The West Virginia Stream Partners Program was created in 1996 under §20-13-1 of the West Virginia Code. The Program is jointly administered by the Division of Natural Resources, the Division of Environmental Protection, the Division of Forestry, and the State Soil Conservation Agency. The headquarters is located within the Division of Environmental Protection's Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation. General Revenue in the amount of $100,000 is appropriated to the Stream Partners Program Fund on an annual basis. The purpose of the Program is
...to encourage citizens to work in partnership with appropriate State agencies so that the State's rivers and streams: (a) Are safe for swimming, fishing and other forms of recreation; (b) can support appropriate public and commercial purposes; and (c) can provide habitat for plant and animal life.
The distribution of grant money is an integral part of the Stream Partners Program (SPP) and demonstrates the Program's performance. The Legislative Auditor's review of the grantees' files indicates that there are deficiencies with the reporting and control process, which can lead to a less than ideal allocation of resources. The Stream Partners Program promulgated a Legislative Rule effective May 4, 1999, which provided some structure that was lacking in the Program prior to its passage. However, the Rule does not provide adequate consideration of the past performance of grantees. The Executive Committee needs to improve the review process by giving formal consideration to the grantees' past performance and incorporating logical reference points into the scoring system that is presently used. In addition, enhancing the application and reporting processes should allow the Program Coordinator and the Executive Committee to acquire a better understanding of the grantees' overall performance.
ISSUE AREA 3:The Stream Partners Program Has Deviated
from the Governance Structure Established in
Statute and Violated the Open Meetings Law.
The Legislature created the Stream Partners Program in 1996 with the
intention of having a four person Executive Committee to administer the
Program. The Governor was to designate a member of the Executive Committee
to serve as the chairman. However, the Stream Partners Program has an eight
member "Review Team" which was initially created as an advisory subcommittee
to the Executive Committee and has evolved into a default Executive Committee
due to the lack of participation by the four administering agency Directors.
Further, no official chairman has of yet been appointed by the Governor. During
the first three years of funding, the Review Team did not conduct any open
meetings and the Directors have never met on a formal basis. It is imperative
that the Directors or their duly appointed designees convene as a bona fide
Executive Committee for the purpose of administering the Stream Partners
Program as required by law. During the first three years of funding, the Review
Team did not conduct any open meetings and no minutes exist for these
proceedings.