Approved Meeting Minutes
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters
Wellfleet, MA
February 7, 2013
9:30 am-5:00 pm
Members Present: Tim Smith, Eric Derleth, Steve Spear, Steve Block, Charleen Greenhalgh, Hunt Durey
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Don Palladino, Peter Watts
Administration/Coordination:
Communications with the Friends of Herring River (FHR): Don Palladino reported that FHR has not yet heard about the Massachusetts Bays Program (MBP) grant. He inquired about possible next steps for correcting siltation problems in Patience Brook. Tim Smith offered to check with National Park Service (NPS) officials about this.
MET Grant Proposal: Tim Smith noted that there is additional geotechnical work that would need to be done to prepare design plans for a FEMA-compliant bridge at Chequessett Neck Road. The FHR will seek a grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET) to fund the 25% design of a new bridge, but other funding will be needed to do the geotechnical work. Fuss & O’Neill has prepared a new cost estimate for doing the necessary work. Hunt Durey suggested using Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) funding to cover the cost of the geotechnical investigations. This could provide part of the necessary match for the grant. The MET grant application is due March 15, 2013.
Tim Smith agreed to provide the revised Fuss & O’Neill scope of work to Don Palladino and the HRRC members. Eric Derleth and Hunt Durey offered provide support letters for the MET grant and send them to Don Palladino at FHR, P.O. Box 496, Wellfleet, MA 02667.
Approval of Minutes: The Committee voted to approve the minutes of the January 10, 2013 meeting.
Schedule of Meetings: The Committee agreed on the following schedule for upcoming meetings:
February 14, 2013 MOU III Working Group Meeting
March 6, 2013 (regular meeting)
March 7, 2013 (meeting with NPS and MHC officials)
April 4, 2013 (regular meeting)
Low-Lying Property Outreach: Peter Watts (Chair of the Stakeholders Committee created under the 2005 Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Wellfleet and the National Park Service) joined the meeting. Margo Fenn provided an update on the HRRC’s efforts to reach out to affected property owners. She noted that there are 376 parcels of low-lying private land surrounding the estuary. The HRRC compiled a database of all these properties and using the hydrodynamic modeling done by the Woods Hole Group (WHG), the Committee was able to estimate physical impacts to these properties. The Committee developed a classification system to evaluate the types and severity of impacts under different tidal benchmarks (e.g. mean high water, mean high water spring, average annual high water, 100 year storm, etc.). The
classification system evaluated a range of different types of potential impacts such as infrequent and frequent flooding of natural vegetation, cultivated vegetation (such as lawns and gardens), and structures (such as buildings, driveways, wells, etc.). While the majority of impacts are changes to natural vegetation, there are 28 parcels that may experience some kind of structural impact. The classification system also looked at potential changes in regulatory jurisdiction such as the boundary of the Riverfront Area under the Wetlands Protection Act, and assigned a score to each property, based on the all the potential physical and regulatory impacts.
The HRRC developed a letter to low-lying property owners that was sent out prior to the release of the DEIS/EIR in October 2012. Each letter explained the types of impacts that could be expected for that property, and invited the landowners to contact the HRRC if they wished to get further information. A total of 376 letters were sent out, and thus far, 35 landowners have responded, seeking more information. The HRRC set up an email address and a landowner database to track these contacts. As requests have come in from landowners, individual members of the HRRC have been assigned to follow up with specific landowners. The Committee members have provided maps and explanatory material to landowners, and in some cases, have conducted site visits. Further on-site investigations will likely be needed for those properties
with potential structural impacts.
Tim Smith presented some of the low-lying property maps. Peter Watts noted that several low-lying property owners had contacted him with concerns. The group discussed options for the Pole Dike Creek and Mill Creek basins. Steve Spear explained that the DEIS/DEIR did not include information regarding property-specific impacts or potential mitigation options because that level of detail is not appropriate to evaluate under the NEPA/MEPA/CCC review processes. It was also impractical to include property-specific details in this document due to the number of parcels involved. Additionally, the HRRC felt that including information in a DEIS/DEIR public document regarding specific private properties would raise landowner privacy concerns.
Hunt Durey noted that the HRRC would meet with the property owners who would have structural impacts and if necessary, get site-specific survey information to use in developing mitigation options. The project partners will have to reach a legal agreement with each structurally affected property owner outlining agreed-upon mitigation actions. He noted that while there are a small number of property owners who oppose the project, there are many other affected property owners who support it. Peter Watts suggested that it might make sense to meet with small groups of neighboring owners together to explore mitigation options.
