Approved Meeting Minutes
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters
Wellfleet, MA
April 4, 2012
9:30 am-5:00 pm
Members Present: Tim Smith, Eric Derleth, Hunt Durey, Steve Block, Steve Spear, Hillary Greenberg, Charleen Greehalgh
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Don Palladino, John Portnoy, Charlie Roman, Theresa Murphy
Administration/Coordination:
Communication/Coordination with Friends of Herring River (FHR): Don Palladino reported on his meeting with the Wellfleet Shellfish Advisory Commission, noting that the Commission raised two issues related to the Herring River Restoration. The first was to ensure access to points upstream of the Chequessett Neck Road dike so that shellfishermen and recreational users can get to the river, and along with that they expressed concern about ongoing degradation of Duck Harbor Road. The second issue has to do with jurisdictional authority and the rights of the Town to manage fisheries versus the policies of Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) and potential constraints on access that would limit Town authority.
Don Palladino reported that the FHR had sent a support letter for funding the Cape Cod Watershed Program. The spring herring count is now underway, with volunteers working from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm each day. The FHR is also working on a short video about the river and is planning a number of educational events over the next few months.
Approval of Minutes: The Committee voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the March 1, 2012 meeting.
Next Meetings: The Committee agreed to the following meeting schedule:
HRRC: May 10, 2012
June 7, 2012
TWG: April 11, 2012
Informational Updates:
TNC/CYCC/NPS Land Plan and Appraisal: Margo Fenn reported that the Louis Berger Group (LBG) had completed the land plan report but the appraiser, Jim Czupryna did not expect to complete the appraisal until the end of April. There are some new comparable sales that he wishes to consider. David McGowan of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) will schedule a meeting with the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club (CYCC) representatives when the appraisal is completed.
APCC Project Coordination Contract: Steve Spear reported that the Cape Cod Conservation District (CCCD) had signed a new contract with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) to cover project coordination services through September 2012. He provided a copy of the contract to Hillary Greenberg. Margo Fenn noted that she had prepared a draft progress report for CCCD on the Committee’s activities over the last year and a half. Margo Fenn agreed to provide HRRC members with a copy of the CCCD Progress Report when it is completed.
Cultural Resources: National Park Service (NPS) Archaeologist Jim Harmon has redrafted the proposed Programmatic Agreement with the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Bill Burke provided a copy of the latest draft by email during the meeting.
Committee members agreed to review the draft Programmatic Agreement. Tim Smith will consult Bill Burke regarding Jim Harmon’s email and next steps.
Vegetation Change Presentation: Tim Smith introduced Charlie Roman (NPS) and Theresa Murphy, a student at the University of Rhode Island (URI). Charlie Roman is supervising Theresa Murphy’s research project to model vegetation change in the Herring River system. The project will focus on the distribution of Phragmites (common reed) in the estuary and how that will likely change with restoration of tidal flow.
Theresa Murphy provided a brief presentation on the scope of her study. She noted that a review of available literature indicates that mature Phragmites grows most vigorously in salinities of up to 20 ppt; seedlings thrive in salinities of 0-10 ppt. She presented some maps showing areas of inundation at mean high water spring (MHWS). Her study assumes that flooded areas will not have Phragmites. The Committee discussed which tidal benchmark would be the best measure for predicting vegetation change and how long salinity levels would have to be sustained to affect the vegetation. Eric Derleth noted that it would be interesting to compare the differences in the spread of Phragmites between Alternative B and Alternatives C/D, where there would be a larger opening in the CNR dike. Murphy’s
research project will be completed in May.
Discussion:
April 11, 2012 Technical Working Group (TWG) Meeting: The Committee reviewed the draft agenda for the upcoming TWG meeting. Tim Smith noted that Mitch Eaton of Cornell University would attend the meeting to advise the group on development of the Adaptive Management Plan. Eaton will visit the project site the day before the meeting and have a follow up meeting with interested HRRC members in Boston on April 12, 2012. Eaton has stressed that stakeholder outreach is very important in developing the Adaptive Management Plan. The TWG meeting will give him an opportunity to meet with some of the regulatory agencies and hear their concerns. He will also provide the group with some examples of how Adaptive Management has been applied in other projects. Eaton has agreed to draft a summary of the Adaptive Management
Plan for inclusion in the Draft EIS/EIR.
