APPROVED
Meeting Minutes
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
May 13, 2010
Members Present: Tim Smith, Eric Derleth, Steve Block, Steve Spear
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Tara Nye, Don Palladino, Shelley Hall
Administration/Coordination:
Communications/Coordination with the Friends of Herring River: Don Palladino updated the Committee on activities of the Friends. The Friends decided not to pursue a grant from the Fish American Foundation at this time because the timeframe for utilizing the grant funds did not work well with the Town of Wellfleet’s plan to inspect the Chequessett Neck dike tide gates this summer. Don noted that the Herring Count is underway with 25 volunteers. The Friends will also sponsor a tour of Hatches Harbor on June 19th and there will be a kayak trip on the river in August. The Friends are also developing a scope of work for an educational video about the river.
Minutes: The minutes of the April 8, 2010 meeting were approved.
Next Meetings: The next regular meetings of the HRRC will be Thursday, June 17, 2010, and Thursday, July 8, 2010. The Technical Working Group (TWG) will meet on Wednesday, July 14, 2010.
Informational Updates:
Cultural Resources Study: Tim Smith reported that there was a kick-off meeting for the Phase 1A Study with National Park Service (NPS) staff and the selected consultant, the Public Archaeology Laboratory Inc. (PAL). Fieldwork will begin in late May. The group is still trying to define the Area of Potential Effect (APE), i.e. the geographic area within which the project activities may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic or archaeological resources. PAL will make a presentation to the HRRC at the end of the summer. Tim Smith agreed to email the final Scope of Work for the study to HRRC members.
NRCS Watershed Plan Funding: NRCS is still in the process of setting up the administrative structure to manage the funds that were approved by Congress at the end of 2009. Construction projects are being reviewed first; planning and design activities will be taken up once the construction projects are underway. The Committee reviewed its priorities for these funds as outlined at the March 18, 2010 HRRC meeting. Most of these projects need to get started ASAP in order for the EIS/EIR schedule to stay on track. NPS funds can be used for some activities but there is not enough NPS funding to cover everything.
The existing APCC Project Coordination contract expires July 1, 2010, unless an extension in time is agreed to by HRRC, CAF and APCC. There is a balance of $15,390 left in the existing contract, enough to cover about three to four months work. Margo Fenn agreed to work with Maggie Geist to prepare a time extension on the existing contract.
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Margo Fenn met with Wellfleet town officials and staff at the Cape Cod Commission in order to get the Chequessett Neck Road dike reconstruction listed on the TIP. In cooperation with the Wellfleet DPW, Margo Fenn is preparing a Project Need Form (PNF) for submission to the Massachusetts Highway Department and the Cape Cod Commission. Once the PNF form has been submitted, town and HRRC officials will need to meet with Commission staff and Mass Highway to discuss the project.
April Meeting with Mark Forest: Representatives of HRRC, NPS and the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club (CYCC) met with Congressman Delahunt’s staff on April 23, 2010 to discuss the restoration project and plans for reconfiguring the CYCC golf course. The group discussed a potential NPS boundary change that could enable CYCC to sell some of its upland area to NPS. In order for a boundary change to go forward, CYCC would need to draw up a subdivision plan for the property, review it with the key regulatory agencies, and consult with NPS officials about the potential acquisition. Survey plans would be needed to move forward with legislation to modify the boundary.
The group is due to meet again with the Congressman’s staff in early June.
At Mark Forest’s request, Tim Smith agreed to prepare an outline of the Herring River Restoration project’s projected EIS/EIR schedule. Margo Fenn agreed to email that document to Mark Forest prior to the June meeting, with a summary of recent HRRC activities.
Discussion Items:
-Hydrodynamic Modeling-Proposal from Woods Hole Group (WHG): The modeling committee of HRRC met prior to the full HRRC meeting to review a draft proposal from the Woods Hole Group for next steps in hydrodynamic modeling and sediment transport analysis (see WHG Proposal dated May 10, 2010). This would include finalization of the 2009 draft modeling report, a first cut sediment transport analysis and new model runs to analyze the three Action Alternatives for the EIS/EIR. The modeling committee spoke with Kirk Bosma of WHG and agreed upon some modifications to the proposal. WHG will provide a revised proposal to HRRC reflecting the changes. The work will get underway in late May and should take three to four months to complete.
