A Commitment to the Potomac River Watershed

A Commitment to the Potomac River Watershed
Implementing Executive Order #13061 for the Potomac American Heritage River Initiative 7/2/99 Revised 9:35 a.m.

DRAFT FOR REVIEW ONLY


The Potomac River watershed, extending nearly 15,000 square miles in four states and the District of Columbia, is a shining example of the nation's richly diverse natural, cultural and historical resources.
Friends of the Potomac, representing a broad coalition of diverse interests united in support of the Potomac, helps communities throughout the watershed in their efforts to conserve natural resources and create
new business opportunities while retaining their distinctive local character and traditions.

Friends of the Potomac is implementing an ambitious plan to assist watershed groups and localities efforts to pursue government and private sector assistance for their locally-led initiatives promoting natural resource conservation, economic revitalization, historic and cultural preservation, and environmental protection opportunities along the "Nation's River."

These activities are being assisted by the American Heritage Rivers initiative, established by President Clinton in 1997 through Executive Order No. 13061. The AHR initiative is intended to support communities
in their efforts to restore and protect America's rivers within existing laws and regulations, by providing them with better access to information, tools and resources, and by encouraging private funding of local efforts deserving special recognition.

The primary goal of the Potomac American Heritage River initiative is to facilitate and support community-led initiatives that will:

* Protect and restore water quality and living resources
* Promote enjoyment of natural, recreational and heritage assets
* Encourage more citizen involvement in community decision-making, and
* Foster sustainable economic development.

Friends of the Potomac is working with local governments, States, Federal agencies, the District of Columbia, the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, the Chesapeake Bay Program, private organizations, business and individuals within the watershed. Members of this coalition have endorsed the following objectives:

* Restore living resources and historic Potomac fisheries
* Reduce acid mine drainage in the upper Potomac basin
* Reduce nutrient runoff from agricultural and poultry-processing land uses
* Achieve the Chesapeake Bay Program's year 2000 nutrient reduction goal
* Develop more effective flood-loss reduction plans
* Promote appreciation and development of heritage and recreational assets
* Encourage community revitalization through heritage development
* Increase opportunities to learn about the Potomac Basin's natural features, history and culture.


POTOMAC RIVER CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION

In recognition and appreciation of the many valuable activities underway, and of the tens of thousands of hours of volunteer service already devoted by the Friends and by its partners, thirteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate from the Potomac River
watershed united on July 30 as a Potomac River Congressional Caucus to:

Celebrate July 30, 1999, as "Potomac River Day" in recognition and celebration of the many special qualities of the Potomac basin, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the river's values and assets;

Offer their continued help and assistance in partnership with the Friends and their local, state and Federal partners as they implement "Potomac Leadership Training" to help local leaders increase their capability to conserve, protect, restore and revitalize their communities;

Urge citizens, private organizations, and government agencies to participate in a Potomac River watershed forum in the year 2000 to share information about the condition of the watershed and explore ways to improve public and private support for local conservation, restoration, revitalization, protection and education initiatives.


FRIENDS OF THE POTOMAC

Friends of the Potomac has agreed to serve as the lead community organization for the Potomac American Heritage River initiative and have committed to fulfilling this effort through the following activities:

Commitment 1 Recognize Local Success

* Friends of the Potomac has committed to an Annual Awards Program to recognize individuals, organizations, businesses and governmental entities whose activities have been most beneficial to improving the quality of life for citizens in the Potomac watershed. Exemplary efforts illustrating how local projects have used existing Federal programs to help communities achieve local, and agency objectives simultaneously, were made on July 30, 1999.


Commitment 2 Improve the Delivery of Services to Communities

Friends of the Potomac agreed to assist Federal agencies subject to this Executive order to improve the delivery of their services and programs to local governments and community leaders. The Friends will work with Federal agencies to provide referrals to make program information, such as the Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program or the Office of Surface Mining’s Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative, available at workshops to publicize relevant agency activities.


Commitment 3: Private Sector Partnerships

Friends of the Potomac will convene a discussion round table to seek private support, from both the corporate and foundation sectors, for community and watershed-wide projects and activities. The Administration has agreed to participate in the roundtable and follow-up discussions.


FEDERAL AGENCIES

Federal agencies implementing Executive Order No.13061, have agreed to provide the following assistance to the Potomac American Heritage River initiative:

Commitment 4 Sponsoring Agency and River Navigator

* The National Park Service-National Capitol Region agrees to serve as the “Sponsoring Federal Agency” for the Potomac American Heritage River and cooperate with the Friends of the Potomac to develop strategies for achieving the goals of the Potomac initiative and identify Federal agencies and existing Federal programs that might contribute to the goals of the effort.

