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<br />WATER RESOURCES/ORGANIZATIONS
<br />National Water PolicyllCWP Principles
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<br />The Interstate Council on Water Policy (ICWP) held
<br />its annual meeting in lillie Rock, Arkansas on
<br />September 12-15th. Governor Jim Guy Tucker
<br />welcomed ICWP, and addressed the importance of
<br />water management. Other special guest speakers
<br />included Dr. John Zirschky, Acting Assistant Secretary
<br />of the Army for Civil Works, and Marion Berry, Special
<br />Assistant to the President for Agricultural Trade and
<br />Food Assistance. Mr. Berry noted Washington D.C. is in
<br />turmoil and there appears to be a totally disconnected,
<br />piecemeal approach to problemsolving. He endorsed
<br />the more comprehensive decision making process
<br />advocated as part of the Park City Principles and
<br />ICWP's National Water Policy Principles. He repeated
<br />Governor Tuckers advice to "find those things that you
<br />can agree on, and where you can't agree, find a way to
<br />work things out." Federal bUdget problems dominate the
<br />debate on almost everything, and will through the end of
<br />the year. Natural resource issues are just not being
<br />discussed! Also, Dr. Zirschky surprised many by
<br />announcing that the Corps of Engineers would actively
<br />seek future opportunities to sell hydropower components
<br />of Corp water projects to nonfederal energy interests.
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<br />Several panels addressed various water resource
<br />management issues and innovative partnering and
<br />financing opportunities. Many water officials discussed
<br />wetlands management and mitigation, floodplain
<br />management, financing water resources infrastructure,
<br />water conservation programs, ground water
<br />management, water user fees, evironmental program
<br />financing, and irrigation development. A pre-meeting
<br />tour of the nearby Plum Bayou Irrigation Project showed
<br />how an old oxbow and existing drainage facilities and
<br />new canals are used to store and distribute Arkansas
<br />River water during shortages. Irrigation is a necessity,
<br />even though the state receives about 52 inches of rain
<br />annually. Many farmers utilize ground water during
<br />drought to irrigate rice and cotton, ieading to a significant
<br />decline in local water tables. Plum Bayou and other
<br />local projects undertaken with state and federal support
<br />will provide supplemental surface water supplies to
<br />hundreds of thousands of acres.
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<br />Building on the work of the Western Governors'
<br />Association and Western States Water Council in Park
<br />City, ICWP drafted National Water Policy Principles
<br />suggesting we: (1) manage ground and surface water
<br />as an integrated system, by hydrologic units, considering
<br />all phases of the water cycle; (2) manage water for
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<br />long-term sustainabiiity, recognizing needs both for
<br />human use and the health of aquatic ecosystems; (3)
<br />increase government effectiveness by realigning
<br />government roles and responsibilities for water
<br />management; (4) eliminate fragmentation and
<br />duplication of water management responsibilities by
<br />consolidating government water programs wherever
<br />possible; (5) recognize and include all affected interests
<br />in poiicymaking; (6) stress environmental outcomes, not
<br />the bureacratic process; (7) use economic incentives
<br />rather than regulatory requirements where feasible to
<br />achieve water management objectives; (8) recognize the
<br />value and limitations of risk-based decisionmaking;
<br />(9) expand the availability of water information to the
<br />public and the publlic's understanding of water. These
<br />principies were discussed thoroughly as part of a
<br />proposed ICWP charter. Once revised, ICWP will seek
<br />the endorsement of other organizations.
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<br />Lastly, ICWP unanimously approved the following
<br />officers: Chairman - Alfred H. Vang, South Carolina
<br />Water Resources Division; First Vice-Chairman - Ray
<br />Hart, Chief, Division of Local Assistance, California Dept.
<br />of Water Resources; SecretarylTreasurer - Randy
<br />Young, Executive Director, Arkansas Soil and Water
<br />Conservation Commission; and as Board members, Jeff
<br />Fassett, Wyoming State Engineer and Gary Sherrer,
<br />Executive Director, Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
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<br />PUBLICATIONS
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<br />The Montana Consensus Council, an evolving
<br />public-private partnership created within the Office of the
<br />Governor, has recently published, "Solving Community
<br />Problems by Consensus: A Celebration of Success
<br />Stories." The booklet highlights guiding principles to
<br />building consensus and presents four successful case
<br />studies and other emerging examples. The mission of
<br />the Montana Consensus Council is to "...promote fair,
<br />effective, and efficiant processes for building agreement
<br />on natural resource and other public policy issues
<br />important to Montanans." The publication is part of a
<br />Sustainable Communities Program designed to "improve
<br />the capacity of cummunities to adapt to social,
<br />economic, and environmental changes." Many of the
<br />case studies involve water management issues. They
<br />include the Smith River Coordinated Resoures
<br />Management Commission, the Clark Fork Basin
<br />Steering Committee, and mention the Muddy Creek
<br />Task Force and the Willow Creek Working Group. For
<br />copies or more information contact Matthew McKinney,
<br />Office of the Governor, State Capitol, Helena, Montana
<br />59620; (406) 444-2075, FAX (406) 444-5529.
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<br />The WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL is an organization of representatives appointed by the Governors
<br />of member states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon,
<br />South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming - and associate member states Alaska, Montana and Washington.
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