New EIS for County Flood Plain

The Final Environmental Impact Statement for Pierce County's proposed Rivers Flood Hazard Management Plan was released today. The statement evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the management plan, as well as two alternative approaches.

The flood plan will guide the management of flooding and channel migration hazards on major rivers, large tributaries and associated floodplains over the next 20 years. It is a comprehensive approach to reducing damages from major river flooding and channel migration, protecting public safety and improving fish habitat.

"The Final Environmental Impact Statement outlines the impacts and benefits of the plan and its alternatives on the earth, water, plants and animals, natural resources, land and shoreline use, transportation, and public service and utilities, among others," said Harold Smelt, manager of the Pierce County Public Works and Utilities Surface Water Management division.

The final version incorporates comments and new information the county received from the public and stakeholders during the review process.

The proposed Flood Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement will be brought before the Pierce County Council's Economic Infrastructure and Development Committee at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 25. Committee meetings are televised on Pierce County TV, which can be found at www.piercecountytv.org.

A hearing before the full County Council will be scheduled based on a recommendation from the committee.

Background

In 1992, Pierce County adopted the Puyallup River Comprehensive Flood Control Management Plan for the Puyallup, Carbon and White rivers. The proposed Flood Plan will replace the 1992 plan and expand its scope to include the Nisqually, Greenwater, and Mashel rivers and South Prairie Creek.

In December 2009, a committee was formed to advise Pierce County on technical and policy issues related to the proposed Flood Plan. The committee included 26 representatives from federal, state, local and tribal government, business, agricultural, and environmental organizations, flood prone communities, and other interested parties. In addition, 14 public meetings were held between March 2010 and February 2012.

Scientific studies were completed to provide a better understanding of Pierce County river systems. In addition, an in-depth analysis of the potential economic impacts of major flooding in Pierce County was completed.

Documents available

The Final Environmental Impact Statement and proposed Flood Plan are available in a variety of formats. Please visit www.piercecountywa.org/floodplan for a list of available formats and to view related information.

Chamber Supports Transit, Not Prop 1

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s Board of Directors voted to oppose Pierce Transit Proposition 1, up for voters in the November 6, 2012 general election.

“The Chamber has long supported transit in Pierce County—even supplying the headquarters for the establishment of Pierce Transit decades ago.  Unfortunately, the proposed sales tax levels are simply unacceptable.  As the Chamber continues to welcome businesses and jobs to the area, we need to stay competitive with the communities around us,” said Tom Pierson, Chamber President & CEO.

pdf of the Resolution

The Chamber believes in and supports maintaining transit operations. That the proposed tax levels would push sales taxes for Pierce County to the highest in the state is critical information that influenced many board members. Currently Tacoma and Pierce County sales tax are tied with Seattle, King County and other cities like Kirkland and Redmond for the highest sales tax rates before the proposed increase.

“Having the highest sales tax rate in the state is not a distinction Tacoma-Pierce County would want to be known for, “ Pierson said. “Being a community that preserves a reasonably business-and-economy friendly atmosphere is the sort of favorable distinction we should strive for instead."

2Q Tacoma Council Scorecard

You are likely one of the hundreds that took a look at our first ever elected official scorecard.  As you know that only covered issues brought up in the first quarter of 2012.

Now that the second quarter has wrapped up, we are pleased to present an updated scorecard.  The issues this quarter revolved around streamlining regulations and planning for future growth.  We were pleased to see the Council work together to open more doors for more businesses.

To ensure that past voting history is not lost, the scorecard has been expanded to include votes from not only the past quarter, but also the beginning of the year.  For a full page version of the scorecard and commentary, please download it from the Chamber website here:

http://cloud.chambermaster.com/userfiles/UserFiles/chambers/1361/File/q2TCCScorecard.pdf

PNTR for Russia Progresses

Last week, Russia approved legislation ratifying the country's accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The measure making Russia the 156th WTO member will become law within 30 days.