* The Environmental Protection Agency-Office of Water agrees to support the action plan for the Potomac American Heritage River through the active participation in the programs and projects of the Friends of the Potomac and their recognized member organizations. The Environmental Protection Agency, with the assistance of the National Park Service, will support a “River Navigator” to help implement the community’s vision and provide a single contact/ liaison for all federal resources.


Commitment 5 Public Land Stewardship

* The National Park Service commits to have its Park and Program Managers lead the Potomac AHR effort by example. Park Managers will strive to be exemplary of what it means to be a land steward within the Potomac basin. The National Park Service will help to organize a series of “Potomac Public Land Stewardship Forums” to demonstrate Federal agency leadership and local cooperation in land conservation and restoration within the Potomac basin. The effort will begin in the fall of 1999 within the Anacostia River Watershed with a summit co-sponsored by the “Anacostia Watershed Coalition”. Other watershed forums, with communities, and Federal or State agencies, will be held based on local interest and support.

* The Friends of the Potomac and National Park Service Park and Program Managers in the Potomac River Watershed, with assistance from Partners in Parks, are committed to working together to identify how the Friends can assist NPS managers accomplish their goals while NPS provides assistance to local communities. Initial discussions with NPS Potomac River Watershed Park Managers and are scheduled for mid-September 1999.

Friends of the Potomac, Council on Environmental
Quality and the Chesapeake Bay Program Office of the Environmental Protection Agency-Region III have agreed to help the Chesapeake Bay Program develop a mechanism to implement wet weather pollution prevention [stormwater] on Federal facilities in the Anacostia and Rock Creek watersheds and transfer these technologies to other appropriate Federal facilities and other urban areas.

This collaboration, which began in June 1999, will identify: 1) existing successful Federal agency stormwater management efforts; 2) innovative stormwater management and Combined Sewer Overflow management technologies; and 3) Federal agency management efforts and needs. The EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office has agreed to convene additional meetings and a field trip to advance this effort.


Commitment 6 Leadership in the Potomac

* The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Conservation Training Center, the Accokeek Foundation, and the Friends of the Potomac have agreed to develop and initiate the “Leadership Potomac Training Program". “Leadership Potomac” is conceived as an ongoing program to inform, inspire, and motivate a growing leadership cadre in the region who know one another and share a broad knowledge of the Potomac River watershed and the critical issues it faces in the 21st century.

Beginning in the fall of 2000, an annual “class” of 50 individuals from throughout the Potomac basin will meet together for a series of four two-day meetings. The training will focus on understanding the people and living resources of the watershed; community leadership development; and public-private partnerships.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-NCTC and The Conservation Fund will provide technical assistance to develop this effort. The National Park Service will provide financial assistance to the Friends of the Potomac to help develop the training program.

* The Friends of the Potomac, working with the National Conservation Training Center, will develop and initiate a variety of technical training courses for local leaders, including: 1) local land trusts, in cooperation with the Potomac Conservancy; 2) riparian area establishment, conservation, and maintenance by local governments and private landowners in cooperation with the USDA-Forest Service and the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service, The Conservation Fund and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 3) community-based watershed conservation efforts in cooperation with the Canaan Valley Institute; 4) stormwater management planning and retro-fitting in cooperation with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service; and 5) habitat restoration in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Service.


Commitment 7 Community Partner Workshops

* Friends of the Potomac, in cooperation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Park Service, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA-Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Corps of Engineers, EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office, and the Office of Surface Mining have agreed to partner with local organizations, State agencies and private groups on a series of “Potomac Community Partner Workshops”. This effort, will be in cooperation with the Interstate Commission for the Potomac River Basin and will target certain sub-regions or small watersheds for one or two-day workshops.

The Workshops will include community leaders and federal agencies and be designed to: 1) identify community projects and needs; 2) identify agency programs and priorities; 3) define program eligibility and assist with application and/ or enrollment; and 4) encourage collaboration.

The Workshops will respond to local initiatives throughout the Potomac Basin and be designed to help match existing programs with local initiatives. Workshop areas under consideration include the Cumberland, MD region, Southern Maryland, Shenandoah Valley and northern Virginia.


