Below is a communication between the Chambers/Clover Creek Watershed Council, Pierce County Surface Water Management and the Washington Department of Ecology regarding a grant that was not attained. But somewhere in the middle, this paragraph caught the attention of the Post:

“On the brighter side, thanks to the great visionary thinking of 29th District Rep David Sawyer, the Legislature is considering funding a lakes management plan for Spanaway Lake.  This is great news to all concerned about lakes health in Pierce County, and Spanaway Lake in particular.  Keep your fingers crossed that it stays in the state’s capital budget.  If it does, Surface Water Management will be briefing the Chambers/Clover Watershed Council about moving forward.”

Here are the rest of the emails:

From: “Chris Schutz” <CSCHUTZ@CO.PIERCE.WA.US>
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:48:07 -0800
Subject: NEP Watershed Grant Notification – Pierce County
 Please forward this message to the CCWC. Thank you.
 
Dear Chambers/Clover Watershed Council:
 
Below is the response Pierce County Surface Water Management received earlier this week in regard to our grant application for a Chambers-Clover Watershed Model Development – Phase 1 grant. These are National Estuary Program (NEP) grants administered by the Department of Ecology.
 
The response is bad news at best. 
 
Pierce County has a long history of implementing watershed management in the Chambers/Clover Watershed, leading the Chambers/Clover Watershed Action Plan efforts and supporting water supply planning in the basin.  We completed our surface water basin plan for the Watershed which was adopted by the County Council.  We continue to provide staff and financial support to the Chambers/Clover Watershed Council and have conducted numerous restoration and retrofit projects and watershed conferences on low impact development in the basin.  We advocate for the Watershed through the Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda, Ecosystem Coordination Board and the Alliance for a Healthy South Sound.
 
However, while one branch of DOE is requiring Pierce County to do watershed scale modeling in the Clover Creek Basin through our NPDES Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit, another branch of DOE is developing a “prescriptive” Total Maximum Daily Load for the Basin.  Yet, it seems DOE doesn’t think it’s a priority to fund watershed scale modeling and plan development in the Watershed for the jurisdiction that can be in a position to do something about watershed health there.
 
In all fairness, there were limited grant funds available (under $2M).  Yet, the incongruity of this decision making is discouraging. 
 
On the brighter side, thanks to the great visionary thinking of 29th District Rep David Sawyer, the Legislature is considering funding a lakes management plan for Spanaway Lake.  This is great news to all concerned about lakes health in Pierce County, and Spanaway Lake in particular.  Keep your fingers crossed that it stays in the state’s capital budget.  If it does, Surface Water Management will be briefing the Chambers/Clover Watershed Council about moving forward.
 
As I have said time and again, it continues to fall to us who work and live here to double our efforts to make positive change.  I thank you for your willingness to continue to do so in the face of uneven state priority-making.
 
Dan D. Wrye
Water Quality Manager
Pierce County SWM
253/798-4672
dwrye@co.pierce.wa.us
Ecosystem Coordination Board
 
From: Toby Rickman
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 4:15 PM
To: Harold Smelt; Dan Wrye
Subject: FW: NEP Watershed Grant Results Notification – Pierce County
 
From: Harper, Kim (ECY) [mailto:KHAR461@ecy.wa.gov]
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 4:12 PM
To: Toby Rickman; John Collins
Subject: NEP Watershed Grant Results Notification – Pierce County
 
Applicant:  Pierce County
Application Title:  Chambers-Clover Watershed Model Development – Phase 1
 
Dear Mr. Rickman and Mr. Collins,
Thank you for responding to our grant solicitation for the NEP Watershed Protection & Restoration Program: Improving Watershed Management.  This grant solicitation, published in October 2012, was co-sponsored by the Washington Departments of Commerce and Ecology with funds provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 
 
After careful consideration, we did not select your proposal for a grant award.  We funded a total of 10 projects out of 24 applications that were submitted.  Unfortunately, your proposal was not ranked among the top ten.
 
Our evaluation team was comprised of 6 people from the Departments of Ecology, Commerce, and Fish & Wildlife, Puget Sound Partnership and EPA. If you would like information on the scores and comments your proposal received, please email me and request the information.  If you would like to talk about the evaluation, then please email me to schedule a phone debriefing. 
 
We would like to express our gratitude to you for the effort that County staff put into the proposal.  We recognize that this involved a significant amount of work.
 
Thank you again for your interest in improving management of Puget Sound watersheds.
 
Sincerely,
 
Kim Harper
WA Department of Ecology
Project Lead – NEP Watershed Protection & Restoration Grant
425-649-4451
Khar461@ecy.wa.gov