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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-03-15 KRSMA Board PacketSpecial PAa' ga'ent Area "Working POgefher.../orthe river" *** Meeting Agenda*** Thursday, March 15, 2001 7:00 p.m. Kenai River Center I. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call B. Approval of 3/15/01 minutes C. Agenda C..".anges and Approval ~~ GQDd~~OQI~ ~ OLQG°3D E ~~ , a ~~~ ~~^ II. PUBLIC COMMENT IiI. NEW BUSINESS A. Jim Stratton, Div. of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Director B. Bridge Access Road Foot PathBicycle Trail Project; John Dickinson C. Sterling Hwy Mile 45-60 Project; Miriam Tanaka from DOT and Mark Dalton from HDR Alaska, Inc. IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Recreation Impact Study -Status Report, Chris Degernes B. Boat Wake Study Update on Report Status -Lance Trasky, ADF&G C. Kenai River Center Updates -Commercial Operators, Pending Permits, etc., Suzanne Filler V. PUBLIC COMMENT VI. ADJOURNMENT A. Board Comments B. Date/Agenda of Next Meeting < Kenai Area Office, Box 1247, Soldotna, AK 99669, Soldotna 262-5587 Kenai F~ninsula Borough, Box 850, Soldotna, AK 99669, Soldotna 262-4441 p Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, Department of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the Kenai Poninsula Borough. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 15, 2001 Kenai River Center I. CALL TO ORDER: 7:00 pm A. Roll Call Members present: Rick Wood, Bill Shuster, Lance Trasky, Rick Ross, Chris Degernes, Deric Marcorelle, Jeff King, Ted Wellman, Jim Richardson, Paul Shadura, Tim Golden, $rett Huber, Janette Cadieux, Charles Quarre Members absent: Tim Navarre, Robin W est, Ann Whitmore-Fainter B. Approval of 1/18/01 minutes The minutes were approved as written. C. Agenda Changes and Approval: Chris Degernes added a discussion on KRSMA Lands Addition Resolution; Brett Huber added a discussion on the Kenai Watershed Nutrient Study and Deric Marcorelle added a disaission on work near Beaver Creek. II. PUBLIC COMMENT None offered. III. NEW BUSINESS A. Evaluation of the effectiveness of Lrght Penetrating Walkways, by Mary Price, USFWS (EPA funded grant) Mary said the restoration on riverside properties is increasing in popularity and Che majority of these involve the installation of elevated light penetrating walkways. The installation is governed by guidelines in the Kenai River Comprehensive Management Plan and also Kenai Peninsula Borough Ordinance. Mary says the agencies permitting these walkways have wanted more scientific information regarding how effective these structures are in maintaining healthy riparian vegetation. She said one of the main questions is the height these walkways are installed, and how Chat affects the percentage of light penetration. Permit standards currently require that grate walks that are less than 75% but at least 25% light penetrating must be greater than 18 inches from the ground except for the supporting posts. Grate walks that are greater than 75% light penetrating can be as low as 8 inches from the ground. Mary said they are going to evaluate the heights and see if they need to be modified. Mary described the two parts of her study. Part one is an effort to get quantitative data on light penetration through these walkways by setting up test panels using the two most common types of grate walks and wooden boardwalks at three different heights. Light measuring devices will be placed under these panels as the main data center. The second part of the study is a survey of existing projects large and small, both old and new, with a variety of vegetation present. Mary said some of the priorities will be to measure plant density, height of grating above the ground, style of grating used, orientation of grating, frame types etc. The trends will become apparent and Chere will be better information for designs of walkways for the future. Bi11 Shuster said the Forest Service has been monitoring the light penetration of walkways on the vegetation at Russian River, which he said might be useful to compare to work being done with the new study. Other comments included that this is great information and the board hopes Maiy will come back this fall and give an update on what has been learned. B. Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Project, Robert Ruffner, Kenai Watershed Forum. Robert provided a summary of all of the water quality monitoring efforts being done by the various organizations such as KWF and The Nat<ire Conservancy. He stated that T~TC's Michelle Brown, who was working on this in the past, has moved to Arizona. Robert said one of the major components of the project is the stewardship program and the citizen volunteer monitoring that is going into its 4«' year. The citizen monitoring program provides water quality monitoring kits and training for people who agree to sample water each month. This program is pretty basic and is mainly intended to look for dramatic changes in water quality, plus is an important community educational program. Water quality parameters such as color, water and air temp, ph, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, etc. are collected at dozens of sites along the entire river system each month. KWF has funding that provides for kit refills and supplies, maintaining a quality assurance document and staff to hold training and work with the volunteers. