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The Water Policy advanced the following environmental principles:
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1.
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Keep
water local and seek to have municipalities live within their
water budget by addressing issues from a watershed perspective;
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2.
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Protect
clean water and restore impaired waters;
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3.
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Protect
and restore fish and wildlife habitat; and
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4.
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Promote
development strategies consistent with sustainable water resources.
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Recognizing that current utilization patterns
of the Commonwealth's water resources are frequently not sustainable,
that the impetus for the creation of the water policy is the need
to craft actions enabling the Governor to meet his larger sustainable
housing and economic growth objectives, and that we must create
a more effective partnership with municipalities, whose responsibility
it is to oversee land use and development; the Water Policy adopted
the following five principles:
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| Emphasize
desired results over process |
Emphasize
predictability, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness in processes (application
of the Secretary's Lean and Green agenda) |
| Focus
on the state's partnership with municipalities and regional organizations
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Identify
municipal actions the state would like to see
Identify strategies for state collaboration with municipal and regional
organizations
Suggest alternatives not dependent on excessive state resources |
| Be
bold-not reckless |
Support
innovation
Create opportunities for private, municipal, and state pilots
Derive lessons and innovations from other states |
| Given
the limited timeframe, do not seek to create a comprehensive water
policy |
Address
a handful of issues and then identify longer-term efforts to address
problems requiring a more sustained effort
Focus on what is achievable and what will have the most impact
Prioritize actions to be taken, strategies and timeframes for implementation
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| Use
"best available" science to develop policies, priorities, and action
recommendations |
Identify
additional (unique) mechanisms to fill in data gaps |
