FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS
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Department: |
Contact Person/Phone: |
DOF Analyst/Phone: |
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Seattle City Light |
Celia Grether (386-4588) |
Thomas Dunlap (386-9120) |
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Legislation Title:
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A RESOLUTION approving the proposed budget of the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission for fiscal year 2006. |
· Summary of the Legislation: This Resolution describes the planned use of the Endowment Fund between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008. Similar Resolutions are presented to the Council on an annual basis.
· Background: SEEC' s budget is supported by an Endowment Fund funded by Seattle City Light and BC Hydro during the period 1985-88, as a result of the 1984 High Ross Treaty. The Treaty requires Seattle City Light to supplement the fund by an annual, inflation-adjusted payment based on a fixed amount of power purchase.
In 2006-2007 the payment was $109,128.89. A Briefing Paper regarding SEEC’s 2007 budget (Attachment 1) and 2006 Annual Report (Attachment 2) are attached to this fiscal note for informational purposes.
· Please check one of the following:
___X_ This legislation does not have any financial implications.
Attachment 1: Briefing Paper for Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission 2006 Budget
Attachment 2: 2005 Annual Report: Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission
BRIEFING PAPER
SKAGIT ENVIRONMENTAL ENDOWMENT COMMISSION
2007 BUDGET
· The Commission was established by treaty between the United States and Canada as part of the settlement of the High Ross Dam controversy in 1984.
· As part of the treaty, an endowment fund was created to protect the wilderness and wildlife values, and to enhance recreational opportunities in the upper Skagit watershed above Ross Dam.
· Half the members are appointed by the Mayor of Seattle; the other half by the Premier of British Columbia.
· The Treaty stipulates that Seattle and British Columbia contribute to an endowment fund that the Commission administers. This was accomplished in 1985. The endowment is used to fund activities that meet the terms of the Treaty as laid out in its Appendix D.
· The endowment fund is not part of Seattle’s annual budget but approval of the budget by the Seattle City Council and the British Columbia Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations is required. The fiscal year for SEEC begins April 1.
· In January 2007, the Commissioners affirmed their intent to continue funding their partnership agreements through March 31 2008 at the level shown on the attached table.
· The Commissioners allocated approximately $90,000 to continue support for cross- border projects relating to Native Char, High-level Archaeology and Grizzly Bear Education and Outreach, which were funded in 2006.
· The Commission carried forward a set-aside from the 2006-7 Budget of $1,000,000 in contingent appropriation authority to move unprotected areas of the Upper Skagit Watershed in British Columbia into protected status. They have allocated up to $102,000 to support mining and water quality studies in this area. Appendix D of the Treaty states "that the Fund shall have as its purposes…to acquire mineral or timber rights consistent with conservation and recreational purposes".
2006 ANNUAL REPORT
Skagit Environment Endowment Commission
Framing for Interpretive Shelter
at International Point
ANNUAL
REPORT
Calendar Year 2006
INTRODUCTION
This Annual Report summarizes the activities of the Commission during the calendar year 2006. It is prepared in fulfillment of the provisions as per Article II of Appendix D of the British Columbia–Seattle Agreement (March 30, 1984) regarding the High Ross Dam.
Background
The Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission (SEEC) was established in 1984 as a result of the Ross Lake/Seven Mile Reservoir Treaty between Canada and the United States. Within the Treaty, British Columbia and the City of Seattle established the Skagit Environmental Endowment Fund to be administered by the Commission. Seattle and British Columbia contributed US $1 million and US $250,000 respectively to the Fund for the first four years after its creation. Both Seattle City Light and BC Hydro make ongoing annual supplemental payments to the fund, with the supplements based on annual power purchases. The current value of the fund is US $8.46 million with the principal held in separate US and Canadian investment portfolios in Canada. The Endowment Fund resides and is managed completely outside of the consolidated revenue of both the BC Provincial and Seattle City governments.
The primary purpose of the Fund is to: (A) conserve and protect wilderness and wildlife habitat and; (B) to enhance recreational opportunities in the Skagit Valley. Expenditures of the Fund are limited to projects located in or related to the Skagit River drainage upstream of the Ross Dam in both Washington State and British Columbia. The intent of the Agreement is that the majority of the expenditures from the Fund averaged over an extended period be made in Canada. Details of the Fund are outlined in Appendix D of the Treaty (page 38) dated 1984. Annual expenditure levels are set within established guidelines, including the investment income of the fund.
The Commission created to manage the Fund is authorized to consist of eight members, four of whom are appointed by the Mayor of Seattle and four of whom are appointed by the Premier of British Columbia. Both countries also have four alternate Commissioner appointments for a total of sixteen individuals that serve the Commission. By Treaty, SEEC is a non-profit, tax-exempt entity.