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -March 15, 2001 Page 2 of 9 The second level of water quality monitoring is the Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Program, which uses agency personnel, Soldotna's wastewater treatment plant, and a professional contractor, Northern Testing Lab. This program is entering its 2aa year. The July sampling went very well last year. This year we will incorporate the use of SPMD, a semi permeable membrane device, which is a screening tool used to sample 30 to 40 different hydrocarbons. The purpose will be to "fingerprint" the source of the hydrocarbons and focus the efforts there. The funding will be made available through contributions by many agencies and organizations under an MOU that Michelle Brown worked on. It is expected that $20,000 to $25,000 will be collected this year. Robert also stated that KWF is applying for a DEC 319 grant of about $80,000 to $85,000 to continue the various water quality monitoring efforts. Robert, asked the board for help with this grant request by sending a letter of support. Chris Degernes offered a motion to draft and send a letter of support for the grant funding that Robert is seeking. Brett Huber seconded the motion. Motion is passed. C. Morgan Evans, Glacial Kinds, a video project funded by the EPA grant. Morgan said this is the third season of filming a 60-minute documentary tentatively titled Kenai River's Ancient Glacier King's. This project started 2 summers ago out of pocket and last year, he put in a proposal asking for partial funding through the EPA grant. This prograri7 is a7~ in-depth study of the Kenai River king salmon from the evolution of the Kenai River watershed as a habitat to the present day. Morgan said this covers the Kenai River kings through interviews with state and local experts. Tim Richardson asked when the project is expected to be complete. Morgan said they are trying for December 1, 2001, if the additional funding he needs can be raised. Chris asked who the target audience is. Morgan said this needs mass appeal while still educating people on habitat. Jim Golden asked if this is a profit adventure. Morgan said that is not initially why this was started Che project but it has the potential for that, and they plan to replace funding sources in the future with profits. Brett says this sounds extremely aggressive considering the issues you want to cover and the budget you have to work with. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -March 15, 2001 Page 3 of 9 D. KRSNdA Lands Additions, Chris Degernes Chris said Rep. Lancaster introduced House Bill 165 on March 9. This bill has not been introduced on the senate side yeC. Chris asked the board to consider passing a resolution in support so Rep. Lancaster knows the Board is in support of this effort, and so that Senator Torgerson will understand the level of support too. Chris passed out a draft resolution for the board to consider. Ted Wellman says that he and Director Jim Stratton had arranged last month to meet with Senator Torgerson, but at the last moment, the Senator cancelled and refused to reschedule. Rick Ross asked if there is a map available to accompany the bill? Chris stated that the board had previously been provided with a color flier and map, and that she would make them available again for the board. Ted Wellman says this is consistent with the comprehensive management plan. Rick Ross pointed out one error he noticed with this bill, which Chris says will be corrected. Paul Shadura says he will assume all these legal descriptions are accurate, and he is in full support of this resolution. Paul made a motion to accept this proposal. Lance Trasky seconded this motion. Motion passed unanimously. E. Proposed Kenai River Nutrient Study by Brett Huber, Kenai River Sportfishing Association Brett said KRSA is interested in convening a group of people to see if there is interest in studying the nutrient contribution in the Kenai River watershed. This study would address how the various nutrient compounds work through the food chain. Janette Cadieux asked if that would include nutrient runoff from lawns. Brett said yes, that anything coming into the water could have some interaction with the base nutrients. Paul Shadura asked if KRSA is Funding this study. Brett said Chat this could grow to a 5 or 6 year study in the range of $2-3 million dollars, so the answer is no. But KRSA is interested in being a catalyst in the initial discussion and later looking for and identifying other funding sources. Lance Trasky says this would be a very valuable study. Bill Shuster said one thing that would be valuable to look at would be the change from the increased contribution from all of the dead spruce woody debris. Paul Shadura said he knows CIAA has done some surveys of different streams and they would be might be interested in supplying some expertise. Renai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -March 