The Committee discussed how to define the scope of Adaptive Management activities, noting that there are both ecological and socioeconomic objectives to be factored into the Plan. There are many stakeholders for the Restoration Project as a whole, but the stakeholders for the Adaptive Management process would be a smaller subset of that stakeholder group.
The April TWG meeting is also an opportunity to confirm that the regulatory agencies are on-board with the permitting strategy outlined in Chapter 5 of the DEIS/EIR. Tim Smith and Eric Derleth plan to work with Mitch Eaton to prepare an Adaptive Management Summary for inclusion in the Appendix of the DEIS/EIR by mid-May 2012.
RAE/NOAA Grant-Request for Proposals (RFP): Following the March HRRC meeting, Steve Block prepared a revised draft RFP for engineering services related to the Chequessett Neck Road dike and tide gates. The Committee reviewed the revised RFP and made a number of suggestions to improve clarity. The group agreed that bidders should provide cost estimates for all the listed tasks, but that some of the tasks should be listed as required and others as optional. Required items should include:
Task 1: Prepare an Existing Conditions Plan
Task 2: Update CNR Dike Alternatives Analysis
Task 4: Prepare CNR Tide Control Option Report
Task 5: Prepare Draft Operations and Maintenance Plan for CNR and Mill Creek Dikes
The Committee discussed a number of specific issues. Tim Smith noted that the public would be concerned about what the dike and tide gates will look like; this needs to be mentioned to potential bidders at the pre-bid conference. Public access to the dike is also important. Designs should include provisions for pedestrian access along the dike. Cost estimates for the tide gates need to factor in passive vs. active management, and also replacement costs over time.
The Committee discussed how to handle traffic during reconstruction of the CNR dike. There are numerous issues to be considered including making provision for fish passage, the costs of dike reconstruction (with some or all lanes closed) and the costs of creating a bypass road if CNR is to be closed off during construction. Don Palladino asked if it would be possible to install a temporary crossing structure at CNR during construction. The group agreed that it would helpful to have some traffic counts along the road to estimate the number of vehicles that would need to be diverted. Hillary Greenberg offered to contact the Cape Cod Commission to see if traffic counters could be installed on CNR as part of its summer traffic counting program.
The Committee plans to invite approximately 10-15 firms to bid on the RFP. There will be a mandatory bidders conference prior to submission of written proposals. The Committee agreed to limit questions to email contacts so that responses can be provided to all interested bidders. Members suggested limiting the length of the proposal narratives to make the review process more manageable. Evaluation criteria need to be decided upon before the bidders conference. Don Palladino suggested having a two-stage selection process, with interviews for the top three selected firms.
Steve Block agreed to revise the RPF and compile a list of potential firms to contact. The final RFP will include a timeline. Tim Smith, Eric Derleth, Steve Block and Steve Spear will serve as the evaluation team for conducting the pre-bid conference and reviewing engineering proposals.
DEIS/EIR Chapters 4 & 5: Margo Fenn reported that there were just a few comments submitted by TWG members on Chapters 4 and 5: Jenna Pirrotta submitted comments related to the Essential Fish Habitat analysis and Tim Timmermann noted a small error in the Water Quality section. Steve Spear asked about the sediment analysis. Tim Smith agreed to ask Kirk Bosma of the Woods Hole Group (WHG) to review this section of Chapter 4. The Committee agreed that the narrative text of these chapters should be provided to LBG with direction to use it as is in the DEIS.
DEIS/EIR Chapters 2 & 3: Since the last HRRC meeting, Margo Fenn, Tim Smith and Eric Derleth have been working on the latest LBG drafts of Chapters 2 and 3. Margo Fenn noted that Chapter 2 is in pretty good shape but still needs to have two summary tables completed. Chapter 3 has required extensive review, as many of the changes that HRRC requested were not incorporated. Eric Derleth is working on a detailed edit of this chapter.
