1. Public Participation and the Advisory Committee Process A Collaborative Partnership For Water Resources Toni M. Johnson, Chief Water Information Coordination Program

2. Dialog on Public Participation ●To achieve consensus or concurrence among individuals or organizations with differing interests -- Particularly if affecting public policy -- ●Important to use sound principles ! ●Principles of Public Participation are being used in many countries to develop national and global policies

3. Dialog on Public Participation ●In dealing with environmental issues  Benefit to combining citizens’ views which provide economic & social issues with Scientific and technical expertise ●Danish Model uses Citizens’ Panels or Consensus Conference  Reflects a better Balance of Powers among governments, industry, and the public

4. Dialog on Public Participation ●Use the combined input of  Science, Technology, and Policy  With a cross-section of representatives ● Results in more Realistic Outcomes  Where technical expertise alone may result in an over-simplified solution not address community resource needs

5. Benefits of an Open Participatory Process ●Produce Policy Decisions that promote public interests – the needs of many customers ●Decentralize decision power closer to user community – at the watershed or aquifer level ●Recommend collaborative solutions – to problems of access and comparability

6. Benefits of an Open Participatory Process ●Assist data users to  access and understand data & information  collected by multiple sources -- governments as well as citizens – including: members of non-profit water associations who educate their membership private industries that use or impact waters volunteers who monitor local waters

7. Federal Advisory Committee Act ●In 1972, the United States Congress enacted a Public Law -- ●The Federal Advisory Committee Act ●To ensure that advice given to Federal agencies by committees  be objective – balanced membership  be accessible to the public

8. Advisory Committee on Water Information - ACWI ●Water information users advise Federal Government  on the effectiveness of Federal water programs  to meet the nation’s water information needs ●Member organizations foster communication  with state & local govt.  with private sector

9. Advisory Goals & Objectives Improve access, sharing, and understanding of water data and information across the U.S. ●Improve Coordination among Federal water agencies ●Share Information with non-Federal entities:  Tribal, State and Interstate  Regional and Local  Universities and Educational ●Increase Collaboration with non-government organizations & the private sector ●Develop public-private partnerships

10. Advisory Committee Water Partners Maximum of 35 members: ●7 Federal Water Agencies ●10 State/County Water Associations ●1 University Consortium ●12 Non-Profit Water Associations ●5 Private Sector Associations

11. National Water Quality Monitoring Council National Liaison Committee for Water Quality Subcommittee on Hydrology Subcommittee on Spatial Water Data Advisory Committee Sub-Groups Methods and Data Comparability Board Subcommittee on Sedimentation Work Groups Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable Work Groups New Subcommittee on Ground Water Work Groups

12. National Water Quality Monitoring Council ●Provides a national forum for coordination of  consistent & defensible  methods & strategies ●To improve water quality  monitoring,  assessment.,  reporting ●Using a Framework for Monitoring Framework

13. Cooperative Research & Development Agreements ●Creates a formal partnership --  for the use &/or marketing of new technologies & knowledge transfer  optimizes scarce resources  improves Federal relationships with public and private sectors  transfer occurs in both directions

14. Creates Products ●National Environmental Methods Index  Select and compare methods  www.nemi.gov ●Water Quality Data Elements  Metadata needed for data comparability  Both Surface and Ground Water Quality  Published Guidelines for States

15. ●International Participation  Hosted 8 countries in 2006  Short course on Assessing Ground Water Vulnerability http://acwi.gov/monitoring/conference/2006/ ●Join us on the East Coast May 18-22, 2008 !

16. National Monitoring Network ●Develop a Network that  coordinates & expands existing efforts,  includes coverage in coastal waters upland watersheds ●Links to the Integrated Ocean Observing System

17. ●Nine Resource compartments ●A Continuum of Observations ● Estuaries ● Nearshore ● Offshore and EEZ ● Great Lakes ● Coastal Beaches ● Wetlands With Flow and Flux from: ● Rivers ● Atmosphere ● Groundwater Structure of the Design ● Linked data network ● Data made accessible ● Quality assurance/quality control ● Assessment of the water quality & health of coastal ecosystems

18. 80 Participants in the Network Design 40% Fed, 30% State+, 23% Academic, 7% Industry

19. Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable ●A forum to share information and perspectives ●To promote better decision making ●On more sustainable development ●Of our Nation's water resources

20. Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable ●Open Roundtables held in various regions ●Develop Indicators and Criteria for Sustainability ●Include Private Industry ●Address both Quantity and Quality ●Water and Energy Interface

21. Subcommittee on Ground Water ●To implement a ground-water Monitoring Frame-work that:  is Nationwide & long-term  includes quantity & quality ●To aid in planning, management & development of ground-water supplies to:  meet current and future water needs &  ecosystem requirements

22. Subcommittee on Ground Water Steering Committee Members ●Federal: U.S. Geological Survey ●State: Texas Dept. Environmental Quality ●Private Sector: Amer. Society of Civil Engineers ●Non-Profits for GW Professionals:  Well Drilling: National Ground Water Assoc.  Underground Injection: Ground Water Protection Council  Waste Water: Water Environment Federation

23. Subcommittee on Ground Water Ground Water Work Groups Data Standards and Data Management Monitoring Inventory Field Practices National Monitoring Design http://acwi.gov/sogw/index.html

24. Goals of Public Participation Improve access, sharing, understanding of water data and information ●Use known principles of Public Participation  http://iap2.org ●Share Information openly among governments ●Use an Advisory Committee process to  bring multiple stakeholders to the table ●Increase Collaboration with non-government organizations  Develop public-private partnerships ●Create better policy by combining  Science and Technical Knowledge  Citizen perspectives on their watersheds and aquifers

25. Let’s Make Things Better by… Water Information Coordination Program Toni M. Johnson tjohnson@usgs.gov 703-648-6810 http://water.usgs.gov/wicp