The group briefly discussed methods for vegetation management and reviewed the timeline for design and permitting, fundraising and construction.
Hunt Durey noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is also in the process of revising its flood maps for Barnstable County. FEMA plans to release the new maps for public review in February of 2013. The towns will be required to notify property owners about changes in the flood maps. Part of this process is an evaluation of existing flood-control structures like the Chequessett Neck Road dike. Should the dike be decertified as a flood control structure, areas upstream of the dike could be remapped as flood zones. The HRRC needs make sure that citizens understand the relationship between the FEMA remapping and the Herring River Restoration Project.
Tim Smith asked if the Stakeholders Committee should be reconstituted. Peter Watts thought that was not necessary as most of the stakeholders are already involved in some aspect of the restoration planning process.
Woods Hole Group Final Hydrodynamic Modeling Report: The Woods Hole Group (WHG) has provided its final modeling report to the HRRC. Steve Spear noted that he had reviewed the response to comments included in the package of materials from WHG and found it generally satisfactory. The Committee discussed the idea of peer review of the modeling report. Tim Smith noted that NPS staff had provided a form of peer review for the first draft of the report. The group discussed asking either the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to review the final report.
Steve Spear agreed to check with NRCS officials about the possibility of a technical review of the WHG final report. Tim Smith will check with USACE about the same.
Fuss and O’Neill Engineering Work for Mill Creek: NPS GIS Director Mark Adams provided the HRRC with some parcel maps showing the NPS property boundaries in Mill Creek. Fuss and O’Neill will use these maps to stake the boundary location on the ground and to evaluate potential locations for a Mill Creek dike.
MOU III Working Group: Margo Fenn updated the Committee on the process for developing a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU III) for the next phase of the Restoration Project. The Working Group met on January 17, 2013 to begin the process of weighing long-term ownership and management options. The Working Group agreed to focus first on the most difficult task: Determining the ownership/management structure for the Chequessett Neck Road dike/bridge and tide gates. This is the most important component of the project infrastructure.
At the January meeting, the Working Group discussed initial issues and concerns, reviewed the schedule for drafting the MOU, reviewed and approved the draft MOU III Work Plan, and discussed governance and management options. The group agreed that the town representatives should meet with their respective Boards of Selectmen as soon as possible to seek guidance on the towns’ preferences as to ownership and management approaches, particularly regarding the third party option. Don Palladino and Margo Fenn agreed to prepare a background paper providing some detail about how a third-party entity might be structured, using examples of other such organizations and provide that paper for the Selectmen to review prior to their February meetings.
The HRRC members reviewed a draft agenda for the February 14, 2013 meeting of the Working Group. Don Palladino presented some slides that describe the characteristics of two independent restoration organizations: The Penobscot River Trust in Maine and the Elkhorn Slough Trust in California. The Committee agreed that these models would be useful to discuss with the Working Group. Steve Block also suggested researching some watershed management districts. The group also discussed the management structure for the Hatches Harbor project in Provincetown.
The Committee discussed a number of potential challenges in trying to pursue a third-party entity to manage the Restoration Project, including:
-How to acquire and ensure a long-term revenue stream?
-Who would have legal liability for maintaining and operating the project infrastructure?
-What would be the process/limitations for government agency participation/representation?
-How to resolve conflicts among the project partners?
-What would be the process for creating third-party entity (Would legislation be needed?)
-Would the organization exist in perpetuity or should it be set up with some kind of sunset provision?
The Committee also asked if there are models elsewhere in the country where the NPS has partnered with local government to manage resources. Tim Smith agreed to research this question.
NOAA Grant Application: The Committee discussed the draft scope of work, budget and narrative for the NOAA grant application. Steve Block stressed that the application should focus on benefits to NOAA managed species. The Committee discussed potential sources of match for the grant including the following:
-$100,000 in in-kind services from the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club Board and staff
-$100,000 in in-kind services from Wellfleet town officials
-$20,720 in in-kind services from Truro town officials
-$40,000 in in-kind services from the Friends of Herring River (FHR)
-$69,600 in in-kind services from the MA Division of Ecological Restoration (DER)
-$50,000 in cash from the MET grant (potential)
-$100,000 in cash from DER (possible but some of these funds may be needed for other activities)
It is not possible to provide a one-to-one match for a grant this large, but the Committee agreed to seek guidance about how best to structure the matching funds. Hunt Durey cautioned that the funding for the NOAA grant program is uncertain and urged the Committee to continue to seek other funding sources for upcoming project activities.
