Stormwater Action Monitoring - Administering pooled resources

Pooled resources oversight committee (PRO-C)

Next committee meeting: Late Summer 2018

The PRO-C is a subgroup of the SWG that advises Ecology on contracting decisions. The PRO-C provides oversight on SAM project's scopes, schedules, and budgets. The PRO-C is comprised of local government representatives (permittees) and other stakeholders (non-permittees such as state or federal government). They have regular meetings to provide transparency and accountability in spending the funds contributed by municipal stormwater permittees in Western Washington.

• PRO-C 2016 Report Card of Ecology's administration of SAM. PRO-C finds SAM program management is meeting expectations.
• PRO-C 2017 Financial Summary to SWG.  SAM is on-track to obligate funds for the 2013-2018 permit cycle.

What is Ecology's role?

As the service provider for SAM, we aim to provide credible and transparent accountability for expenditures of permittee funds to implement SAM with oversight by the PRO-C.  In our role as the SAM service provider, we:

• Track revenue and expenditures.
• Report cash flows quarterly.
• Contract for SAM projects.
• Maintain transparency via websites.
• Attend SWG and PRO-C meetings.
• Run deliverable-based agreements for SAM projects.

Approved deliverables are authorized for payment. All SAM pooled resources from municipal stormwater permittees are held in private/local accounts. Only authorized expenditures can pull from these accounts.

SAM funding

Who is included in the cost sharing program?

In 2013, permittees notified their permit managers in writing which S8.B and S8.C permit condition option they chose. The vast majority of permittees opted to pool monitoring moneys to launch this new program, SAM. (At the time the program was called RSMP — regional stormwater monitoring program).

Non-permittees also contribute to the program:

• USGS – $20,000 analyzed nearshore sediment samples for microplastics.
• Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife – analyzed mussel tissue samples for microplastics and contaminants of emerging concern.
• Ecology – donates lead staff, meeting expenses, and technical services to ensure SAM's overall success.
• USGS – $60,000 of co-op funds to conduct enhanced flow data recording using pressure transducers at 15 small streams sites.
• USGS – $50,000 of co-op funds to conduct comparisons between small stream data and National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) data in the Puget Sound region in 2015.
• Washington State Department of Agriculture – $53,000 analyzed 75 stream sediments samples for an additional 100 pesticides.
• Penn Cove Shellfish – donated mussels for both rounds of mussel monitoring study in urban nearshore environments.
• City of Redmond – donates project management task on the Paired Basin Watershed study.

Projects costs and expected completion dates

SAM Contracted Expenditures by Project - Updated February 2018

When do each year's payments occur?

We invoice permittees in May for payments due in August of each year. Receipts are available for download from PARIS.

Where can you send your payment?

Please send your payment to the address listed on the invoice. If this document is not available, use the information on our make a payment webpage.