Diary of a Stream Bureaucrat

Josh Burch
District Department of Energy & Environment
Washington, DC

Diary of a Stream Bureaucrat is a fun and hopefully interesting look at what goes right and what can go very wrong once a stream bureaucrat says, “Let’s restore that stream, it should be an easy project.”

This presentation will be a scene look at what a stream bureaucrat at the state/county/municipal level takes into consideration from the start to finish of a stream restoration project. Presentation topics will include site selection, partnership development, property owner permission, budgets with multiple funding sources, contracting & procurement, community relations, permitting, construction, monitoring, & maintenance! While government project managers have processes to follow, the successful implementation of stream projects is more important about working with people (residents, contractors, other bureaucrats, and more) to make it all come together. Real-life project examples will be used to walk participants through the life cycle of a project. This is how stream projects get implemented at the state, county, and municipal levels.

Managing stream restoration projects is a balancing act between differing funding sources and funding goals, between residents who want a project and those who do not, between doing the best project possible and the best project that we can afford, and doing a project as fast as possible while also following every single rule and regulation that cares little about time frames.

About Josh Burch
Josh Burch manages stream restoration projects for the District Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE). Josh has held this position since 2009, and has managed the construction of over 15,000ft of urban stream and has over 40,000ft of projects currently under designs. When not at DOEE Josh is usually taking his children to soccer or basketball games, biking, fishing, gardening, or rambling on to anyone who will listen about why D.C. should be a state.