Minutes

Minutes

Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)

Atlantic Research and Learning Center, Highland Center

Old Dewline Road, North Truro, MA

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Members Present: Tim Smith, Steve Spear, Eric Derleth, Steve Block, Hunt Durey,  Peter Herridge, Hillary Greenberg

Others Present:  Margo Fenn, Martha Craig, Christine Odiaga, Don Palladino, Helen Miranda Wilson, Carole Ridley

Administration/Coordination:

Communications with Friends of Herring River (FHR):  Don Palladino updated the Committee on recent outreach activities.  FHR and HRRC issued a press release to announce signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club (CYCC).  FHR and HRRC also sent a letter to other structurally-affected landowners in Mill Creek to inform them about the agreement with CYCC. The Herring River Executive Council (HREC) and Wellfleet and Truro Boards of Selectmen were notified about these matters.

FHR is also planning its Annual Meeting, which will take place on August 15, 2017.  The group discussed the idea of focusing the Annual Meeting agenda on Blue Carbon.

Approval of Minutes:  The Committee voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the April 12, 2017 HRRC meeting.

Schedule of Meetings: The Committee approved the following schedule for upcoming meetings:

            June 7, 2017                            Herring River Executive Council meeting

            June 8, 2017                            HRRC regular meeting

            July 11, 2017                           HRRC regular meeting

Discussion and Updates:

Hydrodynamic Modeling:  The Committee reviewed the latest results of Woods Hole Group (WHG) model runs under a number of different storm scenarios.  Kirk Bosma of the WHG joined the meeting by phone to answer questions. The group discussed active tide management at Chequessett Neck Road during some combined storm surge and precipitation events.

CYCC Golf Course Design Work:  FHR has a proposal from ESS for the preparation of permit-ready design plans for the golf course.  Not all of this work can be completed by June 30, 2017 but work can begin as soon as the contract is approved. Steve Spear suggested that HRRC reconvene the CYCC golf course working group to oversee the proposed work.

Legal Issues:  Don Palladino and Margo Fenn will meet on May 18, 2017 with the town managers and the Acting Superintendent of Cape Cod National Seashore to plan a meeting with the respective legal counsels for the Project partners.

Preconstruction Monitoring:  The WHG has provided a revised proposal to purchase and install tide monitoring equipment for Herring River. The plan is to install five monitoring stations in lower Herring River and Wellfleet Harbor to track tide levels.  Permits may be needed to install the monitoring stations.  The HRRC agreed that work should proceed.

The Committee discussed the broader plan for pre- and post-construction monitoring activities.  The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will begin work on groundwater monitoring in the Mill Creek basin soon.  Well-drillers are expected to begin work next week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expressed interest in seeing a big picture plan for Project monitoring activities. Tim Smith and Eric Derleth are working on this as part of the Adaptive Management Plan.

Budget and Contract Review for FY17:  Carole Ridley provided the HRRC with an outline of tasks developed in SmartSheet format.  The Committee discussed the status of each task in the work program and reviewed next steps for the FY18 budget requests.

Chequessett Neck Road and Mill Creek Dikes and Tide Gates:  Permit-ready design plans should be completed by June 30, 2017 for both these infrastructure elements. Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Plans are needed for both structures, including both technical and organizational protocols for operating and maintaining the dikes and tide gates.  While final designs will not be prepared until the permitting process is completed, some funding may be needed in FY18 for required design changes and general permitting support.

Low-lying Properties:  Flood-prevention work for a small number of private properties will be proposed in the first phase of the Project. Additional funding may be needed in FY18 for conceptual design plans for some other private properties, and possibly for pre-construction monitoring of private wells.

Low-lying Roads: Permit-ready design plans should be completed by June 30, 2017 for all roads potentially affected during the first phase of the Project. Funding will be needed in FY18 for developing permit-ready design plans for later phases of roadwork.  Funding may also be needed in FY18 to refine design plans for raising the road and installing a tide gate at Pole Dike Road. The Committee discussed which road segments would be affected in different phases of restoration.

Secondary Management Plan:  Tim Smith is developing draft recommendations for sediment and vegetation management in the different sub-basins of the river.  The Committee discussed how to quantify these activities for purposes of the permit applications. The Permit applications need to outline the full range of possible activities, but the proposed approach is to develop thresholds and criteria for when and where these activities would be implemented, evaluate alternatives and seek approval from the Regulatory Oversight Group (ROG) and the Herring River Executive Council (HREC) about specific activities and locations as part of the Adaptive Management process.

The Committee discussed a number of possible topics for future research including domestic well monitoring, water column monitors for sediment, detailed bathymetric mapping of Lower Herring River, field investigations about existing vegetation, and groundwater monitoring in Mill Creek.

Modeling and Adaptive Management:  The Committee discussed how to integrate the existing hydrodynamic model with other ecosystem models as part of the Adaptive Management Plan. The Graphic User Interface (GUI) needs to be completed in order to define the next steps.  It would be helpful to have a complete list of all the products that the Woods Hole Group (WHG) has developed for the Project.  Additional funding will be needed in FY18 to continue WHG’s work in developing the consequence table and decision tool for adaptive management.

Rare Species:  Some further work is needed track box turtles tagged in earlier studies.

Cultural Resources:  Some funding might be needed in FY18 for further cultural resource surveys on the CYCC property.

Legal Issues:  The Committee agreed that additional funding should be budgeted in FY18 for both legal consultations and mediation.

Fundraising Next Steps:  FHR needs to get the final report from Laura Rose Day regarding the fundraising strategy.

Documents Referred to in the Meeting:

            -Minutes of the 4-12-17 HRRC Meeting