Minutes

Meeting date: 
Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Minutes

Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)

Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters

Wellfleet, MA

November 15, 2017

 

Members Present: Tim Smith, Hunt Durey, Steve Spear, Steve Block, Gary Joseph, Eric Derleth, Peter Herridge

 

Others Present:  Margo Fenn, Martha Craig, Carole Ridley, Christine Odiaga, Helen Miranda Wilson, Nita Tallent, Shawn Mulligan

 

Administration/Coordination:

 

Update from NPS Officials:  Shawn Mulligan, Acting Superintendent of Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) and Nita Tallent, CCNS Chief of Natural Resources Management updated the Committee on National Park Service (NPS) activities.  The Committee discussed the process for seeking construction funds for Project infrastructure, and how to best coordinate with partner federal agencies. The group also discussed vegetation management and monitoring activities. The CCNS Fire Management Team will conduct some vegetation clearing in and around the Mill Creek dike site in mid-November.

 

Approval of Minutes:  The Committee voted to approve the minutes of the October 18, 2017 Meeting.

 

Meeting Schedule:  The Committee approved the following schedule for upcoming meetings:

           

            Tuesday, December 12, 2017             HRRC regular meeting

            Wednesday, January 10, 2018             HRRC regular meeting

 

Discussion and Updates:

 

Public Outreach:  The Committee discussed ongoing public outreach efforts.  Friends of the Herring River (FHR) has prepared a newsletter describing Phase 1 of the Project that will be mailed to Wellfleet and Truro residents.  The Committee reviewed the draft newsletter. The Project team is also preparing individual letters to property owners who abut the estuary to update them on Project plans. The Committee discussed what should be included in the letters and the timetable for sending them out.

 

The Committee discussed a public records request from the Cape Cod Times regarding private properties that will experience tidal restoration in Phase 1.  The group also discussed coordination with those property owners who need structural mitigation in Phase 1.

 

Stakeholder Group:  At its 9/25/17 meeting, the Herring River Executive Council (HRE) appointed the members of the new Herring River Stakeholders Group and asked that those members be invited to attend the next HREC meeting. That meeting will likely take place in January 2018. Town officials have notified the newly appointed Stakeholder Group members and are working with the designated chair on next steps for convening this group.

 

Hydrologic Modeling:  The Committee discussed ongoing hydrologic modeling activities and discussed how to characterize model results for different tidal benchmarks. The group agreed that some additional modeling of combined storm effects with drainage improvements would be useful. The Committee also discussed a possible update of groundwater studies prepared by retired NPS hydrologist, Larry Martin.

 

Permitting:  The Committee discussed the timetable for review of the draft Project of Community Benefit Hardship Exemption application to the Cape Cod Commission. HRRC members are reviewing the draft document prepared by ESS.  Tim Smith noted that further work is needed on the adaptive management section of the application. There are two pending contracts with Woods Hole Group (WHG) that will contribute to this work.  The Committee agreed that the WHG contracts should proceed.

 

CYCC Golf Course Design:  ESS and the Howard Maurer Group are preparing permit-ready golf course design plans.  Some additional archaeological investigations are in progress.  Steve Spear updated the Committee on an ESS pump design proposal.

 

Legal Issues:  The Committee discussed the process for seeking needed property owner permissions for filing permit applications and reviewed next steps.

 

Documents Referred to in the Meeting:

 

-Minutes of the 10/18/17 HRRC meeting

-FHR draft newsletter (Fall 2017)