Report No. 5
State Agency Roles in Idaho Water Quality Policy
Executive Summary
(Part 3)

Agency Responsibilities by Watershed Component

The waters of the state, and its watershed components, include surface waters (lakes, and streams), groundwater (aquifers), and wetlands. Protection of the quality of waters is a matter of integrated interagency cooperation. As explained in some detail in Chapter 3 in the report, two general management approaches are used in the watershed: (1) resource protection and (2) pollution control.

Table 1 presents the agencies as column headings, the various watershed components they are responsible for as row headings, and a filled-in cell for the primary program responsibilities of each agency. An asterisk in a table cell represents a secondary consultative or review role for the agency. Table 1 may be used to begin the search for concurrent authority ("overlap"). More than one filled-in cell in any row represents a potential for the duplication of effort, but such an assessment requires a deeper understanding of agency roles.

From Table 1, we can see that there is a fairly consistent separation between agencies and functions. For the most part, agency roles are complementary. However, there are two points in Table 1 at which there is either concurrent or parallel authority. The first is with respect to stream channel protection. Here two agencies -- the Department[s] of Water Resources (IDWR) and the Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) -- have parallel assignments in enforcement. The second is with respect to the management of lakes. Here, both the Division of Environmental Quality (IDHW/DEQ) and the Panhandle Health District are charged with the responsibility for pollution control on Lake Coeur d'Alene. With concurrent authority there, some competition for leadership in carrying forward legislative mandates may be anticipated. It is at these points where cooperative agreements, contracts, and communication are essential. Legislative adjustments in their respective roles may clarify this point of potential overlap. Coordination is provided in this area of concurrent responsibility by the Clean Lakes Coordinating Council.

Other potential overlap that might be observed in Table 1 may be explained by different agency authorities or programs in a particular watershed component. For example, IDL has a filled-in cell in the Stream Channels row in Table 1. The agency administers the Dredge and Placer Mining Act and the Surface Mining Act, which we have classified under stream channel protection for the purposes of developing Table 1.

¹IDA = Idaho Dept. of Agriculture; IDFG = Idaho Dept. of Fish & Game; IDHW, DEQ = Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare, Div. of Environmental Quality; IDL = Idaho Dept. of Lands; IDWR = Idaho Dept. of Water Resources; SCC = Soil Conservation Commission; GWQC = Ground Water Quality Council.
²CLCC = Clean Lakes Coordinating Council; SCD = Soil Conservation District; PHD = Public Health District.

Personnel Summary

To accomplish their assignments, the agencies, health districts, and Cooperative Extension Service reported in the Agency Self-Studies that they have 529 personnel who spend some portion of their time on water quality activities. A breakdown by agencies is shown in Table 2. Some agencies chose to include managerial and administrative functions within this definition. Although they were not asked to do so, some agencies furnished information regarding full-time equivalent personnel in water quality programs.

What do these 529 people do in water quality programs? The numbers of personnel in Table 2 were compiled from the information furnished by the agencies and only slightly augmented during agency technical review of a draft report. In the Agency Self-Studies document, the agencies provided descriptions of the functions their personnel perform in water quality, and the reader is referred there for additional detail.

The reader can determine what the people listed in Table 2 do using the report. See the discussion on page 9 in the report for guidance by an example.

In briefest summary, responsibilities of the agencies within the watershed are as follows:

Surface Water Quality Management

Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW)

• monitoring and surveillance of instream criteria and support of beneficial uses in water bodies impacted by timber harvest, mining, agriculture, and other nonpoint sources of pollution
• recommendation of outstanding resource waters for special protection

Idaho Department of Lands (IDL)

• forestry best management practices (BMPs)
• mining best management practices (BMPs)
• administration of lake protection program

Idaho Soil Conservation Commission (SCC)

• agriculture best management practices (BMPs) in consultation and coordination with Soil Conservation Districts
• technical assistance to farmers and ranchers for BMP application, and coordinate technical assistance with SCD and federal USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS)

Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR)

• issue permits in accord with public interest, conservation
• designation of natural and recreational rivers for special protection against dams and hydrological development

Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG)

• enhancement of fish populations
• enforcement of prohibitions against stream channel alteration by small suction dredges
• advising role in local working committees developing site specific BMPs for stream segments of concern

Agency Synopsis

The following brief synopses summarize the self-reported roles of the agencies. Details concerning these roles of the various agencies may be found in the Agency Self-Studies document.

Idaho Department of Agriculture. IDA is charged under Idaho Code Title 22 with responsibility for regulating the application of pesticides and fertilizers, particularly as they are applied by way of chemigation systems (chemicals applied through irrigation systems). Mechanical prevention of backflow of agricultural chemicals into wells is the general method utilized to prevent contamination of water supplies.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game. IDFG has the responsibility to collect information that will lead to the prosecution of water quality violations that result in the loss of fish and wildlife resources. In addition, the Department documents the beneficial use of rivers and streams where water is appropriated for protection of fish and wildlife. IDFG participates in the antidegradation effort by providing expertise in fisheries and aquatic biota. The primary role of the Department of Fish and Game, however, is in fish population management, although habitat protection is a major and increasing emphasis in the planning process. The Department of Fish and Game is authorized to issue citations for violations of the Stream Channel Protection Act.

Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Environmental Quality. IDHW is the state agency that administers portions of the federal Clean Water Act. DEQ administers general environmental protection and water quality programs in accord with Idaho Code Title 39. This is accomplished primarily by the promulgation and enforcement of the Water Quality Standards and Wastewater Treatment Requirements for surface and ground water. DEQ also administers a range of public health-oriented water quality programs. Promulgation of standards for sewage disposal systems, land application of waste water, public swimming pools, public drinking water systems, and ore processing by cyanidation are under the authority of the DEQ. The administrative policy of the Board of Health and Welfare is set forth in the Water Quality Standards at IDAPA 16.01.2050. Key features include: noninterference with water apportionment and appropriations, protection of beneficial uses, consistency with other agency programs, and utilization of best management practices to control nonpoint source impacts.

Idaho Department of Lands. IDL is specifically charged under Idaho Code Title 58 with responsibility for the public trust protection of the beds and banks of navigable streams and lakes. The Department of Lands is the lead agency in administering the state's surface, dredge, and placer mining laws under Idaho Code Title 47. Under Idaho Code Title 38, the Department of Lands also administers laws associated with forest practices on state and private land. The Department of Lands participates in the state antidegradation policy as the lead agency administering forest management practices.

Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. IDPR participates in water quality policy by recommending appropriation of instream flows for recreational and aesthetic protection and commenting on proposals affecting the quality of Idaho's water recreational facilities. Department of Parks and Recreation administers a waterways improvement fund for the purpose of improving boating facilities. The Department of Parks and Recreation also administers the land and water conservation fund which acquires recreational lands.

Idaho Department of Water Resources. IDWR administers surface water and groundwater allocation and stream flow protection programs in accord with the Idaho Constitution, Idaho Code Title 42, and the State Water Plan. The State Water Plan articulates a number of policy objectives which relate to the quality of waterbodies and their capability to support beneficial uses. The Department of Water Resources is responsible for withdrawing some rivers from development on the basis of their special recreational or natural qualities. The agency is also responsible for ambient groundwater quality monitoring network and a computerized groundwater information system. The safety of dams, which includes mine tailings retention dams, promulgating well construction standards, and managing the safety of injection wells falls within the authority of the IDWR.

Idaho Soil Conservation Commission. SCC or ISCC is responsible for organizing Soil Conservation Districts (SCDs) and providing leadership, direction, coordination, assistance, information and training to local SCD board members called Supervisors. The Soil Conservation Commission is responsible for development of the State Agricultural Pollution Abatement Plan. The Soil Conservation Commission administers the State Agricultural Water Quality Program (SAWQP) jointly with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Environmental Quality. The Soil Conservation Commission is the lead agency for coordinating implementation of the antidegradation policy for agriculture through SCDs.

Soil Conservation Districts. SCDs are governmental subdivisions of the state. Fifty-one SCDs cover the entire state of Idaho, including private, state, and federal land, with the exception of some incorporated cities and portions of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Soil Conservation Districts have been identified in the Agriculture Pollution Abatement Plan as the local management agency for agricultural nonpoint source pollution activities.

Idaho Cooperative Extension Service. The ICES is the off-campus component of the University of Idaho and the educational arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Not a state agency, its tie is to the University of Idaho, with county offices in 42 of Idaho's 44 counties. Cooperative Extension extends the research findings of the Idaho Experiment Station and other research units of USDA. Approximately 40 extension and 20 research faculty devote some percentage of time to the water quality program. The extension role in water quality is educational and informational, with contributions made in such areas as crop and livestock management, soil fertility, and proper use of chemicals. Extension cooperates with various state and federal agencies in conducting educational programs and provides them with research-based information for updating technical guides in water quality. Formal MOUs have in some cases been developed related to water quality efforts.

Public Health Districts. Seven Public Health Districts, which are not state agencies, administer environmental health programs at the community level. Where local programs are administered by the Health District under contract with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, there is an opportunity for formulating, implementing, and assessing the impact of water quality policy at the community level.

Federal agencies. A number of federal agencies participate in Idaho water quality programs. A table identifying federal agencies with water-related programs is included as Appendix C in the report. Most notable is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which provides grant funds to the states to capitalize pollution treatment facilities and to assist the state in meeting its clean water objectives. Idaho received approximately $4.5 million for fiscal year 1991 (see Appendix D in the report). EPA also regulates point sources of pollution, including factory discharges, feedlots, and fish farms. The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land management work cooperatively with state agencies under their respective jurisdictions.