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Water Resources Advisory Board

BEL-WRA-2024-11-26 November 26, 2024 City Council Regular Meeting City of Bellingham 50 min
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The Bellingham Water Resources Advisory Board met to review the final draft Lake Whatcom 5-Year Work Plan (2025-2029) and consider changes to aquatic invasive species permit fees. The Lake Whatcom work plan discussion revealed significant tension between board members seeking more specific, measurable goals and staff defending the document's broad framework approach. After extensive debate about accountability metrics and transparency, the board approved the work plan by a narrow 6-3 vote, with three members voting against due to concerns about insufficient board input and readiness for adoption. The board also unanimously approved a risk-based permit fee structure for aquatic invasive species inspections that would substantially increase costs for out-of-state boats while maintaining lower fees for local watercraft. The new fee structure aims to both disincentivize high-risk boat traffic and help cover program costs as zebra and quagga mussels are detected closer to Washington waters. With the recent detection of invasive mussels in Idaho's Snake River system, staff emphasized the increasing threat to Lake Whatcom and the need for enhanced prevention measures. The Lake Whatcom work plan discussion consumed most of the meeting, with board members expressing frustration that they felt more like rubber stamps than contributing partners in the planning process. Several members argued for more specific targets, clearer progress metrics, and better communication of challenges and gaps in current programs.

**Resolution 2024-01 (Lake Whatcom 5-Year Work Plan):** PASSED 6-3 (Opposed: Rick Eggerth, Kirsten McDade, Laura Weiss). The board approved supporting City Council adoption of the Lake Whatcom Management Program 5-Year Work Plan 2025-2029. Staff recommendation was approval; board action matched the recommendation. The resolution supports the revised work plan that incorporates public comments and addresses concerns about goal structure…

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**Lake Whatcom Work Plan Framework:** Jason Porter presented extensive revisions to the 5-year work plan based on 307 public comments from 37 individuals and 6 organizations. Key changes included restructuring to 12 goals with tied objectives and metrics, adding hyperlinks to supporting documents, creating an adaptive management section, and including new metrics for property acquisition outreach. Porter emphasized the plan serves as a broad roadmap rather than a detailed implementation guide, with specific targets and phosphorus reduction estimates to be developed during implementation. Board members pressed for more specific, measurable goals following SMART goal principles, arguing that vague metrics like "number of outfalls retrofitted" provide no context for success or failure. Rick Eggerth and Laura Weiss particularly advocated for percentage-based metrics and clearer communication of program challenges to the publi…
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**Jason Porter (Storm and Surface Water Manager):** Defended the work plan's broad approach, arguing that Lake Whatcom management is inherently complex and adaptive management requires flexibility. Emphasized that staff has 15-18 years of experience and incorporates lessons learned into each 5-year planning cycle. **Rick Eggerth:** Argued the work plan lacks sufficient detail about program challenges and concerns, making it difficult for citizens to understand real issues. Voted against the work plan, stating it needs more time and doesn't provide adequate transparency about problems and gaps. **Kirsten McDade:** Supported the organizational improvements but wanted clearer progress metrics and better communication of where programs stand relative to …
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**Jason Porter, on work plan complexity:** "Lake Whatcom is one of the most challenging programs that the city, county, and water district work on, and I think a lot of that is because it is so complicated. And to get answers to the questions you're seeking literally requires years in the program." **Rick Eggerth, on transparency concerns:** "I feel like there's a reluctance to share like you, Staff know so much more than anybody else about what's going on here. Right? You guys are in deep in…
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**December 4:** Lake Whatcom Joint Policy Group meeting to review the work plan **Early 2025:** City Council, County Council, and Lake Whatcom Water & Sewer District adoption of 5-year work plan via resolution **2025 implementation:** AIS permit fee increases take effect with new risk-based structure…

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The Lake Whatcom 5-Year Work Plan gained conditional board support despite significant reservations about process and specificity. The narrow approval moves the plan forward but highlighted deep concerns about board engagement and public transparency that may influence future planning processes. A new risk-based fee structure for aquatic invasive species permits was approved, fundamentally changing how boat inspection costs are allocated. The system…
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# Weighing Risk and Readiness — Bellingham's Water Board Faces Complex Challenges ## Meeting Overview The Bellingham Water Resources Advisory Board gathered on a chilly Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving, November 26, 2024, at the Pacific Street Operations building for their monthly meeting. All nine board members were present, joining a robust crowd of city and county staff to tackle two major agenda items that would shape the future of Lake Whatcom's protection. The meeting centered on two critical decisions: whether to endorse the Lake Whatcom Management Program's ambitious five-year work plan for 2025-2029, and whether to support increased permit fees for boats using the lake as protection against aquatic invasive species. Both items reflected the ongoing challenge of balancing public access with environmental protection, fiscal responsibility with community equity, and long-term planning with adaptive management in an era of increasing environmental threats. What emerged was a detailed examination of how government operates when faced with complex technical challenges, competing values, and the need to make decisions under uncertainty. The board's deliberations revealed both the strengths and limitations of citizen advisory bodies, as well as the delicate balance between staff expertise and community input in shaping public policy. ## The Lake Whatcom Five-Year Plan Debate The evening's most substantial discussion focused on the Lake Whatcom Management Program's draft five-year work plan, a comprehensive 64-page document that represents the coordinated efforts of the City of Bellingham, Whatcom County, and the Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District. Jason Porter, the city's Storm and Surface Water Manager, led the presentation, noting his 15-18 years of involvement with Lake Whatcom issues and acknowledging the plan's evolution through extensive public input. "We had 307 comments from 37 different individuals and 6 organizations," Porter explained, describing how staff had spent the last several months working through this feedback. "This would be a really long presentation if I was to go over all those comments. So what staff did is we found common themes in these comments." The plan itself represents a significant undertaking, involving 20-30…
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### Meeting Overview The Water Resources Advisory Board met on November 26, 2024, to review the revised Lake Whatcom 5-Year Work Plan (2025-2029) and discuss proposed increases to aquatic invasive species permit fees. The board approved both items despite some concerns about the work plan's approach to goal-setting and public transparency. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Lake Whatcom Management Program:** Joint effort between City of Bellingham, Whatcom County, and Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District involving 20-30 staff members working to protect the city's primary drinking water source. **Phosphorus Reduction:** The primary water quality goal for Lake Whatcom, required under federal Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations to improve dissolved oxygen levels in the lake. **SMART Goals:** Strategic, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound objectives that some board members felt were missing from the work plan's reporting metrics. **Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS):** Non-native species like zebra and quagga mussels that threaten freshwater ecosystems. A new detection in Idaho's Mid Snake River has increased risk concerns. **Adaptive Management:** Approach allowing flexibility to adjust work plan activities based on new information, data, or changing priorities over the 5-year period. **Risk-Based Permit Structure:** Proposed fee system charging higher rates for boats from distant locations that pose greater invasive species risks. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Bret Beaupain | WRAB Chair | | Jason Porter | City Storm and Surface Water Manager | | Renee LaCroix | City staff, Lake Whatcom Management | | Michael Parelskin | City Natural Resources Field Manager | | Becky Snijder | Whatcom County…
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Environmental Parks & Recreation Government Operations City Of Bellingham Lake Whatcom Management Program Lake Whatcom Water Sewer District Sierra Club Whatcom County Benjamin Cairns Bret Beaupain Jason Porter John Peppel Kirsten Mcdade Laura Weiss Michael Parelskin Renee Lacroix Rick Eggerth Aquatic Invasive Species Budget Finance Governance Administration Lake Whatcom Watershed Recreation Water Resources