Chehalis Basin Partnership

 

 

 


Meeting Summary – June 24, 2005

 

A.      GENERAL PARTNERSHIP BUSINESS

 

Introduction

Vice Chair Jim Haslett welcomed everyone and opened the meeting.  Fourteen of the Partnership's twenty-eight member organizations had a representative or alternate at the meeting.  Thirteen additional citizens, alternates, or visitors were at the meeting. (See attendance list on the last page of this summary). 

 

Jim Haslett asked everyone to introduce themselves. 

 

Committee Reports

Steering Technical Committee

Mark Swartout reported that the STC met once during the month and focused on the draft scope of work for the Phase IV contract which the group will discuss later in the meeting. 

 

He asked Kahle Jennings to share a graph produced by Kahle at the request of the STC.  Kahle described for the group how he developed the graphs.  He plans to continue to update the graphs using his source, USGS monitoring sites.  The graphs describe data from the USGS gage sites at the Newaukum, Skookumchuck at Bucoda, Chehalis at Grand Mound, Chehalis at Porter, Satsop, Wynoochee and Humptulips Rivers. The graphs show the regulatory flow, the actual flow, and the median flows for the 15th day of the month. 

 

Guy McMinds commented that this information would be valuable if the group pursued water storage projects.  He stressed the need for water storage in the Chehalis Basin.

 

He also supported the work undertaken by the group using the Plan 2 Fund. 

 

Anyone interested in participating in the work of the STC, should attend the monthly meeting.  This group generally meets from 10 until 3 on the first Thursday of each month. 

 

Water Quality

Lee Napier reported that the group met this month and discussed the Coordinated Water Quality Monitoring Program.  Kahle Jennings presented updated information related to this project.  He will attend the next meeting and share the revisions with the group.  The group hopes to have the document ready for presentation, and eventually consideration, by the CBP in July.

 

This group meets monthly on the second Thursday from 9:30 to 12:00 at the County’s Forestry Building in Montesano.

 

Citizen Advisory Report

Chanele Holbrook Shaw reported that she continues to work with Taylor Pittman, USFWS, to develop outreach tools for the CAC and the CBP.  Jennings suggested that since the CAC is not actively engaged in outreach, he would like to see the group focus on one event rather than outreach at multiple events.  Commissioner Macleod suggested working with a public access television network such as Thurston County Television to produce a documentary and then air it to other public access networks throughout the basin.  USFWS also has some capacity to help, with funding, to script and develop the document.  Napavine stated support for outreach events and offered city hall and/or their festival as an outlet/depot for sharing information. 

 

The group asked the STC to work with Chanele on this issue.

 

Annual Plan of Work

Lee Napier reported that the Grays Harbor County Council of Governments (COG) asked Vicki Cummings to help facilitate discussions between members of the COG and CBP.  Vicki could potentially provide some type of representation for many cities in Grays Harbor County, but the details still need to be worked out.

 

CBP positions with vacancies include a business and a forestry representative, and several CAC positions. 

 

B.     Special Projects

 

Phase IV Continued Discussion

Mark Swartout led this discussion which included a review of the May meeting power point presentation.    

 

Lee Napier handed out copies of the draft scope of work (SOW) for the Phase IV grant contract.  This information was also mailed to the CBP with the meeting materials.  The SOW included two sections one for a project summary and one for the four tasks. 

 

Lee reviewed the four tasks (Administration, Contact Group A Water Systems, Prepare Detailed Implementation Plan, and Implementation), for the group and asked for input.  The SOW was presented to the CBP during the May meeting.  The input from that meetings as well as the STC was included in the current SOW. 

 

The group agreed with the SOW and directed Lee to begin the grant application and contracting process with the Department of Ecology.

 

Plan 2 Fund Update

As part of the Phase IV work program, the group will begin to review the work plans developed by the STC.  For this meeting, Lee mailed work plans to the group for Actions 1, 3, 36, and 41.  The STC picked this group of work plans to show the variety of tasks the CBP would examine in the next year.  The STC will discuss during the next meeting will develop a schedule and process with regarding how to present the work plans to the CBP

 

She briefly reviewed the history of the work plan concept for the group.  The work plans represent the cumulative work of the STC to develop implementation plans for the actions contained in the watershed plan.  In summary the steps taken by the STC include: classifying the actions from the watershed plan as either an objective or task; grouping the goals from the watershed plan with objectives (formerly actions); grouping tasks/actions with objectives; and creating tasks or borrowing language from the watershed plan supplement.   When complete, the work plans will place each of the 56 accepted actions within an implementation work plan.  She asked the group to remember that the numbers associated with the tasks are not a ranking.  The numbers are for reference sake only. 

 

C.  Open Comment

 

Ann Wick, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), briefly shared information with the group regarding WSDA Waste Pesticide Program Collection Events.  The WSDA offers a statewide program to collect and properly dispose of unused and unusable pesticides.  For more information contact the Pesticide Management Division at 1.877.301.4555 or check the website www.agr.wa.gov/pestfert/pesticides/wastepesticide.htm  

 

Rona Spellecay with HDR Engineering Inc. (HDR), presented Integrated Mitigation Guidance for mitigating and permit streamling for the I-5 construction project in Lewis County. HDR is conducting the permitting and design of the I-5 widening project between Grand Mound and Mellon St. Exit.  As part of the permitting process, HDR is working to identify potential mitigation projects, both within the I-5 corridor and throughout the Upper Chehalis Basin, that could be incorporated into an integrated mitigation plan for the I-5 project.  HDR hopes to identify a wide variety of projects that could both mitigate direct impacts of the I-5 project and provide benefits to the watershed as a whole.  

 

HDR would appreciate any additional information members of the CBP could provide, including: the location and size of the proposed project sites, status of planning and design of the project, existing funding, partners involved in the project, other contacts for additional information or projects, and any other information that might be useful.  They plan to begin reviewing and screening projects by June 30.

 

The next meeting of the Chehalis Basin Partnership will be held on July 22, 2005 from 9:30am to 12:00p.m. at the Lucky Eagle Casino near Oakville.

 

Decisions

 

§         The CBP supported the Scope of Work for a Phase IV grant contract.

§         The CBP supported the STC continuing work to develop the work plans.

 

Chehalis Basin Partnership Attendance Record

Commissioner Beerbower & Lee Napier

Grays Harbor County

Commissioner Macleod & Mark Swartout

Thurston County

Commissioner Graham & Kernen Lien

Lewis County

Bob Fink

Mason County

Mark White

Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis

Art Lehman

Port of Centralia

Kahle Jennings

City of Centralia

Lisa Scott

City of Aberdeen

David Weiser

City of Ocean Shores

Jim Haslett

City of Napavine

Terry Willis

Grays Harbor CAC member

Chanele Holbrook Shaw

Thurston  County CAC member

Jim Hill

Lewis  County CAC member

Ann Wick

WA ST Department of Agriculture

Chad Stussy

Department of Fish and Wildlife

Steve Craig

Department of Ecology

Guy McMinds

Quinault Indian Nation

Leslie Lingley

Quinault Indian Nation

Glenn Connelly

Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis

John Mudge

Citizen

Laura Orr

US ACE

Vicki Cummings

GH COG

Joe Caldwell

Quinault Indian Nation

Taylor Pittman

USFWS

Rona Spellecaey

HDR Engineering-DOT Consultant