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Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
NPS Lab Classroom, Highland Center
Old Dewline Road
Truro, MA
October 6, 2011
9:30 am-5:00 pm
Members Present: Tim Smith, Eric Derleth, Hunt Durey, Steve Spear, Charleen Greenhalgh, Hillary Greenberg
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Don Palladino, Bill Burke, Mark Husbands (by phone), Ed DeWitt
Administration/Coordination:
Communications/Coordination with Friends of Herring River: Don Palladino noted that the Wellfleet Oyster Festival was coming up later in October. The Friends will have a booth at the Festival. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is sponsoring a presentation at the library. Don will contact Steve Block to see if the Friends may participate in that program.
At the November 5, 2011 Wellfleet Harbor Conference, Kirk Bosma of the Woods Hole Group (WHG) will give a presentation on hydrodynamic modeling, using the Herring River as an example. There will be a panel discussion to follow his presentation.
Don Palladino noted that the Friends of Cape Cod National Seashore plan to partner with the National Parks Foundation to raise funds for the park. He commented that this could be an opportunity to help raise funds for the Herring River Restoration Project as well, and suggested that the Committee needs to develop a long-range funding strategy (see further discussion below).
Approval of Draft Minutes: The Committee voted to approve the minutes of the September 15, 2011 meeting.
Schedule Next HRRC Meetings: The HRRC agreed to the following meeting dates:
November 3, 2011
December 1, 2011
The Technical Working Group is scheduled to meet on October 12, 2011.
Informational Updates:
Introduce Ed DeWitt, Executive Director of APCC: Margo Fenn introduced Ed DeWitt, the new Executive Director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC). Ed DeWitt acknowledged APCC's long-standing interest in the Restoration Project and offered continuing support.
Legal Update: Hunt Durey reported that the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) had offered to use some existing grant funds to hire a private law firm to explore legal issues related to the Herring River Restoration Project. The HRRC had earlier identified important draft legal issues and questions related to the project that require analysis and input from attorneys at the local, state, and federal levels. The National Park Service has requested – and is awaiting delivery of – a legal opinion on these issues from the Department of Interior Office of the Solicitor. However, that opinion is expected to primarily address the federal perspective in relation to NEPA and the EIS. The non- federal members of the HRRC (state and two towns) thought that additional legal analysis focused on the
non-federal interests would be beneficial for the project. This work is intended to be complementary to the DOI legal analysis currently in preparation, while also acknowledging there will be significant overlap in the legal issues being addressed.
The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has offered to fund and contract with a private law firm to conduct a legal evaluation of the non-federal law issues. The legal analysis and advice is needed prior to formal HRRC engagement with landowners who may be affected by the project, and that engagement must occur before the DEIS/EIR is released for public comment (expected early-mid 2012).
Hunt Durey prepared a memo requesting participation by legal counsel representing the following entities: Town of Wellfleet, Town of Truro, MA Department of Environmental Protection, MA Department of Fish and Game, MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and Department of Interior Office of the Solicitor.
The private law firm to be retained by CLF is expected to commence work in late October 2011 that will extend over a 3 to 4 month period. Government counsel will be requested to participate in 1-2 consultation meetings in Boston, interact via email and conference calls, and review and comment on draft legal research and any legal opinions or advice produced by the private law firm.
Hunt Durey noted that CLF had met with a prospective law firm, Rubin and Rudman. The firm will prepare a proposal for the HRRC to consider. Ed DeWitt suggested consulting the town counsels to get feedback on the proposal.
Hunt Durey agreed to circulate the Rubin and Rudman proposal to HRRC members for review.
Committee members stressed that the legal research needs to be completed in a timely fashion in order for the Committee to be able to contact property owners prior to the release of the Draft EIS/EIR. An outreach strategy for potentially affected property owners needs to be in place by early February 2012.
2011 RAE-NOAA Grant: Hunt Durey reported that a final scope of work had been submitted for this grant. The grant will fund needed engineering work related to the Chequessett Neck Road dike and tide-gates.
