Legislative Oversight

Legislative Oversight

The House Bay Trust Study Commission

Presented by Sandra T. Whitehouse, Ph.D

R.I. ConstitutionArticle 1, Section 17

… It shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide for the conservation of the air, land, water, plant, animal, mineral and other natural resources of the state, and to adopt all means necessary and proper by law to protect the natural environment of the people of the state by providing adequate resource planning for the control and regulation of the use of the natural resources of the state and for the preservation, regeneration and restoration of the natural environment of the state.

Source: Narragansett Bay Estuary Program website

How have we done?

Planning for the use of Rhode Island’s bays and their watersheds

Environmental management:preservation and restoration

Sustainable economic development

240 planning initiatives past 150 years

The past twenty years of planning for Narragansett Bay

• 1985-1992 The Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP)

• 2000-2003 The Bay Summit and the Partnership for Narragansett Bay (The HUD/Chafee grant)

• 2003 The Governor’s Narragansett Bay and Watershed Planning Commission

Process for successful planning and implementation efforts:

Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound

1) Assessment of problems 2) Make recommendations, set goals and priorities3) Develop a plan with strategies to achieve goals4) Implementation of plan: annual work plans, annual

and long-term budgets5) Evaluation of progress toward goals:monitoring6) Oversight: accountability

Fiscal Performance : performance assessment reports

History of the CCMP

1) 1985-1991 Scientific Assessment of the bay

2) 1987 Goal setting

3) 1992 CCMP completed (20 year plan)

4) 1992 Implementation committee established

$11 million dollars

CCMP issues

• Nutrient reduction• Habitat restoration: salt marshes,

eelgrass beds• Living resources: finfish, shellfish• Economic development: commercial,

recreational• Toxic pollutants• Health risk to consumers of seafood

What happened with the CCMP?

Successes: nutrient reduction

No discharge zone/marina pump out facilities

Greenwich Bay Initiative

Providence combined sewer overflow project

What happened with the CCMP?

Failures:

Plan deficienciesManagement of living resourcesPublic participationDredged material management planBay governance

Implementation of plan500 recommendations

Monitoring programGuide for agency decision making

History of the CCMP cont.

1985-1991 Scientific Assessment of the bay

1987 Goal setting

1992 CCMP completed (20 year plan)

1992 Implementation committee established

1997 The last Implementation committee meeting held

Why did this happen?

Problems with the plan

Inadequate oversight

Bay Planning process

CCMP

Assess Set goals Plan Implement 1/2

Monitor

Oversight

Bay Summit 2000

• Nutrient reduction• Habitat restoration: salt marshes, eelgrass beds• Economic development: commercial,

recreational and research/technology• Dredged material management plan• Long term monitoring plan• Marine Transportation• Land use and transportation• Urban revitalization• Information management• Coordination

The Partnership for Narragansett Bay: The HUD/Chafee Project

2001-2003• Review planning history

• Review economic assessments

• Develop vision/set goals

• Monitoring plan

Goals

• Economic development that conserves our soul

• Restoring fish and shellfish• Public Access• Protecting the landscape (forests,

waterfronts and villages)• Stewardship and community engagement

Monitoring

• Shoreline buffers

• Water temperature, salinity, pH, nitrogen, phosphorous, oxygen, flow and circulation

• Fish, shellfish, benthos

Bay Planning processBay Summit/PNB

Assess

Set goals

Plan

Implement

Monitor

Oversight

The Governor’s Commission 2003-2006

Develop a plan for the bay• Nutrient reduction (2010, removal from

WWTFs)• Habitat restoration (2008, 100 acres wetlands)• Economic development • Dredged material management plan (2005)• Stormwater management plan (2005)• Monitoring program (2004)

Same issues defined as problems

• Nutrient reduction

• Habitat restoration

• Economic development

• Dredged material management

• Monitoring program

Long Term Monitoring

• 1992 CCMP not implemented

• Bay Summit recommendation

• PNB: Ten indicators defined

• Governor’s Commission: develop an Interinstitutional Monitoring Council by executive order

Where are we today?

• Same issues• Same people• No workable plan• Shifting and unclear goals/policies/priorities• Lack of multi-year funding strategy • Inadequate monitoring• Inadequate coordination

Bay Planning Process

Ches.

Bay

Puget

Sound

CCMP Bay Summit/PNB

Gov Comm.

Assess √ √ √ √ √

Set goals √ √ √ √ √

Plan √ √ √ ?

Implement √ √ √ 1/2 ?

Monitor √ √ ?

Oversight √ √ ?

Legislative Oversight in other Bays

• Creation of a structure for unified approach and continuity over time that coordinates the work of bay planning

• Setting goals• Annual work plans and associated budgets

required to be submitted to legislative environment and fiscal committees

• Annual performance assessments

How to ensure a successful planning process this time for Rhode Islands bays and watersheds?

• Creation of a structure for a coordinated approach and continuity over time

• Legislative oversight– Setting overall goals for the management of natural

resources– Fiscal accountability: Is money appropriated being

properly and efficiently spent in relation to those goals, missions and purposes

– Performance accountability: Are statutory and/or regulatory goals, missions and purposes being met?

Summary of Responsibilities

• Executive Branch

– Plan development

– Implementation

• Legislature

– Goal setting

– Oversight

Legislative Oversight

Documents

Transcript of Legislative Oversight