Herring River Restoration Committee
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC) Meeting
Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters
Wellfleet, MA
Thursday, July 12, 2018
HRRC members present: Eric Derleth (USFWS); Tim Smith (CCNS), Hunt Durey (MADER), Steve Block (NOAA), Peter Herridge (Truro), Gary Joseph (Wellfleet), Hillary Greenberg-Lemos (Town of Wellfleet), Steve Spear (NRCS)
Others present: Helen Miranda Wilson (Wellfleet Select Board), Martha Craig (FHR), Christine Odiaga (FHR), Carole Ridley (HRRC Coordinator); Brian Carlstrom* (CCNS) *Attended portion of the meeting
Administration/Coordination
By consensus, the members approved the minutes of the June 13, 2018
The following dates of upcoming HRRC meetings were discussed and agreed to:
Thursday, August 9, 2018 HRRC regular meeting
Thursday, September 13, 2018 HRRC regular meeting
Wednesday, October 10, 2018 HRRC regular meeting
(Wednesday, September 12, 2018 Hold for meetings for HRRC if needed)
Discussion & Updates
The HREC is tentatively scheduled to meet the following dates:
Thursday, September 20, 2018 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Wednesday, January 16, 2019 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Wednesday, July 17, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:00
The Herring River Stakeholders Group (HRSG) held its first meeting on June xx at which Tim Smith provided an overview presentation on Phase 1 restoration and Martha described the partners’ roles as spelled out under MOUIII. The HRSG is scheduled to meet again on Thursday, July 25, 2018, from 5-7 pm at the Truro Community Center. The agenda will include an introductory presentation on adaptive management by Tim Smith. The HRSG also will discuss and prioritize future discussion topics.
HRRC members suggested that other topics for future HRSG meetings: Adaptive management, Traffic management; public access, pre-restoration modeling, and explaining groundwater monitoring to dispel concerns about impacts to wells or from the landfill plume.
Permitting
The status of DRI application was discussed. The current working draft application incorporates comments and edits from HRRC members, Carole Ridley, Margo Fenn as well as John Portnoy and Anderson and Kreiger. Several comments made by reviewers were discussed.
Based on the discussion and resolution of outstanding comments on the draft DRI application, the HRRC agreed that with the changes discussed, the application should be forwarded to ESS for formatting with with all the graphics and appendices. The HRRC will then review the compiled document. Draft application materials will be provided to the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club (CYCC) for review prior to filing with the Commission. The current schedule is to submit to the Cape Cod Commission in late July or Early August.
Update from the National Park Service (NPS)
Brian Carlstrom joined the HRRC for an update from the National Park Service. He is in consultation with the NPS officials to explore the possibility of hosting a joint meeting of federal agency representatives to discuss the project, and invited input from the HRRC on potential agenda items for such a meeting. The group also discussed a joint meeting of legal counsel from DOI, the Towns and Friends of Herring River.
Adaptive Management Plan
Tim Smith reported that the social indicators workshop regarding how to predict and monitor social impacts associated with restoration was productive and provided helpful feedback for further development of that aspect of the Adaptive Management Plan.
Project Timeline and Fundraising
Steve Spear reported on two recent visits from officials from Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). The visiting officials were very impressed with the project and see it as a good fit for both technical assistance funding and implementation funding through the Cape Cod Water Resource Restoration Project. Steve will be in contact with NRCS officials about FY17 technical assistance funds that very likely will be made available to the project. He also reported that NRCS officials recommended that the project seek implementation funding once it is further into the permitting process.
A newly release RFP from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for coastal resiliency funding was discussed. Although the project is a good fit, the timing of the RFP does not align with project needs and schedule. The group felt that it would be best to consider applying for funding in the following year, unless near term planning needs were identified.
Helen briefed the HRRC on her concerns and recent discussions by the Wellfleet Select Board about a possible MOU between Wellfleet and Truro under Phase 1. Truro approved a version of the MOU and Wellfleet has referred questions about the MOU to Town Counsel.
Budget Priorities for FY19
DER announced a $700,000 FY19 grant on July 9th.
Martha Craig reported that the transition between the close of FY18 and the beginning of FY19 occurred without any funding gaps. The group reviewed the anticipated FY19 tasks and associated budget needs for each HRRC sub-committee: CYCC; Modeling, monitoring and adaptive management; sediment management; major infrastructure; permitting; rare species; legal and fundraising. Input from each subcommittee will be used to refine FY budget projections and timeline for use of funds.
Minutes Approved by vote of the Herring River Restoration Committee on August 9, 2018.
Submitted by Carole Ridley, HRRC Coordinator