12/17/14 Approved Mtg Mins
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters
Wellfleet, MA
December 17, 2014
9:00 am-5:00 pm
Members Present: Tim Smith, Steve Spear, Steve Block, Eric Derleth, Hunt Durey
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Martha Rheinhardt, Don Palladino, John Portnoy
Administration/Coordination with Friends of Herring River (FHR): Don Palladino provided an update on FHR activities. There has been a good response to a year-end fundraising solicitation. Stantec submitted the final report for the Upper Herring River road crossings and FHR has closed out the Massachusetts Bays Program grant for this work. FHR has developed curriculum for Wellfleet Elementary School to do classroom exercises and fieldwork associated with the Restoration Project. FHR is also putting together a calendar of events for 2015.
Group Calendar/Google Drive: The Committee discussed the use of some online tools for sharing documents and keeping a group calendar. Hunt Durey suggested that future agendas and minutes be posted on Google Drive to get HRRC members in the habit of using it.
Approval of Minutes: The Committee voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the November 13, 2014 HRRC meeting.
Meeting Schedule: The Committee agreed on the following schedule for upcoming meetings:
January 13, 2014 HRRC regular meeting
February 11, 2014 HRRC regular meeting
MOU III Update: Margo Fenn gave the Committee an update on a November meeting with legal counsels from the towns and the Department of Interior’s Solicitor’s Office. She noted that this group would meet again on December 19, 2014 to continue the discussion of legal questions related to the MOU and the Project.
Low-lying Properties: Martha Rheinhardt updated the Committee on recent contacts with low-lying property owners. The Committee discussed next steps in seeking survey information for low-lying properties and prioritized locations for the next phase of work.
Hydrodynamic Modeling: Kirk Bosma of the Woods Hole Group (WHG) joined the meeting by phone to discuss whether further hydrodynamic model runs are needed to evaluate the effects of raising public road segments within the floodplain. Bosma indicated that WHG had recommended larger culvert sizes for some of the upstream culverts in order to accommodate coastal storms . If the culverts are enlarged, they would not be restrictive and therefore there would be no need for further modeling work in this area.
The Committee also discussed how wide an opening is needed at High Toss Road. Kirk Bosma said that it would be best to remove the entire roadway where it crosses the floodplain to ensure adequate tidal flow and drainage. However, there might be other ways to achieve adequate flow and drainage. FHR will hire and engineering consultant to explore options for modifying High Toss Road and providing pedestrian access to Griffin Island. Any plan for High Toss Road should take into account existing topography in the floodplain, both above and below the road.
Updates of Work Plan for FY 2015: The Committee briefly reviewed each of the ongoing work program elements, as follows:
Chequessett Neck Road (CNR) Bridge & Tide Gates: Fuss & O’Neill is preparing a new proposal for the next phase of design work for the CNR bridge and tide gates.
Tim Smith and Don Palladino agreed to work with Fuss & O’Neill to review the proposal and prepare a contract amendment for the next phase of work.
Mill Creek Dike: National Park Service (NPS) officials are reviewing the alternatives for design of the Mill Creek dike. The Committee agreed that design work for the new dike should include options based on whether landowner approvals are gained for use of private lands.
High Toss Road: Don Palladino noted that FHR had received four proposals to develop design alternatives for High Toss Road and will interview two consulting firms on December 18, 2014.
Low-lying Road Design: Louis Berger Group (LBG) was selected to prepare design plans to raise portions of Old County, Bound Brook and Pole Dike Roads. A kick-off meeting with LBG was planned for December 18, 2014.
Cultural Resource Assessment: The Public Archaeology Lab (PAL) conducted a walkover of the CNR bridge and construction staging area in early December. PAL is preparing a proposal to conduct Phase 1B cultural resource investigations for this area. The Committee discussed modifying the scope of this work to include areas of potential upland disturbance on the CYCC golf course.
Rare Species Monitoring: Tim Smith has contacted a potential entomology expert to do the research/monitoring for water willow stem borers. Other experts will be needed to conduct the ornithology (bird survey) and herpetology (turtle survey) work. Tim Smith agreed to consult with the MA Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) to identify other qualified experts to conduct the rare species monitoring.
CBI Facilitation Update: HRRC representatives updated the Committee on facilitation discussions with the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club.
FEIS/EIR Update: Tim Smith is updating Chapter 4 of the DEIS/EIR to incorporate new information and analysis. Remaining tasks include final edits to the Concern/Response Report, completion of the Adaptive Management appendix, updates to Chapter 5 (including developing the Section 61 Findings). Once these tasks are complete, LBG will produce a redline draft of the FEIS/EIR for internal review. Steve Block noted that NOAA’s NEPA staff wish to see the internal draft before it is released for public review.
Herring River Adaptive Management Plan (HRAM) Update: The USGS Adaptive Management team (Dave Smith and Jill Gannon) are continuing to refine the performance measures for adaptive management objectives. Part of the HRAM effort will involve establishing a core science team to advise on modeling and monitoring efforts.
USFWS Grant for Graphical User Interface (GUI): FHR has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a graphical user interface for the Herring River hydrodynamic model.
Project Fundraising Strategy: HRRC members and FHR have been consulting with representatives of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and other non-government organizations about developing a fundraising strategy for the Restoration Project. TNC developed a short fact sheet about the Project to use in this effort. One question that has arisen during these discussions is whether the Project should be implemented in phases to make the construction fundraising more manageable.