: Federal agencies will coordinate Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals related to watershed management, and identify opportunities for pooling resources, combining budgets, and reporting accomplishments.