Project Coordination-Cape Cod Conservation District (CCCD) Funding: Steve Spear consulted Rick Divirgilio of the Cape Cod Conservation District regarding the potential for extending the current APCC Project Coordination contract through the end of federal fiscal year 2012 (September 30, 2012). The current contract is due to expire on December 31, 2011. There is about $32,500 in unexpended funds under the Cape Cod Watershed program that could be used to extend the APCC contract and fund additional groundwater modeling work. The Committee discussed this and suggested that approximately $24,000 be added to the APCC contract in order to extend it through September 30, 2012. The remaining funds would be used for the modeling work.
Steve Spear agreed to follow up with officials at the CCCD to find out the process for extending and amending the contract with APCC. Tim Smith agreed to check with Kirk Bosma of the Woods Hole Group to confirm the cost estimate and scope of work for the additional modeling.
The Committee discussed what other funding sources might be available for project coordination beyond September 2012. Hunt Durey suggested that the Friends of Herring River might be able to obtain a Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET) grant for this purpose. In order to be eligible for such a grant, the project coordination work would need to be part of a broader implementation plan for the Restoration Project. One possible deliverable could be crafting the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for project implementation that is called for in MOU II.
Hunt Durey, Don Palladino and Margo Fenn agreed to confer about a possible MET grant application, as the deadline for letters of interest is October 14, 2011.
Cultural Resources-Next Steps: Bill Burke reported on a phone consultation with NPS Cultural Resources staff regarding the recommendations of the Public Archaeology Lab's (PAL) Phase 1A Report. NPS will convey the PAL Report to the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) with a recommendation that the Park Service and MHC develop a programmatic agreement to allow for a phased process for further cultural resource investigations. The cover letter will suggest that several specific issues need to be addressed in the programmatic agreement, including the level of archaeological investigation necessary when project impacts in specific areas of the Area of Potential Impact (APE) are limited to changes in water level and where potential historical features have already been identified. Bill Burke noted that the
Wampanoag Indian Tribes would be invited to participate in the programatic agreement. Bill Burke will work with Jim Harmon to prepare a draft programatic agreement by early November, 2011 for MHC review.
TNC/CYCC/NPS Land Plan and Appraisal: Margo Fenn reported that Louis Berger Group (LBG) had contacted the Cape Cod Commission (CCC) and Town of Wellfleet to clarify the land use regulatory assumptions that should be used in preparing conceptual development plans for the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club (CYCC) property. CCC staff noted that the conceptual plans should show the areas of protected open space required to offset proposed development on the site. This includes not just the proposed house lots but also any land clearing, and grading associated with the proposed golf practice area.
Louis Berger Group and the appraiser, Jim Czupryna expect to have the draft appraisal(s) completed by early November. There will be another progress meeting with David McGowan of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and CYCC members to review this work.
The Committee discussed whether the land plan/appraisal work should be included in the Draft EIS/EIR. This subject will likely be addressed in the cumulative impact analysis.
DEIS/EIR Chapter 3 Comments: Bill Burke reviewed the Cultural Resources section of the draft Chapter 3 and commented that there needs to be more site-specific information included about the Herring River estuary. Much of the material presented in this section is general information about Seashore resources. He suggested some other source materials for LBG to review but also agreed that a thorough summary of the PAL Phase 1A Report could provide an adequate description of existing conditions.
Bill Burke agreed to review the Executive Summary of the PAL Report and suggest any needed additions to complete the Cultural Resources section of Chapter 3.
The Committee discussed the rest of the LBG draft Chapter 3, noting that the content of this chapter needs to lay the framework for the impact assessment in Chapter 4. The Committee discussed what should be included in the Socioeconomic section. The LBG draft covered the following topics:
Demographic and Economic Conditions
Shellfishing in Wellfleet Harbor
Properties in the Historic Flood Plain
Domestic Wells and Wastewater Treatment
Roads
Flood Hazard Mapping, Wetlands, Flood Plain Management, and Insurance
Aesthetic Resources and Implications for Properties
Visitor Experience and Public Access
The Committee agreed that the demographic section was too general and not really relevant to the Restoration Project. Tim Smith suggested that all the low-lying property issues be combined into one section including all structures (buildings, wells, septic systems, etc.) and roads. The section on flood mapping should be discussed in the cumulative impact analysis, not Chapter 3. The Committee agreed with these changes and also noted that this section should consider the economic value of restoring fin-fish habitat. Mark Husbands is working on a revised draft of this section to address these and other issues.
