BPC Annual Meeting, December 15, 2006
Remarks by Executive Director, Ellen Joslin Johnck

I. Introduction

I have a technology question for you.
Don't worry; RATHER, I have a technology stock question for you.
What does BPC have in common with Google?
Have I got you stumped?
We have at least three things in common with Google: Accomplishment, Maturity, and Potential - I say that BPC and Google have become flywheels - A FLYWHEEL is a heavy wheel for regulating the speed and uniformity of motion of the machine to which it is attached.
It is you, the members and the Coalition's investors who are contributing to the ever-growing synergy yielding faster innovation and greater influence.
Each year creates more value. I trust you can agree that after 23 years BPC has become like a good stock.
We are fortunate to have such supportive agency partners and distinguished guests here today to celebrate our progress. Our special guests are:

• Charlie Roberts, BPC Chairman Emeritus, former Executive Director of the Port of Oakland and USACE San Francisco District Engineer
• Sylvia McLaughlin, founder, Save the Bay
• LTC Craig Kiley, District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Will Travis, Executive Director, BCDC
• BCDC Chairman, Sean Randolph and Vice Chairman, Ann Halsted
• Bruce Wolfe, Executive Officer, and Cliff Waldeck, Board member of the Regional Water Quality Control Board
• David Woodbury and Dick Butler, NOAA Fisheries
• Jack Broadbent, Executive Director, BAAQMD
  

BCDC

In early 2006, BCDC officially adopted our 19-point Permit Process Reform plan and has begun its implementation. This reform plan covers such items as 30-day letters; public access and post-permit design issues; longer time frames for dredging authorizations; programmatic review of sand mining permits; and aspects of permitting which fall under the general category of building a "culture of cooperation". Thank you Travis, Sean Randolph, Chair of BCDC and Vice Chair, Ann Halsted.

LTMS and Environmental Windows

BPC successfully won support from Congress for federal funding in FY 2005 and 2006 for our Long Term Management Strategy for Dredging and Dredged Material Disposal (LTMS) including our Environmental Windows program. With these funds, we developed an excellent scientific study framework under the leadership of Phil Lebednik of LFR, the first Chairman of the Environmental Windows Science Group. This framework is being used as the basis to provide the fishery agencies with scientific information on the impact or lack thereof of dredging on endangered species.

We have been conducting studies ranging from dredging plume model demonstrations to herring egg impact analysis. We are about to begin a three-year salmon tagging study as a member of a study team including the Corps and Calfed/UC Davis. This study should give us more information about where the fish are and how fast they travel. We are deploying monitors now and are still seeking participants. Please see me later if you are interested.

Our goal is to synthesize the results of all these studies so that they can be integrated into regulatory decisionmaking. This process will continue to be a challenge but one to which BPC is ardently committed. Thank you to NOAA for your support.


Federal energy and water development appropriations

Our annual advocacy trip to Washington, DC with C-MANC on behalf of a strong civil works budget has had positive results. However, as you know Congress adjourned last week without adopting a 2007 budget for all bills except for Defense and Homeland Security leaving a different set of House and Senate numbers. Instead Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will remain in effect until February 15, 2007.

Under the CR, funding for FY 2007 will continue until Feb. 15 at the level of the lesser of the House or Senate-passed bill for FY 2007, or the level of spending enacted for FY 2006. It appears likely that the Feb. 15 date will again be extended until the end of 2007, and no earmarks will be included in the final FY 2007 CR. For much of the Corps O&M, Bay dredging is in pretty good shape. However for the Oakland 50' channel deepening project, we will need to push hard for achieving the House level of 43,000 vs. the Senate level of 36,000. For the LTMS, there is $2.5 m in the House and 0 in the Senate. So we will have a problem there. I will be traveling to Wash DC in Jan. and March visiting our Congressional delegation to correct this situation.


Infrastructure Safety Initiative - Bond measures

We were pleased with the success of our 2006 Decisionmakers Conference which became the main event in our Infrastructure Safety Campaign. In the wake of Katrina, we decided it was essential to raise public awareness about the need to invest in public infrastructure (levees, harbors, highways, bridges, transit systems, and water and energy facilities) before disaster strikes.

We formed a task force of BPC members and worked with our allied organizations, Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum to develop recommendations on funding and also on how local, state and federal decisionmaking on funding projects should be guided by safety as paramount criteria. Thank you Veronica Sanchez.

Jim Wunderman, in his wisdom, knew that if we were going to discuss funding from the state legislature that we would need to include southern California in our discussions. The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation was soon added to our task force. The result of this local effort, which soon evolved into a huge state effort, was the infrastructure bond package of measures which were just passed by the voters in the November election. Our 2007 Decisionmakers Conference, scheduled for Thursday, April 12, will be a follow-up to the theme of infrastructure, safety and the environment. We are presently involved in recommending the spending criteria for the bonds and our Conference will feature more discussion of this process.


South Bay Restoration Project

BPC continues as an active participant in the Stakeholders Forum and Flood Management Working Group. We are providing recommendations on the alternatives in the Draft EIR for the management of the salt ponds to achieve the Project's three-pronged objectives: wetland habitat, flood management and public access. The Draft EIR is expected to be published at the end of January, and we will seek BPC member input on the alternative management actions for the 15,000 acres.


FuturePorts

As BPC's Executive Director, I am pleased to continue assisting FuturePorts, as our southern California partner. We share a mutual interest in achieving superior economic and environmental performance of our respective ports and their service providers.

