Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance

1. Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance Alan Bogner, Regional Lead Southwest Regional Office 360-407-6957 alan.bogner@ora.wa.gov Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance

2. The Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance (ORA) • ORA was created by the Legislature in 2003 to help people navigate and understand permitting requirements. • Further strengthened by an Executive Order in 2006. • Major re-authorization 2012. • Our Mission – Assist in and Improve the Permitting Process

3. My Shellfish Projects • Mystery Bay Use Conflict • DNR Habitat Conservation Plan Development • Port Hadlock Use Conflict • Shellfish Initiative • Shellfish Interagency Permitting Team • Grays Harbor Use Conflict • Geoduck 401 Certification Strategic Planning • Ecology Aquaculture Rulemaking

4. Mystery Bay – A Case Study in User Conflicts In 2009, the DOH imposed a boating-season shellfish bed closure in Mystery Bay because of too many boats.

5. Background Mystery Bay • 78 acre bay • Over 60 mooring buoys + State Park + private docks • ~ 30 boats moored year-round • During peak season, the number of boats can exceed 70 • Many commercial shellfish harvest sites

6. Mystery Bay • NSSP says too many boats and DOH had to close the outer bay; inner bay threatened.

7. Why? • Stringent federal standards (NSSP) • Shellfish filter feed and accumulate contaminants • Usually eaten raw or lightly cooked • Boats considered pollution sources • More than 10 boats = marina (federal standards)

8. Why is this so complicated? • Competing use demands (shellfish, boating – residents and transient, locals, visitors) • Staff, time, budget constraints • Legal framework - multiple federal, tribal, state, and local oversight • Overlapping (conflicting?) agency missions and jurisdictions • No clear use hierarchy in regulations

9. Upland Property Owners • Mooring Buoy Owners • Transient Boat Owners • Growers • Other Island Residents • State Agencies (DNR, DOH, WDFW, Parks, ORA) • Local Agencies (Jefferson County DCD, Health, MRC) • Tribes, Point No Point Treaty Council, NWIFC • Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association (PCSGA)

10. Working Group strategies: • Voluntary ‘No Anchoring’ Zones • Direct boaters to State Park • Signage and Public Education • Ongoing monitoring and reporting • Remove unauthorized buoys • Exempt upland owners

11. Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) Efforts: • Helped develop written Harbor Management Plan • Installed marker buoys • Provided Informational signs & brochures • Organized and managed volunteer vessel monitoring program

12. The Washington Shellfish Initiative, in part, directs the state natural resource agencies to: • Formalize clear and efficient coordination among state and federal agencies, tribes, and local governments for permitting and licensing shellfish aquaculture through a committee called the Shellfish Interagency Permitting (SIP) Team. • Use the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance (ORA) to facilitate the SIP Team. • Develop and implement a Model Permitting Program (MPP). WA State Shellfish Initiative

14. Questions? www.ora.wa.gov 1-800-917-0043