Graphics for DEIS/EIR: The Committee had a lengthy discussion of the draft maps that would be included in Chapter 2-4 of the DEIS/EIR. The Committee agreed that we should leave the text of Chapter 2 as is, and craft maps to go with that text. The detailed existing vegetation maps should be included in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the maps should show tidal channels, future inter-tidal zones (accretion areas), inter-tidal marsh and upland transitional zones-before and after restoration.
EIS/EIR Revised Schedule: The Committee reviewed the revised EIS/EIR schedule (dated September 28, 2011) prepared by LBG. There was considerable confusion about the proposed process for HRRC and NPS review of the draft EIS/EIR versions 1-3. Members suggested that the Committee should review Version 1 of the DEIS/EIR before it is sent to the Northeast Region of NPS for review. Hunt Durey asked when the EIS/EIR must be listed in the Federal Register and MA Environmental Monitor in order to meet the deadline for April hearings. Members also asked how much time would be needed to advertise the CCC/MEPA public hearing. These steps should be shown on the schedule. Members also questioned how much time would be needed for NPS legal review prior to the release of the EIS/EIR for public review
and comment.
Tim Smith, Margo Fenn and Mark Husbands agreed to review the draft schedule with LBG staff. Margo Fenn offered to set up a meeting between CCC staff and LBG to review the process and requirements for Cape Cod Commission review of the EIS/EIR.
Post EIS/EIR Project Funding: The Committee discussed how to develop a long-range funding plan for the Restoration Project, including engineering, permitting and construction. Don Palladino suggested the the Committee prepare a list of items that will require funding (with cost estimates) and then strategize about where to seek funds for different project components. He noted that Mark Forest had offered to help with this process. Committee members discussed the idea of seeking a proposal from a qualified engineering firm to estimate the costs of permitting. Eric Derleth noted that, in order to estimate permitting costs, the Committee needs to think through the logistics of construction: Will the project be built in phases; what steps must be taken prior to reconstructing the Chequessett Neck Road
dike and opening the tide gates; for structures that may or may not be replaced, how much engineering is necessary?
Hunt Durey suggested discussing the permitting/construction sequencing with the Technical Working Group (TWG) at its upcoming meeting. Don Palladino suggested making an inventory of needed permits, preparing order of magnitude cost estimates and identifying potential funding sources. While the current fiscal climate is very constrained, the Committee still needs to plan ahead in order to access available sources of funds. The Committee agreed to discuss this issue further at its November meeting.
Adaptive Management/TWG October 12, 2011 Meeting: Tim Smith and Eric Derleth have been working on an integrated approach for adaptive management and infrastructure operations and management.This approach will be discussed with the TWG members at their October 12, 2011 meeting. The approach to permitting will also be discussed with the TWG. An outline of Chapter 5 of the EIS/EIR is needed to facilitate this discussion.
Tim Smith offered to write up a description of the the Section 404 permitting process that he discussed with the Army Corps of Engineers. Margo Fenn and Tim Smith will request that LBG provide a detailed outline of Chapter 5 for the TWG to review.
Update on September 22, 2011 Meeting with Town Officials: HRRC members attended a meeting with CCNS Superintendent George Price and Wellfleet town officials in September. The Board of Selectman Chair, Ira Wood requested that HRRC prepare a list of questions that the town must address related to the Restoration Project-with a projected schedule of when those decisions must be made. Once this list is completed, he suggested meeting with the full Board of Selectmen to discuss it.
The Committee discussed how to best inform local officials about key aspects of the Project.
Tim Smith agreed to draft a list of key issues for the Committee to review. Once this list is reviewed and agreed upon, the Committee will set up a briefing for the Selectmen.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 pm.
Documents Referenced in the meeting:
-Minutes of the September 15, 2011 HRRC Meeting
-HR Restoration Project Coordination Agreement, September 9, 2010
-Phase 1A Archaeological Background Research and Sensitivity Assessment Final Report, Public Archaeology Lab (PAL), June 2011
-EIS/EIR Draft Chapter 3, LBG, September 14, 2011
-EIS/EIR Draft Schedule, LBG, September 28, 2011
Respectfully submitted,
Hillary Greenberg-Lemos
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