WRIA 14 PLANNING UNIT MEETING

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

2:30-4:30 p.m.

Shelton Civic Center

Shelton, WA

Meeting Summary

Attendance:

1.      Presentation by NW Land & Water on the Hydro-Geo Study

q      Jim Mathieu gave an overview of the work NWLW has been doing for the WRIA, and presented some workplan options for the next phase of work.

q      One option (Plan A) would result in more detailed assessment of a defined focus area.  Another option (Plan D) would offer a less detailed assessment over a larger, regional area.  Plan B would add some geo-chemical analysis to Plan A, and Plan C would take the results of Plans A & B and put them into a quantitative flow model.

q      The PU decided it preferred Plan A to Plan D, and also decided it could not afford Plan C at this time.  Thus, it was decided to move forward with Plan A.  The PU may also decide to add some or all of the components of Plan B after it has reviewed the PU budget.

q      To accomplish this, three tasks need to be started simultaneously: 1) Phil will obtain technical review/approval from the Instream flow experts at Ecology and WDFW (which is required before a grant amendment can will proceed); 2) Susan and Phil will work on a grant amendment to the Instream flow grant to secure funding; and 3) Jim will prepare a draft scope of work for a contact amendment (but the contract amendment cannot be processed until the grant amendment is signed).

q      The PU agreed to set aside $10,000 of the Instream flow grant for Step C of the grant—evaluating Instream flows based on the results of the study.

q      The PU also requested that the contract with NWLW include a “check point” early on in the process to determine whether an adequate number of wells can be identified and instrumented. 

2.      Temperature Study of John’s Creek

q      John Konovsky gave an overview of a temperature study completed last summer on Johns Creek.  The study relied on an infrared temperature survey conducted by a fly-over.

q      The PU discussed whether it should fund a similar project for Goldsborough Creek and agreed this should be a high priority.  John estimates the PU costs would be around $9,000.

q      The PU will finalize a decision on this at its next PU meeting when it conducts a budget review.

3.      Storage Grant

q      The PU reviewed the latest draft of the proposed storage grant project. 

q      The PU agreed that the proposal was a good idea and supported moving forward with the grant application to Ecology.

q      The next steps are:

o       Cosmopolitan (the City’s engineering consultant) should put this into the format of a grant application;

o       If the grant is approved, the City will amend their contract with Cosmopolitan to include this work and the County & City will sign an interlocal agreement to transfer the grant money from the County to the City.

o       In the meantime, the PU would like Cosmopolitan to prepare a more detailed budget (with specific personnel and hourly rates).  The PU also wants to reconsider how much of the storage grant to direct to the technical study and how much to reserve for plan writing, facilitation or indirect costs.  Thus, the budget proposed by Cosmopolitan may need to be slightly reduced.

q      The TC will review the final grant application at the next meeting on March 10^th.

4.      Habitat Strategy

q      Amy Hatch of the WRIA 14 Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery gave a brief presentation asking for $5,000 of the Watershed Grant to finalize the habitat strategy.  This strategy will be used to prepare the Habitat section of the Watershed Plan.

q      The PU could not reach consensus on this and asked that this be considered again at the next PU meeting when the PU conducts a budget review.

5.      Watershed Plan

q      Due to time constraints, the PU was not able to discuss the value/feasibility of hiring a technical writer or editor for the Plan, but agreed to do this at the next meeting as part of the budget review.

q      Comments are past-due on the second draft of the water quality chapter and the first draft of the water quality options; please get your comments to Susan ASAP.

6.      Joint Meeting with WRIAs 14, 15 & 16

q      Planning Unit members are encouraged to attend a joint meeting with WRIAs 14, 15 & 16 (and possibly 17) to discuss the problem of low dissolved oxygen in Hood Canal. 

q      The meeting will take place from 1:30-4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 11^th at the North Mason School Board Office in Belfair.

q      The agenda will include presentations by the Puget Sound Action Team, Hood Canal Coordinating Council, USGS, and the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group.  The presentations will explain what each entity is currently funded to do, what outcomes they expect, and what they think is the proper role for Planning Units.  The second part of the agenda will be discussion among the Planning Unit members about how Planning Units should be involved in this issue.

7.      Upcoming Meetings

q      There will be combined Technical Committee and Planning Unit meeting on Wednesday, March 10^th at the Shelton Civic Center.  The TC will meet from 9-10, and the PU will meet from 10-12.  The March 24 PU meeting will be cancelled.

8.      Susan’s Vacation

q      Susan will be on vacation March 17-April 9.