South Miami-Dade Watershed Study Technical Review Committee

Timeframe: Contact: Angela M. Grooms 954-762-5269 agrooms@fau.edu Sponsor: Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning Managed by The South Florida Regional Planning Council

In November of 2003, Florida Atlantic University Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions convened the second meeting of the Technical Review Committee (TRC) for the South Miami-Dade Watershed Study. CUES is the facilitator and convener of the TRC. Its’ Director, Jim Murley. serves as moderator of the TRC. The TRC meets at six key points in the Watershed Study process. The South Miami-Dade Watershed Study is sponsored by the Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning. The South Florida Regional Planning Council is responsible for the overall management of the Study.

The Role of the TRC
The Technical Review Committee (TRC) component of the South Miami-Dade Watershed Study and Plan brings an objective, outside, professional perspective to the planning process and an additional level of review from experts in different fields who contribute ideas and lessons learned from other areas.

The TRC evaluates and makes recommendations on the products of the Watershed Study and Plan and helps ensure the technical validity of the consultant's work. It does this by analyzing the work products of the consultant and commenting on the soundness of the approach, assumptions, and data. TRC members may bring information to the process as a part of their critique.

An important feature of the TRC is that it operates independently of the consulting team. This helps ensure that the planning process is appropriate and correctly executed, that the products of the process are underpinned by the best possible data and sound modeling assumptions, and that the implementation strategies will be the most effective in accomplishing the goals of the planning process.

TRC Membership
The TRC is made up of a team of experts selected for their knowledge of the issues to be addressed by the Watershed Study and Plan. Its 18 members represent the disciplines of economic modeling, cost benefit analysis, infrastructure planning, resource-based tourism, agriculture, property rights law, water modeling, habitat, marine biology, community character, and land use. The TRC is coordinated by Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions. (Click here to view the TRC’s membership)

How the TRC Develops Its Comments and Recommendations
The TRC holds a planning session as a part of each of its meetings. Members use this session to develop a summary of their collective comments and recommendations. They also use the session to develop a list of individual member recommendations that reflect their specific areas of expertise. An outline summarizing the TRC's overall comments and the recommendations of individual members is prepared following each TRC meeting and submitted to the Watershed Study Project Manager. This outline notes any differing viewpoints among members and the reasons for such differences.

Use of the TRC’s Comments
The TRC’s comments are offered with the knowledge that the specific activities may not be planned in the current scope of work and would only proceed if the South Florida Regional Planning Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning, and project consultants conclude that it would be beneficial to the project. (Click here to view summaries of the TRC meetings.)

Final Meeting of the TRC

The TRC members convened for its last meeting at the Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Building in Miami on Tuesday, February 14, 2006. Please go to www.sfrpc.com/institute/watershed.htm for current and future information on this project.

For Further Information on the South Miami-Dade Watershed Study Contact:
Watershed Study Project Manager, Robert J. Daniels: phone, 954-985-4416; email, bobd@sfrpc.com

Links:
www.southmiamidadewatershed.com
www.sfrpc.com/institute/watershed.htm
www.discoverbiscaynebay.org/