State Department of Transportation Takes Leadership Role in Watershed Management By JAN FROEHLICH WSDOT The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has received funding from the state Legislature and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to support its new multi-faceted approach to environmental impact mitigation. The new philosophy focuses on watershed management. WSDOT has initiated several programs within a watershed context that will change the way the department mitigates impacts associated with road, ferry and rail projects. In the past, WSDOT mitigated project impacts on a case-by-case basis. This piecemeal approach often ignored top priorities and needs within watersheds and did not address the fact that an entire watershed can be affected by transportation projects. Since January 1996, the department has moved forward with a watershed initiative. Programmatic efforts have focused on policy, legislation and budgets. Snohomish Basin Pilot Project On a project level, WSDOT has initiated a Snohomish Basin Pilot Project, which is funded jointly by the department and FHWA. The new philosophy will be applied within the Snohomish watershed to evaluate its effect in a defined geographic area. Work will include close coordination with the basin's stakeholders to determine top priorities within the watershed. WSDOT mitigation funds will then be targeted toward watershed restoration and enhancement projects that have the highest priority within the basin. The watershed database will be used early in project planning to make better decisions that avoid or minimize impacts to aquatic resources. Tom Dickson, Snohomish County Council Administrator, said, "The watershed approach gives us a rare opportunity to try a new kind of mitigation that is win-win for the environment and for road building." Wetland strategic plan Another example of the new philosophy is WSDOT's wetland strategic plan for the long-term monitoring and maintenance of department owned wetlands, developed last year in response to a legislative mandate. Jerry Alb, WSDOT's Director of Environmental Services, calls this legislation a breakthrough in environmental management at the state level. "The Legislature recognized WSDOT's leadership role in environmental programming," Alb said. "For the first time, WSDOT had the lead in developing a strategic wetland plan." The 1997 Legislature appropriated $250,000 to implement the plan over the next biennium. A technical committee to oversee the work will include representatives from cities, counties, business groups, environmental groups, the Puget Sound Action Team, tribes and appropriate state and federal agencies. The list of tasks includes developing incentives for interagency participation in joint mitigation projects within watersheds. The strategic plan technical committee will coordinate its efforts with another WSDOT environmental initiative, which is to remove fish passage barriers created by road culverts. In cooperation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, WSDOT has already inventoried fish passage barriers on state routes and established priorities for removing them. In 1997-1999, the department will spend about $4 million to correct fish passage barriers. The 1997 Legislature passed a bill that requires WSDOT and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to work with state, tribal and local governments, as well as volunteer organizations, to develop a coordinated, watershed-based fish passage barrier removal program for all levels of government. Stormwater management Stormwater management is another facet of the watershed approach. The 1996 Legislature allocated $700,000 for grants to cities, towns, counties, ports, tribes and WSDOT to implement state highway-related stormwater control measures. That grant money has been awarded; however, the 1997 Legislature approved a $200,000 decision package to administer this program. Part of that money will go toward pursuing funding to replenish the grant account for future use. This program gives WSDOT and local jurisdictions a chance to show they can do an effective job of selecting mitigation projects based on need, provisions for partnership work, and whether a project has been identified in watershed-based planning efforts. One roadblock to WSDOT's ability to mitigate impacts on a watershed basis or in partnership with other organizations has been its project-based funding system. The 1997 legislature took steps toward removing that obstacle by approving a WSDOT revolving environmental mitigation account, which would enable the department to participate in watershed and/or multi- organizational mitigation opportunities that arise independent of a planned transportation project. The intent is that initial seed money for the revolving account would be replenished by funds from transportation projects that use the mitigation site(s) to meet project mitigation requirements. Because the gas tax increase was not adopted, the revolving mitigation account is currently unfunded; however, WSDOT has submitted proposals to the FHWA to provide capitalization. The FHWA is providing funding for WSDOT to develop a national demonstration project on ways to include National Environmental Policy Act requirements earlier in the project planning and decision-making process, and to ensure that those decisions are sound and will not need to be reconsidered by FHWA and resource agencies later in the process. WSDOT is also involved in the following environmental issues, which do not apply to watersheds specifically, but are likely to be components of transportation work within watersheds. The 1997 legislature added a requirement in the Capital Budget that government agencies must share information on environmental enhancement, preservation, and mitigation projects. This is a significant departure from existing practice. WSDOT was required to notify resource agencies of transportation projects, but resource agencies doing enhancement or preservation work did not have to notify or coordinate with WSDOT. This new requirement in the Capital Budget is a logical extension of the focus on state agencies working cooperatively to save money, improve environmental benefits, and increase mitigation options. A task force including representatives from WSDOT, Ecology, Natural Resources, Emergency Management, counties, the Corps of Engineers and FHWA is working to streamline the permitting process for emergency relief work necessitated by floods and other natural disasters. Each level of government has its own permit requirements for work done in water bodies. The emergency permit task force hopes to streamline the process at all government levels so that emergency work can be done more quickly while still protecting the environment. To oversee statewide compliance with new federal, state and local erosion control regulations, WSDOT hired an Erosion Control Coordinator in December 1995. Duties of this position include developing training programs, coordinating erosion control research, and developing contract specifications and procedures. A new contract specification requires that contractors on projects with the greatest potential to impact the environment have a"certified' Erosion and Spill Control Lead available. The ESC Lead becomes certified by attending one of WSDOT's Construction Site Erosion and Sediment Control courses. Classes are offered annually, around the state, during the winter months. As the state's largest engineering and construction firm, the Department of Transportation can have an impact on Washington's natural resources. By focusing on the watershed approach to mitigate many of those impacts, the department expects to make more efficient use of its mitigation dollars and provide more effective environmental protection. For information about WSDOT's watershed initiatives, call Shari Schaftlein at (360) 705-7446 or e-mail her at sschaft@wsdot.wa.gov. Jan Froehlich is a technical writer with the Washington State Dept. of Transportation.