APRPOVED
Meeting Minutes
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
June 17, 2010
12 Noon
Members Present: Gary Joseph, Tim Smith, Eric Derleth, Charleen Greenhalgh, Hunt Durey, Steve Spear
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Tara Nye, John Portnoy, Shelley Hall
Administration/Coordination:
Communications/Coordination with the Friends of Herring River: John Portnoy updated the Committee on activities of the Friends, noting that they would sponsor a tour of Hatches Harbor on June 19th. There will also be a kayak trip on the river on September 9th. The annual meeting will be on August 17th and will include a presentation from HRRC on the EIS/EIR Alternatives. The Friends have also issued a request for proposals to prepare an educational video about the river. The next Friends Board meeting will be July 1, 2010 at 4:00 pm at CCNS Headquarters.
Minutes: The minutes of the May 13, 2010 meeting were approved.
Next Meetings: The next regular meetings of the HRRC will be Thursday, July 8, 2010, Wednesday, August 18, 2010 and Thursday, September 16, 2010. The Technical Working Group (TWG) will meet on Wednesday, July 14, 2010.
Informational Updates:
Hydro Modeling: Tim Smith reported that the Woods Hole Group (WHG) was reviewing available sedimentation data and working on standardizing the output of the 2009 report. He will provide comments to WHG on the draft report. Steve Spear requested that the tide data sources be documented in the final report tables.
Mill Creek Study: Tim Smith reported that the Louis Berger Group (LBG) has proposed three options for the dike feasibility analysis:
1) Protect Mill Creek from 4’ NAVD high tides
2) Protect Mill Creek from 6’ NAVD high tides
3) Build dike to 11.4’ NAVD (roughly equivalent height to the Chequessett Neck Road dike)
The Committee discussed how sea level rise would be factored into the dike analysis and what standards the Army Corps of Engineers would require for a new dike versus reconstruction of the existing Chequessett Neck Road dike. HRRC members also want to see the calculations for dimensions and needed materials for the different sizes/heights of Mill Creek dike designs.
Tim Smith noted that the Howard Maurer Design Group was just starting work on the golf course grading plan. During another meeting earlier in the week, Barbara Boone of the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club had asked what the grading plan assumption would be for high water on the golf course. The study will assume worst-case conditions (i.e. 5’1” NAVD in Mill Creek).
NRCS Funding: Hunt Durey reported that the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) had signed an agreement with the Cape Cod Conservation District to administer the Cape Cod Watershed Plan funds that were appropriated late in 2009. While most of the funds will be needed for construction projects, NRCS will set aside $75,000 for Herring River Restoration Project Coordination. There are questions regarding procurement procedures that still need to be resolved. NRCS may be able to contract directly with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) under an existing prequalification process. If not, the Project Coordination contract will have to go out to bid.
TIP Listing: Margo Fenn reported that a Project Need Form had been filed with the Cape Cod Commission and Mass Highway to get the Chequessett Neck Road dike listed on the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Margo Fenn agreed to follow up with Wellfleet Town Manager Paul Sieloff and Cape Cod Commission staff to set up a meeting with Mass Highway regarding the TIP listing.
June Meeting with Mark Forest: The Committee discussed the June 7th meeting with Mark Forest and representatives of the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club (CYCC). At that meeting Tim Smith provided the Congressman’s office with an EIS/EIR project timeline. CYCC officials had met with National Park Service (NPS) real estate staff to better understand the land planning/appraisal issues as part of an effort to adjust the CCNS boundary and sell some of CYCC’s upland to NPS.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) offered to assist in developing a subdivision plan and appraisal for the property but wants a commitment in writing from CYCC that they are willing to sell the land, and a financial contribution towards to costs of plan development and appraisal preparation.
Discussion Items:
Update for Wellfleet Selectmen: A subcommittee of HRRC met earlier on June 17 to plan an update briefing for the Wellfleet Selectmen. The briefing has been postponed to July 13, 2010. The Committee reviewed a handout that will be supplied to Selectmen prior to that meeting. The draft handout summarizes the EIS/EIR process, outlines the impact topics and describes the major elements of the project Alternatives. On July 13th, Gary Joseph will provide an introduction to the discussion, Margo Fenn will briefly outline the EIS/EIR process and Tim Smith will describe the project elements and issues that require town input.
The Committee discussed the draft handout and suggested some wording changes. Margo Fenn agreed to edit the handout and provide it to the Town Manager for inclusion in the Selectmen’s package for the July 13, 2010 meeting. A similar briefing for the Truro Selectmen has been tentatively scheduled for August 31, 2010.
Alternatives Development:
Draft EIS/EIR Chapter 2: HRRC members discussed the comments that had been received on the first draft of Chapter 2 of the EIS/EIR. Tim Smith had compiled a list in PEPC of all written comments. It was agreed that a special discussion of CYCC should be included. Some clarifications were needed in the discussion of low-lying properties to make it clear how many structures (versus undeveloped land) might be affected. There was a lengthy discussion of how the height and width of tide control structures might affect the control of storm tides. The Committee agreed that Chapter 2 was a good first draft. Margo Fenn and Tim Smith agreed to incorporate the necessary corrections and clarifications.
Public Review Process: The Committee discussed how to prepare and distribute a brochure/newsletter that describes the Project Alternatives. This document is to inform the public about the Alternatives but is not a formal solicitation for public comment. There is some funding available at the Coastal America Foundation (CAF) that can be used for this purpose. Tim Smith offered to draft some language and graphics for the brochure. The HRRC will then solicit bids from some local printers to produce it. John Portnoy will investigate whether the Friends of Herring River can contribute to the mailing costs. The goal is to mail out the brochure/newsletter in early August.
Adaptive Management: The Committee discussed the issue of adaptive management and how this topic will be addressed in the EIS/EIR. Tim Smith participated in a DOI training program on adaptive management and noted that it needs to be a rigorous process that includes quantitative modeling, real world monitoring to test model assumptions and a feedback loop that specifies actions necessary to respond to monitoring results. Tim Smith noted that HRRC might need a science advisory group to help develop the monitoring protocols. Eric Derleth asked if there are other Environmental Impact Statements that have used an adaptive management approach. Tim Smith and Shelley Hall offered to check on models for adaptive management in other EIS projects. Smith agreed to draft a paper on adaptive management for discussion at the July 8th HRRC meeting. This issue will also be discussed with the Technical Working Group at its July 14th meeting.
Low-Lying Properties:
Legal Questions: Tim Smith reported that the Department of Interior (DOI) legal staff has a summer intern that will work with them to evaluate some of the legal questions related to the restoration project. They will visit the Seashore next week. It appears that there is not much case law to address some of the key questions. Hunt Durey suggested that HRRC meet with the legal team to discuss the range of issues (both federal and non-federal) at one of the upcoming monthly meetings.
Project Coordination: The Committee voted to extend the term of the existing APCC Project Coordination agreement to September 30, 2010.
Project Tracking: The Committee discussed again the online options for project tracking. Margo Fenn noted that she had moved some key documents from Liquid Planner to the Google site created by Tim Smith. There are limitations to each of the programs that the Committee has tried-it is hard to find one system that can effectively provide task tracking, calendar, and document sharing for all the Committee members. Shelley Hall suggested SharePoint as another option for document sharing/editing
Loose Ends: Eric Derleth noted that the cooperating agency invitation had been sent from the National Park Service (NPS) to the other participating federal agencies.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Hillary Greenberg-Lemos
| 