Minutes
Herring River Restoration Committee
February 17, 2010
Members Present: Tim Smith, Eric Derleth, Charleen Greenhalgh, Hillary Greenberg, and Steve Spear
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Don Palladino, Jack Whalen, and Pat Weslowski
Administration/ Coordination
View Cache River Wetlands Video
The Committee viewed a video on the Cache River Wetlands. Don Palladino spoke briefly about the Cache River video and ideas for the creation of a similar film for the Herring River. The video produced by Rachel Smith provides history of the floodplain along with maps and discussions about ecological and cultural value. The video cost around $125,000.00 and took about a year and a half to create. Palladino solicited comments from the HRRC and will talk further with Ms. Smith to see how she may be able to assist the restoration process with her skills.
Friends of Herring River
The Friends are working on training herring counters for the river. Phil Brady and JoAnne Muramoto will be coming to Wellfleet for this training session within the next two months. A scout group will be coming to do some brush clearing and work with Jeff Hughes, Herring Warden. Canoe trips will also be planned starting in May. A tour of Hatches Harbor is also being considered. The annual meeting will be held August 17, 2010.
Approval of Draft Minutes: January 13, 2010
Unanimous vote to approve
Schedule Next Meetings:
March 18, 2010
April 8, 2010
May 13 or May 20, 2010
Informational Updates
Technical Working Group (TWG) Meeting: January 27, 2010
A brief review of the TWG meeting took place. Comments on the draft meeting notes must be to Margo Fenn by the end of the week.
NRCS Watershed Plan Funding
A meeting with Carl Gustafson took place a week ago to discuss how NRCS is going to distribute the Watershed Plan funds. Eight work items relevant to Herring River were submitted last summer. NRCS is considering hiring staff at the Cape Cod Conservation District to administer the funding, possibly including a contract administrator. The list of projects and the process for project selection was discussed at great length. HRRC will need to refine its list of priorities for these funds.
Coordination with Town Officials
A few meetings were held with Gary Joseph to explore ways to keep the Towns of Wellfleet and Truro better informed about the project. Changing the meeting dates would be helpful in keeping Gary involved. Providing regular briefings for the Boards of Selectmen will also be useful. Dale Donovan recommended that the Wellfleet Selectmen be updated in May. The Wellfleet Selectmen would like plenty of lead time when faced with key decisions about the project. A brief conversation ensued regarding legal counsel and the possibility of town and federal counsels working together.
Discussion Items
Hydrodynamic Modeling: Workshop and Next Steps
Tim Smith circulated notes from the January 28th hydrodynamic modeling workshop. The workshop involved a presentation on the Alternatives. The hydro and sedimentation models were both discussed. There are number of possible approaches to analyzing sedimentation and this is still being discussed with the Woods Hole Group (WHG). A new Scope of Work will be established in the future after more discussion. Tim Smith spoke about the modeling as being the central cog for the list of eight items that were submitted to the NRCS. It is important that we get answers to outstanding questions and impacts analyzed and not just additional data.
Revised Project Alternatives/Flow Diagrams: The latest version of the project Alternatives and flow diagrams illustrating them were emailed to HRRC members prior to the meeting. The Committee discussed the two draft matrices prepared by Tim Smith. The Alternatives Matrix describes project elements while the Impact Matrix provides a format to evaluate the comparative impacts of the different Alternatives for each of the impact topics. Tim Smith agreed to complete a draft version of the Impact Analysis Matrix and send it to HRRC members for review at the next meeting.
Future Work Plan:
EIS/EIR Timeline
Tim Smith prepared a draft EIS/EIR timeline. Committee members gave comments on the timeline to Smith. A brief discussion took place regarding a public review of the Draft Alternatives. A newsletter may be created in lieu of a conducting a formal public hearing. Such a newsletter would need to be noticed in the Federal Register. It is important in the NEPA process that all interested parties be notified in the same manner. Notice of a newsletter would have to be submitted to the Federal Register at least 4 months in advance of the newsletter release.
Completion of Louis Berger Group (LBG) Contract Elements/Other Loose Ends:
Margo Fenn circulated a document via email called Project Loose Ends (dated February 12, 2010). The Committee briefly reviewed the list of unfinished work items. One of the important items is closing out the Phase 3 contract with LBG. Tim Smith asked LBG to supply the Alternatives Flow Diagram graphics to the Committee in a format that can be edited in the future. Chapter 1 of the draft EIS/EIR and the Data Sources Review were submitted to the Committee on February 17, 2010. Comments on these documents should be submitted by February 26 to Margo Fenn and Tim Smith.
Discussion ensued regarding possible future contracting relationships. One option would be to use Woods Hole Group as the main contractor, with a NEPA specialist as a subcontractor.
The Committee could also continue working with LBG or perhaps ask the Environmental Quality Division (EQD) of the National Park Service to issue a new RFP seeking a contractor to complete the EIS/EIR.
The Committee reviewed the list of loose ends and discussed upcoming work on cultural resources, rare species and related matters.
Low Lying Properties: The Committee reviewed the methodology of the draft report prepared by Mark Adams and Karen Lovely. There is a corresponding spreadsheet with specific data on each property. The next step involves looking at site plans and cross checking information. Charleen Greenhalgh offered to review the Truro properties to see what information is available/needed and report back to the Committee at the next meeting.
Cost Sharing Concepts: The Committee briefly reviewed a draft cost sharing concept for reconstructing the CYCC golf course. The language seemed a bit formal and it was agreed that a simpler document would be preferable. Margo Fenn offered to revise the draft document and circulate it to the Committee.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.
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