Cultural Resources: Following the January HRRC meeting, the Public Archaeology Lab (PAL) redrafted the Programmatic Agreement to address the concerns raised by the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC). NPS Historian Bill Burke is arranging a meeting and site visit for MHC staff on March 7, 2013. The Committee discussed what to cover in that meeting. The group discussed the Area of Potential Effect (APE) and agreed again that mere inundation is unlikely to cause detrimental impacts to archaeological resources in wetland areas. The group agreed that a conference call is needed among HRRC members and NPS staff to plan the meeting with MHC.
DEIS/EIR Response to Comments: Tim Smith and Margo Fenn have consulted with Mark Husbands of the NPS Environmental Quality Division (EQD) regarding a draft set of Statements of Concern prepared by the Louis Berger Group (LBG). The Statements are intended to categorize and summarize the range of issues raised in public comments on the DEIS/EIR. However, the initial draft of this document is lengthy and somewhat repetitive. It needs to be reorganized to make it useable.
Mark Husbands, Tim Smith and Margo Fenn agreed to review and consolidate the Statements of Concern and distribute them to the HRRC prior to the March 6, 2013 meeting.
Public Outreach and Landowner Engagement Plan: Margo Fenn had prepared and distributed to the Committee a rough outline for a Public Outreach and Landowner Engagement Plan. She briefly reviewed the outline with the Committee members and discussed some of the questions at the end of the document. The group agreed that the Friends of Herring River (FHR) should take the lead on public outreach; however, the HRRC must be responsible for landowner engagement. The Committee thought that an initial one-year timeline for the plan made sense. Members stressed that social media should be used in outreach efforts. Don Palladino suggested asking some communications professionals for advice in crafting messages for different audiences. Additional funding may be needed to implement some of the communications goals. Tim Smith suggested that the
Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership might be a possible source of funding for such activities. Hunt Durey suggested that the plan establish specific benchmarks for outreach activities.
Margo Fenn agreed to begin development of the Public Outreach Plan, including a description of the ongoing landowner engagement efforts. The HRRC will review the rough outline and provide comments and suggestions to Margo Fenn and Don Palladino. Under the Project Coordination contract with DER, the deadline for completion of the Plan is June 30, 2013.
Response to MA DEP Comments on the DEIS/EIR: At the January 30, 2013 Technical Working Group meeting, the HRRC members agreed that they should meet with MA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials to discuss some of their comments on the DEIS/EIR. Hunt Durey prepared a draft list of issues to discuss with DEP staff and legal counsel. The Committee reviewed this list and suggested a few clarifications.
Hunt Durey agreed to rework the list of issues and provide those to the HRRC and to Jim Sprague at DEP. Once this list is complete, Jim Sprague will arrange a meeting with DEP, preferably in early March. Tim Smith will arrange a similar session with the MA Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) staff, if possible before the DEP meeting. This will include scoping out what might need to be addressed in a habitat management plan.
Fuss & O’Neill Engineering Work: Tim Smith reviewed some recent cost estimates for the remaining engineering work by Fuss & O’Neill. The Committee discussed a needed amendment to the RAE-NOAA scope of work through the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). Approximately $30,000 is needed for geotechnical borings at Chequessett Neck. Hunt Durey suggested using DER funds for this purpose. Another $50,000 is needed to prepare the 25% design plans for a new bridge at this location. The FHR is seeking an MET grant to fund this task. Another $46,000 is needed to prepare layout plans and structural alternatives for a Mill Creek dike.
Tim Smith agreed to distribute the Fuss & O’Neill cost estimates to the HRRC and check to see if sufficient funds remain in the RAE-NOAA grant to cover the Mill Creek dike work.
Documents referred to in the meeting:
-Minutes of the January 10, 2013 HRRC Meeting
-Woods Hole Group Final Hydrodyanmic Modeling Report
-Herring River Working Draft Programmatic Agreement, January 24, 2013
-Rough Outline: Public Education and Landowner Engagement Plan
Respectfully submitted,
Hillary Greenberg-Lemos
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