Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance

Alan Bogner, Regional LeadSouthwest Regional Office

360-407-6957alan.bogner@ora.wa.gov

Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance

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

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

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.

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

Mystery Bay

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

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)

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

• 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)

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

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

WA State Shellfish Initiative

The Washington Shellfish Initiative, in part, directs the state natural resource agencies to:

1. 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.

2. Use the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance (ORA) to facilitate the SIP Team.

3. Develop and implement a Model Permitting Program (MPP).

www.ora.wa.gov

1-800-917-0043

Questions?