Meanwhile, The Hill reported:  “The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved a Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) measure combined with a repeal of Jackson-Vanik last Wednesday. During the past several weeks, business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable have ramped up their push for passage of a trade bill before lawmakers leave town for the summer break.”

"This is a huge message to the House and is the momentum burst the business community has been hoping for," Christopher Wenk, senior director of international policy at the U. S. Chamber, told The Hill. "This is the one issue in Washington with bipartisan support in the House and the Senate that can be signed by the President; there's no other issue out there. This is a fantastic outcome."

The Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee announced (7/20) they are cosponsoring legislation to terminate Jackson-Vanik status for Russia and Moldova, allowing Permanent Normal Trade Relations to be granted.

Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, said, “While this legislation removes Russia from the Jackson-Vanik amendment, . . . (t)he underlying bill promotes rule of law in Russia and addresses significant enforcement concerns, particularly on the protection of intellectual property rights and Russia’s compliance with WTO obligations. (P)assage of this legislation will mean growth for American industry and workers by taking advantage of reduction in barriers to U.S. exports from the beginning. . . I remain particularly concerned about Russian international engagement and the ongoing violence in Syria.”

Bruce Josten, the U.S. Chamber's executive vice president for Government Affairs, said "The United States gives up nothing - not a single tariff - in approving PNTR." And John Murphy, the Chamber's vice president for International Affairs, said in a Free Enterprise blog post last Tuesday: "Momentum is building . . . With Russia's accession to the WTO set for August, we can't afford to wait."

Take Opportunity with KOR-US

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First Pierce County Flood Control Zone District Meeting

The first Board of Supervisors meeting for the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District will take place tomorrow, July 11, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will address the district’s operating rules, the naming of board officers, procedures for establishing meetings, the approval of the purchase of liability insurance, indemnification matters, the appointment of an agent to receive claims for damages against the district, public records procedures, and the adoption of the annual budget.

The Flood Control Zone District was created by the Pierce County Council on April 3, 2012 to address the county’s flood control needs. Flood control is important in Pierce County as many of the river levees do not meet federal flood standards and are in need of maintenance and repairs. While our homes and businesses may or may not be at risk of flood damage, major flooding could seriously inhibit our ability to travel. Protecting Pierce County’s transportation infrastructure from flooding will help keep roadways and businesses open and operating without delays.

The Flood Control Zone District has a 2012 budget of $300,000 and will begin working on the 2013 budget this fall.

The meeting will be held at

930 Tacoma Avenue South-

Room 1045 Tacoma, WA 98402.

More information regarding the Flood Control Zone District may be accessed here: www.piercecountywa.org/fczd

City Surveys Community on Budget Priorities

In case you missed it, the Tacoma City Council is trying to fill an expected gap of ~$60M over the 2013-14 biennium.  While there are still plenty of opportunities to attend a community budget meeting where you can hear from the City and share your thoughts, the City has also put together a number of electronic options to provide your input.  Be forewarned that it can be a little overwhelming, especially since there is only limited detail available on many of the options listed.

The first survey ranks various services provided by the City in order of importance.  It takes about two minutes and consists of essentially one question.  It can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/City_of_Tacoma_City_Services_Questionnaire_2012

The second survey asks for suggestions on how to cut expenses or increase revenues.  It is a short three box form for those with ideas.  It can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B22HH9M

The final survey asks about the dollars and cents of the budget.  It requires a total of 15% be cut from the general fund budget while allocating dollars to various departments.  After this distribution, the survey goes department by department asking about which programs to increase or reduce funding to.  The survey also includes some background information on how the money is being spent.  It is more of a 15-20 minute survey and can be found here: http://www.cityoftacoma.org/citizensratingofservices

For more on the budget details, you can view the City Manager's presentation from the budget meeting discussion here: http://cms.cityoftacoma.org/CRO/COMPLETERatingResultsJune19StudySession_06_19_2012.pdf (3.8M file)

We encourage you to get involved in the discussion now.  If you'd rather comment in person, we've posted a list of times and locations of the community meetings here.