Cape Cod National Seashore requested that funds be transferred from the Environmental Quality Division (EQD) of NPS to the Coastal America Foundation (CAF) under an existing Cooperative Agreement in order to fund this work
-Mill Creek Impact Analysis: Proposal from Louis Berger Group (LBG) and WHG: HRRC reviewed the scope of work for the Mill Creek analysis at its April meeting. The Committee discussed how the available EQD funds would be used. There will be approximately $184,000 available, once it is transferred to CAF. Rough allocations are as follows:
$17,000 PAL Phase 1A Study
$49,000 Mill Creek Study
$49,000 Hydro/Sediment Modeling
$63,000 CYCC Grading Plan
If no other funding sources become available, these studies will draw down most of the available funds through CAF. Future NPS funding will be handled directly by EQD.
Tim Smith offered to review the Master Scope of Work for the EIS/EIR (prepared by LBG) to estimate what additional funds might be needed to complete the EIS/EIR. Steve Block and Eric Derleth will investigate whether there are funds available through their respective agencies to help out with preparation of the studies needed to complete the EIS/EIR.
Update for Wellfleet Selectmen: HRRC had scheduled an update on the restoration project for the Wellfleet Selectmen on May 25, 2010. The Committee discussed what issues should be covered including funding options for dike reconstruction, management of low-lying roads and updates on the EIS/EIR process. The Committee decided to postpone the briefing session for a month or so that HRRC members could review and revise the draft Chapter 2 (Alternatives Development) of the EIS/EIR prior to the meeting.
Margo Fenn agreed to contact Wellfleet Town Manager Paul Sieloff and see if the briefing could be moved to the Selectmen’s June 22nd meeting. She will also contact Charleen Greenhalgh to schedule a briefing for the Truro Selectmen.
DEIS/EIR Chapter 2-Project Alternatives: Tim Smith had emailed a rough draft of Chapter 2 to HRRC members prior to the meeting. Graphics still need to be added. The Committee agreed to review the draft chapter and make comments and edits in Google documents. HRRC members will review it and provide their comments and suggested edits by Friday, May 28, 2010.
For the public review of the Alternatives, HRRC needs to develop a newsletter that summarizes the Alternatives. Tim Smith suggested that Louis Berger Group might be able to develop this document for HRRC, once the draft of Chapter 2 is reviewed and edited.
Future Work Plan: EQD Consultant/Contract Management: There is approximately $300,000 in EQD’s FY 2010 budget for the Herring River Restoration project. These funds will be directly administered by EQD from its Denver Office and must be contracted to a consultant before the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2010). This may involve a competitive bidding process. A new EQD staff person will be assigned to the project. This person would be responsible for contract management and oversight. HRRC would work with EQD to develop a scope of work to complete the DEIS/EIR document.
Low-Lying Properties
-Golf Course Grading Plan: The Committee discussed the grading plan for the golf course. The group agreed that while the cost of constructing some project elements would very likely be the responsibility of CYCC, a full grading plan for the golf course will be needed in order to accurately apportion the costs of construction.
-Cost Sharing Concepts: The Committee reviewed some basic principles to frame a discussion of how to allocate costs between CYCC and the restoration project for golf course improvements.
Administrative Record: The Committee discussed how to compile the official Administrative Record for the project. The National Park Service will use PEPC to track steps in the NEPA process.
Project Tracking: APCC has been using Liquid Planner as a system for project tracking, but HRRC has not found it to be very helpful. Tim Smith developed a simple website on Google Sites for the project. This site would allow document storage (with some limits on capacity), a directory of contacts, calendar of meetings/events and tracking of action items. Tim Smith will provide access to the Google site for HRRC members so that members can review and evaluate its usefulness for project tracking.
Other Business: Loose Ends and Upcoming Work Priorities
Margo Fenn reviewed a draft list of upcoming work priorities (May through July 2010) for HRRC, as follows:
1) Plan presentation for Wellfleet Selectmen (Also schedule similar session with Truro Selectmen)
2) Finalize hydro modeling scope of work and get new contract underway with WHG.
3) Finalize scope of work for Mill Creek study and get contract underway with LBG/WHG.
4) Continue boundary adjustment/land acquisition negotiations with CYCC.
5) Plan process for presenting draft Alternatives to the public, including:
-newsletter development
-distribution plan
-presentation at Friends' annual meeting (8/17/10)
6) Prepare for July 14, 2010 TWG meeting, including:
-Update on Alternatives
-Develop Definition of Adaptive Management
-Provide Update on Low-lying Properties (including golf course negotiations)
-Develop wetland/floodplain delineation approach
7) Draft Chapters 2 (Alternatives) and 3 (Affected Environment) of the DEIS/EIR
8) Compile Administrative Record in PEPC
9) Decide on and utilize project tracking system.
10) Develop scopes of work for potential NRCS projects, including a new Project Coordination contract with APCC.
Respectfully submitted,
Hillary Greenberg-Lemos
| 