We have worked together on an evaluation of the Ports of LA and LB's Clean Air Action Plan within a task force of the southern California offices of the PMSA, WSPA, and the railroads. FP is enthusiastic about the opportunity next year to host a port security conference at the invitation of USC. Elizabeth Warren, FP's Executive Director, is here today, and I hope you have a chance to meet her and hear more about FuturePorts.


Delta LTMS

Based on our experience in organizing and implementing the central Bay LTMS over the past 15 years, we were advisors to the establishment of the Delta LTMS which was officially launched a month ago. The primary goal is to support navigation and flood control through the beneficial reuse of dredged material to restore Delta levees. BPC is now assisting the Delta LTMS agencies to establish a DMMO for this program.

These two projects, FuturePorts and Delta LTMS, reflect how our strategies of collaboration and cultivating relationships can be adapted into other arenas.


Air Quality Planning Project

The Board voted just one year ago to add air quality and the emerging regulations on marine emissions to our 2006 Work Program. At that time, the State Air Resources Board (ARB) had published a state plan to reduce marine emissions to 2001 levels and described its intent to promulgate several new regulations in 2007 to achieve these reductions targeted at trucks, railroads, ships, terminals, and cargo handling equipment operators.

The ARB Plan was subsequently adopted in April, 2006. BPC supported the air quality improvement goals of the Plan, but raised several concerns: 1) the Plan’s onerous regulatory approach; 2) the need to incorporate maritime infrastructure growth into the State Plan; and 3) the importance of local alternative compliance plans.

The Board agreed that BPC should play a constructive role in this new frontier of environmental regulation by leading an initiative to develop a regional air quality plan, as an alternative compliance strategy.

We decided that we needed a strategy tailored to regional needs and conditions and one that would fulfill the dual goals of accomplishing maritime growth simultaneously with emissions reduction.

Early on we began discussions with the Port of Oakland, BAAQMD, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) about the possibilities of a regional plan. This then led to involving additional groups, the environmental justice community, through Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative (Margaret Gordon, who is with us today); the Environmental Protection Agency Region IX (EPA), California Air Resources Board (ARB), Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA), International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and several other community groups.

Progress has been made, albeit slowly, on this initiative and we are now at a critical junction in this process.

The major question has become is the planning focus to be local or regional or some combination of both? It has become apparent during the year-long discussion that the immediate need is for the Port to develop a local plan (an emissions inventory is underway and the State's Air Board has begun a health risk assessment). Yet there is need to evaluate all types of sources contributing to emissions loading outside of the port area, county and regionwide to develop a coordinated, scientifically-sound and feasible strategy.

Therefore, it appears that the most practical step now is to carry out the initiative as a local plan within a regional structure, the goal of which, HOPEFULLY, would result in immediate actions within six months for a marine emissions reduction plan. However it is essential to continue the involvement of the regional marine transportation sector and other organizations to retain continuity and relationships so that the results of the local plan could be tailored for other locales and a subsequent regional plan. The Port of Oakland has recently hired a facilitator. The next step in the facilitated process is to develop further agreements on the goals, plan format and actions within 4-6 months.

Perhaps the adage think globally, act locally is very applicable in this instance and could be adapted to think regionally, act locally.

Air Quality

We will continue to dedicate ourselves to the success of the air quality planning project. In addition, there are several new regulations that will be proposed next year by the state air board covering shoreside power, harbor craft, ships, and cargo handling equipment. BPC will need to be involved in recommending appropriate language and also local compliance strategies that are feasible and reasonable.


Regional Water Board - MRP and Streambed and Wetland Policy

The Water Board is proposing amendments to its Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit and also a new Basin Plan Amendment covering streambeds and wetlands. BPC has formed a task force to advise the Board on these regulations which includes the Homebuilders Association and Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies and several BPC members.


MTSNAC and CALMTSNAC

I am honored to have been just appointed to the new Marine Transportation System National Advisory Board by the Secretary of Transportation and also its California counterpart.

The goal of the MTS is to develop an action plan to ensure the expeditious delivery of freight through the coordination of all transportation modes. The MTS underscores how imperative it is to see transportation as an intermodal system, not as separate unconnected parts. The Council will focus on waterways, ports, their intermodal connections and services required to meet current and future MTS needs and also on national strategy, and policy in the areas of safety, the environment, mobility, competitiveness and security of the MTS.

Recommendations from these state and federal teams should be reflected in the State BTH-CalEPA's Goods Movement Action Plan as we seek to improve the capability of our "coast to border" system of facilities, including seaports, for moving freight in and out of and within the state.


2007 Decisionmakers Conference, April 12, Investing in the Future: Infrastructure and the Environment


In addition here is a brief list of some of our other activities for 2007:

• Provide public outreach for the SWRCB and LFR's methlymercury study and the TMDL process;
• Continue to advocate for Federal civil works appropriations in the next budget cycle;
• Continue to lead the task force for the Bair Island Restoration Project and the Port of Redwood City channel dredging;
• Develop strategies to save access to deep water: There is increasing concern about preserving the maritime industry's access to deep water in light of increased residential and commercial office building in the shoreline zone. However there is also significant interest in the regional ferry system and water-oriented transit development along the shoreline and installing seamless connections among these users.
  
  BPC will be working with its members in the Richmond Harbor area led by Gary Levin and also BCDC and the local council to develop recommendations for a balanced land use policy for shoreline development to ensure compatibility of uses. It is hoped that from this experience we may be able to find a land use planning and policy template which could be used in other shoreline areas around the region

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