COMMISSIONERS for 2006 (see Appendix A)
As of December 2006, Canada had a full roster of Commissioners and Alternate Commissioners. The United States has a vacancy for one Alternate Commissioner which it is taking steps to fill.
2006 ACTIVITIES
Highlights for the year:
In the first quarter of 2006, SEEC convened a workshop titled “Protecting an International Watershed: the Upper Skagit” at Semiahmoo in Washington State. Land management agencies and conservation non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) in the U.S.A. and Canada were invited to attend to discuss ways of bringing key, unprotected areas within the Watershed into protected status. Over 5,800 hectares lie outside the boundaries of parks and protected areas and the area around Silverdaisy and 26 Mile Creek contains timber and mining tenures. The second goal of the workshop was to identify ecosystem management areas of concern on both sides of the border. Attendees included Conservation Northwest, the Western Wilderness Committee the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the B.C. Ministry of Forests.
As a result of the workshop, SEEC decided:
- To embark on a multi-year program to acquire mineral claims in the Skagit drainage. The Commission has contracted with a mining consultant who has developed a settlement plan for mining rights in the Canadian Skagit River Valley.
- To fund projects that support Grizzly Bear Recovery, High Altitude Archaeology and studies of Native Char. Contracts have been drawn up with consultants to provide these services.
SEEC held a meeting at the NCELC in June. A part of this meeting was to discuss a program of educational outreach which would develop interpretative capacity in the Canadian portion of the Watershed The North Cascades Institute is currently implementing this program in British Columbia. SEEC also sponsored community workshops in Chilliwack and Abbotsford related to the National Park Services 2009 Park Plan and attended similar meetings in Bellingham, Concrete, Mount Vernon and Seattle.
Partnerships: 2006 funds were also used in support of partnerships with the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), the North Cascades Institute (NCI) and the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment (MOE). NCI funds were used to support their Mountain School and their Upper Skagit Education and Outreach Initiative. The NPS funded the International Hozomeen Skagit Interpretive Program and a series of projects designed to restore habitat and curb the growth of invasive species. The NPS also constructed an Interpretive Shelter at International Point. MOE projects included the Canadian portion of the Hozomeen Interpretive Program, rare plants and rare invertebrate inventories and a cultural burn project in Chittenden Meadows.
As in prior years, SEEC supported the Student Conservation Association's (SCA) campsite and trail renovation program in the Upper Skagit. SCA staff and volunteers worked under the supervision of the NPS and MOE on various sites around Ross Lake.
Plan for the 2007/08 funding cycle
The Commission’s contingency fund of $1,000,000 to support moving unprotected areas of the Upper Skagit Watershed to protected status was not used in 2006 and will be carried forward into 2007. The Commission met again with Barry Penner, BC’s Minister of the Environment, to discuss SEEC’s interest in conserving environmental values within the unprotected portion of the Watershed. This also includes the Commission’s support for grizzly bear augmentation in British Columbia.
A table of approved expenditures for the 2007/8 funding cycle is attached. Since its inception the Commission has approved over 270 projects totaling US $6.7 million.
FINANCES
The Commission’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31st. The audited 2006 financial statements will be prepared later in 2007 and will form an additional attachment to this Annual Report. According to the 2006 financial audit, the Endowment Fund showed a balance of over US $8.46 million. The Fund is held and managed in Canada and holds investment portfolios in both US and Canadian funds.
Both Seattle City Light and BC Hydro supplement the fund annually with payments based on power purchase under the agreement. With Seattle’s payment of $109,128.89 and BC’s payment of US $43,000, a total of US $152,128.89 was added to the Fund in 2006 exclusive of inflationary adjustments.
Total expenditures of the Commission based on the budget for 2006/07 for the calendar year approximately US $433,477 of which 71% was direct disbursement for contracts and partnership allocations. Administrative costs were 8.2% while the balance reflects the compensation for Endowment Fund manager.
Seattle City Light and the B.C. Ministry of the Environment provided staff and administrative support to the Commission in 2006. Chris Tunnoch served as the Canadian staff to the Commission and Celia Grether staffed the U.S. Commission.
