Approved Herring River Restoration Committee Mtg Mins
Minutes
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters
Wellfleet, MA
June 9, 2016
9:30 am-5:00 pm
Members Present: Tim Smith, Steve Spear, Eric Derleth, Steve Block, Hunt Durey, Peter Herridge
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Don Palladino, Martha Craig, Helen Miranda Wilson
Administration/Coordination:
Approval of Minutes: The Committee voted to approve the minutes of the May 12, 2016 HRRC meeting.
Meeting Schedule: The Committee approved the following schedule for upcoming meetings:
June 30, 2016 Regular HRRC meeting
June 30, 2016 MEPA/Cape Cod Commission Public Hearing on FEIR
July 7, 2016 Project Coordination Conference Call (9 am-Noon)
August 10, 2016 Regular HRRC meeting
Hunt Durey suggested that each of the HRRC task leaders prepare their thoughts about next steps for the upcoming grant work tasks.
Communications/Coordination with Friends of Herring River (FHR): Don Palladino updated the Committee on recent FHR activities. FHR is preparing a history of Herring River, which should be available later this summer. FHR recently sent out a letter to all the abutting property owners to update them on the status of the Restoration Project and provide them with a link to review the FEIR. FHR is also planning a summer series of lectures at the Wellfleet Library. Don Palladino is preparing a short written update for the Boards of Selectmen, as well. FHR is continuing to meet with low-lying property owners, as needed.
The Committee discussed a briefing and site visit for Congressman Keating on June 17, 2016. National Park Service (NPS), town and state officials will be invited to attend.
The Committee also discussed staffing for FHR, in light of Chris Rein’s resignation. A subcommittee of FHR and HRRC members will evaluate the Executive Director job description and upcoming priorities.
FEIS/EIR Schedule and Next Steps: Mark Husbands of the NPS Environmental Quality Division joined the meeting by phone. The FEIR has been filed with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) unit and was noticed in the June 8, 2016 Environmental Monitor. The Cape Cod Commission and MEPA have scheduled a public hearing on the FEIR for 5:30 pm on June 30, 2016 at the Wellfleet Council on Aging. Federal noticing of the FEIS under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is in progress, but that process will take a little longer. As soon as it is noticed in the Federal Register, a 30-day no action period will begin. NPS can file the final Record of Decision (ROD) following the close of that 30-day period.
Hard copies of the FEIS/EIR have been provided to the public libraries in Wellfleet and Truro. The appendices are included in an enclosed compact disk (CD). The document is also available for download from a Google Drive site.
The Committee discussed plans for the June 30, 2016 public hearing. The group agreed that the leaders of the Project partners (Cape Cod National Seashore and the Towns of Wellfleet and Truro) should welcome the public at the beginning of the hearing. Tim Smith will provide an overview presentation on the Restoration Project, on behalf of the Restoration Committee.
The group also discussed the makeup of a new regulatory oversight committee, which would further the role of the existing Technical Working Group (TWG) created under the 2008 MEPA Certificate.
Completion of FY16 Work Program Elements:
CBI Facilitation: The Consensus Building Institute is continuing to facilitate discussions between HRRC and the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club (CYCC). HRRC representatives met with CYCC officials on April 20th and May 10th to discuss a funding and implementation plan for raising the CYCC golf course, the adaptive management process, project permitting and other related issues. The Committee discussed again the permitting approach for the Restoration Project and needed monitoring for adaptive management.
Other Work Program Elements: Martha Craig is preparing a list of expected deliverables under the FY16 DER grant. The list will include a timeline of when draft deliverables are expected and will assign responsibility for reviewing draft documents. HRRC noted that all members will need to set aside time in June to review the draft deliverables.
Project Fundraising: Steve Spear reported on a recent meeting that he attended with the Regional Conservationist of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Don Palladino reported on a recent meeting with the Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Office of Habitat Conservation. The Committee discussed how to coordinate among the key federal agencies to begin the fundraising process. Peter Herridge asked if corporate sponsorship has been considered.
The Committee also discussed the importance of carbon reductions as part of the Project benefits. Tim Smith noted that the Center for Coastal Studies and APCC have recently initiated an effort to get Cape non-profit organizations to commit to greenhouse gas reductions. He suggested that the Herring River Project should coordinate with this effort.
Adaptive Management: Tim Smith and Eric Derleth updated the Committee on ongoing work on the Adaptive Management Plan. HRRC representatives are working with the USGS team to fill out a draft consequence table, making predictions on the likely impacts to a whole range of ecological and socio-economic resources under different tide gate management strategies. This is a very detailed analysis that will enable the group to better understand which objectives and measurements make a meaningful difference in evaluating different restoration strategies. This will help the group to focus the modeling and monitoring efforts on the factors that are most important.
Other Business: Margo Fenn noted that she was still trying to find a meeting date for the MOU Working Group. Because of scheduling conflicts, this will likely need to be sometime in July.
Documents Referred to in the Meeting:
-Minutes of the 5/12/16 HRRC Meeting