Washington State Dept. of Ecology responds to questions about grant money
from FourC newsletter
Posted 5/31/2011
Department of Ecology, DoE, Grants
When questioning activities by city, county, or other government bodies such as Ports Authorities much can be learned by tracking grants to these entities. The following public records request was made to DoE: "Please provide the following information regarding grants offered or given by the DoE for the following budget years. 2007-09,2009-11, proposed budget 2011-13.
The title of the grant and brief description of purpose.
The amount of the grant
The recipiant of the grant
For 2011-13 The title of the Grant
The amount of the grant "
DoE responded in a timely fashion:
....thank you for your request about grants the Department of Ecology issued during the bienniums you mention below. I've attached an Excel workbook which contains worksheets by fiscal year from a number-tracking database we use to assign grant numbers.
Some things to keep in mind:
·Our accounting system we use to process grant payments does not have a reporting feature to print out a list of grants, so I could not provide the information from that system.
· Because we do not reconcile the number tracking with our accounting system, the numbering database is not complete.
o For instance, if we assigned a number for a grant, it doesn't mean that a grant was awarded.
o Some grants have multiple lines because we may have issued amendments. But again, the records may be incomplete.
·Some grants have a recipient match component so the eligible amount is different from the state share.
·We do not have proposed grants for the coming biennium in our systems. (There's only one entry in the FY12 sheet.)
·We do not even have a budget yet, so that information wouldn't be available in any case.
We don't have the complete information you are seeking already in a format we can provide. Because there is no duty for us to create records to answer an information request, this is what I can provide to you.
You may find web information on Ecology's Grants and Loans Programs at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/fap.html. There may be further information there that will help you, or at least contact information if you have specific questions about specific grant programs. Or later, after the budget is completed and the various programs know what funds they have to grant, information may be posted there.
In 2011 DoE awarded $82,633,949.91in grants. A couple of curious grants:
Bothell Crossroads $2,828,726. The grant writer could have been quite creative to have this project under DoE rather than in the transportation budget.
$370,000 for various school districts to replace school buses? Defiantly ecology related?!!
TROUT UNLIMITED $1,632,950
$224,999 Clallam County Marine recovery area Septic Solutions
The spread sheet detailing the grants for 2011 is posted at:
http://fourcsite.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Dept.-of-Ecology-Grants-2011.pdf
Questions, what influence, if any, do elected politicians have on the grant process?
Does school bus funding belong in the DoE budget or in the education budget?
Does crossroad (streets) funding belong in the DoE budget or in the Transportation budget?
Should an accounting system reconcile with the grant numbering system?
Information received to date discloses that Clallam County has been working with the Department of Ecology (DoE) to manage water use in the County. Further, the County has a contract with Washington Water Trust for $141,000 in consulting fees to assist in developing a process for mitigating* water use rights. (BTW the money came from DoE in the form of grants.)
According toRandom House Webster's College Dictionary:
*mitigate...to lessen in force or intensity, make less severe: to mitigate the harshness of a punishment.
FourC participants are encouraged to review the Washington Water Trust website (http://washingtonwatertrust.org/)...
WWT is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that specializes in navigating the intricacies of water rights. We are a confidential resource for water rights planning and we consult regularly with legal experts, state agencies, agricultural producers, tribes, conservation districts and land trusts to gain the perspective and knowledge for successful collaborations.
Washington Water Trust works to improve and protect stream flows and water quality throughout Washington that benefit agriculture, fisheries and wildlife by using innovative, market-based transactions and cooperative partnerships to create balanced solutions.
Per requests for more info about Dungeness water management, here is the link is to DoE's page where pending water right applications are posted: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/rights/tracking-apps.html
Question: What level of confidentiality should be accorded a 501(c) (3) non-profit receiving taxpayer-funded grants to do consulting for Clallam County?
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FourC (Concerned Citizens of Clallam County) is an independent Group of individual citizens dedicated to returning power to the citizens and the States in which they reside, as declared by the Constitution of the United States of America. We aim to achieve our goals through peaceful assembly, contact with elected officials and the advancement of candidates who represent the ideals of our Founding Fathers.