Attachments: Appendix A Commission Roster
Appendix B 2006/7 Projects list
Appendix C 2006 Calendar
APPENDIX A
As of 02/01/07
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NAME OF MEMBER |
TERM EXPIRES |
DATE BEGAN SERVING/ REAPPOINTED |
APPOINTING AUTHORITY |
COMMISSION FIELD; PROFESSION, RELEVANT COMMUNITY ACTIVITY |
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US MEMBERS |
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Shirley Solomon |
7-1-10 |
7-1-06 |
Mayor |
Environment: Project Director Long Live the Kings, NW Renewable Resources Ctr., Tribes & Counties. |
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Dennis Canty |
7-1-10 |
7-1-06 |
Mayor |
Business/Finance: Consulting on non-profit funding |
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Martin Loesch |
7-1-08 |
7-1-04 |
Mayor |
Land/Property mgt: Attorney for Swinomish Tribal Community |
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Tony Kilduff |
7-1-08 |
7-1-04 |
Mayor |
Government: Finance, economics. City of Seattle |
ALTERNATES |
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Vacancy |
11-1-06 |
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Mayor |
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Tom Brucker
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7-1-08 |
8-03-00 |
Mayor |
Business/Finance; North Cascades Conservation Council; Sierra Club, Wash. Environmental Council. Alt. for Tony Kilduff |
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Sono Hashisaki
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12-1-08 |
12-1-04 |
Mayor |
Environment. Natural resource assessment and ecosystem restoration. Alt for Dennis Canty |
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Alison Studley |
7-1-09 |
7-1-05 |
Mayor |
Environment: Director of Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group. Alt. For Martin Loesch |
US STAFF |
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Celia Grether |
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10-16-02 |
SCL |
United States Staff |
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CA MEMBERS |
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Lex Bennett |
8-1-07 |
8-1-03 |
BC Premier |
Business/Financial Management: Manager, Envision Financial; Economics |
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Pete Caverhill |
3-25-07 |
3-25-03 |
BC Premier |
Government: Fisheries expert |
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Ken Farquharson |
3-25-07 |
3-25-03 |
BC Premier |
Environment: Engineer, environmental advocate |
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Peter Kennedy |
1-01-08 |
01-01-04 |
BC Premier |
Land/Property Acquisition: Attorney |
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ALTERNATES |
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Terry Bodman |
12-12-07 |
12-12-03 |
BC Premier |
Environment: Retired educator/school administrator. Alternate for Ken Farquharson |
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Susan Anderson-Behn |
3-25-07 |
3-25-03 |
BC Premier |
Land/ Property Management: Land management consultant Alternate for Peter Kennedy |
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Betsy Terpsma |
3-25-07 |
3-25-03 |
BC Premier |
Government: Communications. Alternate for Pete Caverhill |
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Tracey Herron |
4-30-09 |
5-01-05 |
BC Premier |
Finance: Search and Rescue. Alternate for Lex Bennett |
B.C. STAFF |
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Chris Tunnoch |
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12-12-97 |
Minister of Environment |
Canadian Staff |
APPENDIX B
FISCAL YEAR 2007
Agency Partnerships
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TITLE
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APPROVED (US $) SEEC |
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07-P1 |
National Park Service-North Cascades Hozomeen Interpretive Communications within allocation. Balance for cross-border ecosystem management projects |
$60,000 |
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07-P2
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North Cascades Institute et al: Allocations of $40,000 for NCI’s Mountain School and $40,000 for educational programs within BC. |
$73,985
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07-P3 |
BC: Ministry of Environment: Hozomeen Interpretive Communications within allocation. Balance for cross-border ecosystem management projects |
$60,000 |
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US Total |
TOTAL PARTNERSHIPS |
$193,985 |
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Consultant Services (related to land protection) |
$21,240 |
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Mining and Water Quality Studies (including contingency funds) |
$101,954 |
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Char/Archaeology/Grizzly Bear Projects |
$90,526 |
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$213,720 |
Grant Funded Projects
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TITLE |
APPROVED (US $) SEEC |
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07-01 |
Student Conservation Association (SCA) |
$30,500 |
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Total |
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$438,205 |
* SEEC is requesting continuation of contingent appropriation authority of up to $1,000,000 to help move unprotected land in the Watershed to protected status
APPENDIX C
Fiscal Year 2007
DRAFT SEEC CALENDAR & WORKPLAN
April: Commission renews Partnership Agreements and approves proposals for the second year of transboundary ecosystem management projects and water quality projects.
May/June: Projects are assigned to Commissioners. Secretaries draw up contract documents. Water Quality and Mining Proposals in progress.
September: Commission field trip to view projects within the Watershed |
December/January: Project evaluation and budget development. Plan funding cycle for 2007/8 |
February: Secretaries send 2008 Budget Approval package to Council and BC government.
March: Seattle City Council & BC Govt. adopt budget; review Commissioners’ terms and needs for new member recruitment. SCL and BC Hydro pay inflation adjustment on annual payment on March 31 2008.
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