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Assessment of the Reasonableness of the Proposed Watershed District Rules <br />The District initiated the rulemakingprocess January 5,2005 and adopted a workplan and schedule <br />that would conclude with rule adoption at the end of 2005. (See Appendix G) The work�lan had two <br />vhases, the first was to draft the Rules and the second was the %nna�, ado�ption orocess dictated by � <br />StatuYes 103D341. The District's philosophy was to provide multiple ��PPt����ni ri��� for �akehoider <br />input and to work closely with adjacentwatershed districts to have as much consistency as possible <br />with our rules. <br />In April of 2005, the District, partnering with Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District, <br />completed Rulemaking Study Phase I. (See Appendix H) The goal of the study was to evaluate how <br />stormwater BMP°� could be incorporated on densely developed sites to achieve the District's <br />Development Review Criteria. The Rulemaking Study Phase I analyzed three previously approved <br />sites that did not fully meet District Development Review Criteria. The three sites were evaluated in <br />reference to District criteria for rate control, volume control, and water quality to determine i£ A) Is it <br />possible to achieve the current District criteria, and if so what would the stormwater BMP's be and <br />how much would they cost; OR B) If it is determined that it is not possible to meet the current <br />development review criteria, then alternative attainable criteria should be developed and the BMP's <br />used and their associated costs should be detailed. The District retained four firms, which each <br />independently completed the analysis. By having multiple firms complete the study it showed that <br />multiple designslap�roach�s were available to achieve the District's criteria on densely developed <br />sites. The Rulemaking Study obtained multiple objectives towards Rulemaking including: <br />e Reevaluating the original Development Review Criteria <br />� Exploring potential alternative Development Review Criteria <br />� Providing examples of how previously noncompliant developments could be brought into <br />compliance <br />• Giving an indication of the costs of complying with various technical criteria <br />. Providing a valuable tool to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing our new rules <br />Based on the analysis completed during the Rulemaking Study Phase I, the District developed and <br />adopted draft technical standards for Rules. (Appendix I) The draft technical standards for Rules were <br />simpler and easier to interpret than the original Development Review Criteria and in some cases were <br />less restrictive. Major changes were made to the volume control and water quality criteria. The <br />integrated resource management criterion was not included in the draft technical standards for Rules. <br />To further evaluate the draft technical criteriafor Rules, the District completed the Rulemaking Study <br />Phase I� in June 2005. (Appendix J) The second phase of the Rulernaking Study evaluated the same <br />three sites analyzed in the Phase I but utilized the draft technical standards for Rules. This second <br />vhase of the Ruleknaki�� Studv in yarticular illustrated that the technical criteria for Rules were <br />practical, feasiblefrom an engineeringperspective and the costs were reasonable in referenceto the <br />total project cost. Table 2 summarizes the findings of the Phase Ir Rulemaking Study from June of <br />2005. <br />GRW�3 — Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR) for Watershed District Rules October 5,2005 Page 3 of 5 <br />"Our mission is to protect, manage, and improve the water resources of the Capitol Region Watershed District. 'r <br />