Commitment 8 Regional Heritage Tourism Initiative

The Potomac Heritage Partnership, working with the
Friends of the Potomac and the National Park Service, is continuing to assess the level of interest, among key public and private heritage tourism agencies and organizations, for a regional approach to heritage tourism in the watershed.

The effort will: 1) hold a meeting of heritage tourism representatives in September 1999 to organize the initiative; 2) conduct workshops and focus groups to test the validity of the importance of heritage tourism to local and regional conservation and economic efforts; 3) develop a plan to address these needs, including a basin-wide conference in the year 2000; and 4) identify possible public and private funding sources to support local and regional activities.

The National Park Service will work with
the International Network to Freedom Association to complete the “African American Heritage River Link” to recognize and create a communication network among those historical sites, places, and events located within the Potomac River watershed, which are directly related to the African American experience.

NPS will work with the Association to: 1) create and distribute a publication that recognizes significant African American sites, communities, festivals, events and recreational heritage; 2) work with area chambers of commerce and tourism networks to identify existing tourism products which target African American history along the Potomac; and 3) incorporate study of the Potomac watershed into existing Association education programming.


Commitment 9 Congress for the Potomac

* Friends of the Potomac, the Potomac Heritage Partnership, the Northern Virginia Planning District Commission, the Interstate Commission for the Potomac River Basin, and other government agencies and private organizations, will convene a “Congress for the Potomac” in 2000. The purpose of the forum is to: 1) provide stakeholders in the watershed with a platform to discuss needs and concerns and to assess progress; 2) communicate with the general public and 3) develop a coordinated agenda to address the needs of the communities in the Potomac River basin.

The Congress for the Potomac will be used to agree on ways to measure Potomac watershed health, local success and community sustainability, and develop an Action Agenda for future years.

EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office, the National Park Service, and the USDA-Forest Service have agreed to provide financial assistance to the Friends of the Potomac for planning, publicity and implementation of the “Congress”.


Commitment 10 Water Quality and Living Resource Restoration

Friends of the Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay
Program’s Federal Agencies Committee have agreed to enter into a partnership agreement to support directed application of technical and funding resources to implement projects which support both the Potomac American Heritage River and the Chesapeake Bay Program’s goals.

The agreement, which is to be approved in September 1999, is intended to provide agency support and assistance for the implementation of the action plan for the Potomac American Heritage River.

* The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has committed to establishing an agreement with the Maryland Department of Agriculture to work cooperatively with landowners and communities to restore habitat within the Potomac River watershed. The Service will detail a person to work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service State District Conservation Office in Frederick, Maryland.

* The State of Maryland’s Department of the Environment, Bureau of Mines, in cooperation of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Office of Surface Mining, Environmental Protection Agency, the Interstate Commission for the Potomac River Basin, and others will hold a North Branch of the Potomac River Symposium in Frostburg, Maryland in October 1999 to discuss water quality and living resource restoration efforts. The restoration effort, termed by symposium organizers as a “Renaissance in the Headwaters of Our Nation’s River”, will bring Congressional, Federal, State and local leaders, environmental organizations, university researchers and coal companies together to discuss ways to further reduce acid mine drainage in the upper Potomac basin.

* The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in response to a request by Senator Byrd and local government officials, will provide a technical evaluation of a facility plan and feasibility study for an integrated waste management facility for the Town of Franklin in Pendleton County, West Virginia. The plan and study proposes a way for local governments to manage and dispose of poultry and municipal wastes. The evaluation will include input from the State of West Virginia, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the poultry industry.


Commitment 11 Environmental Education and Outreach

* The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service will assist the Friends of the Potomac, State Soil and Water Conservation Districts and local partners conduct outdoor classroom educational seminar training for youth on environmental issues and stewardship. Adults will be targeted through the use of exhibits and informational brochure distribution at public events, forums and on-site field day visits to view implementation of best management practices.


Commitment 12 Annual Report on Progress

* The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Friends of the Potomac and the participating Federal agencies, will prepare an Annual Report on progress in the implementation of this agreement. The first report will be available to Potomac River watershed stakeholders available beginning July 30, 2000.


For Additional Information:

Karen Zachary, Friends of the Potomac, PO Box 10209,
Arlington, VA 22201-22210 Phone (703)522-8783; Fax (703)522-1043. E-mail: potomaca@erols.com

J. Glenn Eugster, National Park Service-National Capital Region, 1100 Ohio Drive, SW Washington, DC 20242 Phone (202) 619-7492; Fax (202) 401-0017. E-mail: glenn_eugster@nps.gov