Eric Derleth and Tim Smith agreed to complete the edit of Chapter 3 and get a revised version to Mark Husbands. Tim Smith will review the draft Impact Summary Table for Chapter 2 and provide comments to Mark Husbands. Mark Husbands will provide the HRRC-edited versions of Chapters 2-5 to LBG.
DEIS/EIR Maps and Tables: The Committee discussed what types of graphics to use in the DEIS/EIR. There are several issues to be resolved regarding the maps and tables, including content, how the information should be presented, aesthetics, and proper placement in the text. Tim Smith reviewed the maps that the Committee had agreed upon in the fall of 2011. The group discussed what types of maps to use in each chapter, and agreed that it is important to use a consistent color scheme throughout so that the maps can be compared. Eric Derleth noted that standard scientific style is to provide table titles at the top of the table and figure titles at the bottom of the graphic. The Committee agreed that it would be preferable to remove logo references from the graphics.
The Committee agreed that the existing vegetation cover map in Chapter 3 is acceptable but the vegetation change map in Chapter 4 needs to add cross-hatching to show areas of inundation. One overall map showing vegetation change should be sufficient; the individual sub-basin maps are not needed. The Committee also discussed the salinity maps and the illustration that shows the typical relationship of vegetation types to tidal benchmarks. While salinity and vegetation will vary in different parts of the estuary, the group agreed that the illustration is still helpful in understanding the range of salt marsh species.
DEIS/EIR Schedule and Next Steps: Margo Fenn noted that LBG had prepared a revised project schedule that would call for the release of the DEIS/EIR in late summer and public hearings in September. There was a Cape Cod Times article recently describing the change in schedule. Committee members agreed that it would be preferable to accelerate the schedule so as to hold at least one of the hearings in the late summer. However, this will depend on how quickly the Committee, the NPS, the towns and the other Cooperating Agencies can review Version 2 of the DEIS/EIR. It also depends on how long it will take to get the DEIS/EIR listed in the Federal Register.
Mark Husbands joined the meeting by phone. He noted that the Federal Register notice does not have to include the dates of the public hearings, but it does have to include a description of the Project Alternatives, including identification of the Preferred Alternative. A minimum of eight weeks lead-time is needed between filing the notice and its publication. The Committee discussed the idea of providing briefings for NPS and town officials prior to completion of DEIS/EIR v.2 in order to seek consensus on the Preferred Alternative and allow the Federal Register notice to be filed. Shelley Hall and Mark Husbands agreed to check on procedures for briefing NPS officials and report back to the Committee.
Loose Ends: The Committee reviewed the March 24, 2012 list of Project Loose Ends and talked about what other follow up actions might be necessary.
Margo Fenn agreed to prepare a new list of loose ends reflecting the Committee’s discussion. Tim Smith agreed to contact Kirk Bosma to check on the delivery of the final Hydrodynamic and Sediment Modeling Report.
Tim Smith agreed to revise Chapters 4 and 5 to estimate available habitat for Decodon (Water Willow) before and after the Restoration Project. Chapter 5 should also include a section for compliance with the FEMA Letter of Map Revision process.
Eric Derleth agreed to seek a letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirming that there are not federally-listed species in the project area.
Tim Smith and Mark Husbands agreed check with LBG about compiling the official Administrative Record for the project.
The HRRC will provide update briefings for the Truro and Wellfleet Selectmen in early summer. Prior to release of the DEIS/EIR, the HRRC will develop an outreach strategy for working with the media.
Documents Referred to in the Meeting:
-Minutes of the March 1, 2012 HRRC Meeting
-Herring River Project Coordination Contract (APCC and CCCD): April 1, 2012-September 30, 2012
-Draft Programmatic Agreement between the Massachusetts Historical Commission and Cape Cod National Seashore, undated
-CNR Dike, Draft Request for Proposals, v. 2
-HR Project Loose Ends, March 24, 2012
Respectfully submitted,
Hillary Greenberg-Lemos
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