15, 2001 Page 4 of 9 Brett said they are trying to get a core group together first to discuss if this is feasible. F. Update on work near Beaver Creek, Deric Marcorelle Deric provided the board an update on a problem near Beaver Creek. He recently accompanied USFWS out to the Wolf Lake pipeline project conducted by Marathon Pipeline to check on their progress. Marathon is not following the storm water plan that was proposed by McLane and Assoc. Marathon went through three streams, cut down trees next to streams, cut a wide swath and improperly installed the silt fence. Phil North from EPA took water samples. Brett Huber asked who the pernutting authority is. Suzanne Eisler said that USFWS issued the permits. Deric stated that DEC has also been notified of the violation. Rick Ross asked if we could get a report from the permitting agencies regarding the specifics instead of looking at just pictures. Jim Golden asked what power the KRSMA board has in asking Marathon to cease its work. Ted says while the KRSMA Board is not directly involved, the Board can put pressure on people who have the. power to do something about it. Suzanne Eisler said this permit was reviewed through the Kenai River Center and al] the plans were in place. The Advisory Board can write letters to the Corps of Engineers asking them to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. The Board decided to ask for a full report for next meeting, and then take action if Marathon has not mitigated for the impacts. IV. OLD BUSINIJSS A. Update -River Terrace Laundromat Contamination and Cleanup, Bich Sundet, ADEC Rich passed out a map of the site, with recent data and graphs showing the effects of compounds put in last fall. Since DEC has last briefed the Board, they conducted a public review of the clean up plan, and have focused their effort toward treating the ground water that was moving off site. DEC and the land owner have entered into an agreement, and DEC is now responsible for the remaining cleanup work. The cleanup may take 10 years to complete. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -March 15, 2001 Page 5 of 4 Contaminates were moving off site in two different directions, so the efforts aze concentrated in two separate zones, one intercepting contaminants moving toward the Sterling Highway and the storm drain system, and the other area concentrating on the plume migrating toward the Kenai River. The plan called for ahydrogen-releasing compound, which is basically lactic acid. This provides a food source for natural occurring microbes and breaks down the tetrachloroethylene, which is the primary dry cleaning solvent. A series of monitoring wells were drilled in September to test the hydrogen-releasing compound once it is injected. So far, the hydrogen-releasing compounds seem to be working faster than expected. Both ground water and Kenai River water will be monitored on a regular basis. Paul asked if the soil cells are slated for removal. Rich said the soil meets the cleanup levels for DEC right now. The owner is further treating the soil to bring the levels down farther so that he has fewer stipulations on where and how he may dispose of the cleaned soil. Ted W. asked why the building is not being torn down to find the real source. Rich said that was brought up in the comments on Che proposed plan and it was said to be very costly to remove the building and the soil around it; estimated to be around $10 million. Rich was thanked for the update, and encouraged to provide periodic updates for the board. B. Ground Water Interaction Study, Nixe i.iily -progress repori Mike reviewed the project objectives, which are to establish two index sites at the old DOT site and the Pillars. Initial construction was in November with construction completed in December. The collection of continuous data is downloaded remotely from both sites and transmitted to the Kenai River Center's base station, and then is available continuously via the Internet. One of the project objectives was to characterize the geo-hydrologic interaction between surface and groundwater, and how events such as spring break up and storms might affect these interactions. He's learned a few things so far, including that the there are no significant hydrocarbons found at the old DOT site, but that there is a significant level of salt in wells adjacent to the river at this site. . At the Pillars, the temperature sensors show how the daily tidal influences are affecting ground water temperatures well back from the river. This shows that the ground water is affected by the tides Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -March 15, 2001 Page 6 of 9 and that there is an interaction between the ground and surface water systems, an implication if either water source becomes polluted. C. "Kenai. River Appreciation Day", Bill Berkhahn Bill stated thaLhe and Victoria Whitney have discussed the fact that the Kenai River CIeanup that used to be organized and conducted by the guides has lost its momentum. They decided to propose Che Kenai River Appreciation Day where folks can meet on May 6`h with project leaders and join a work crew to tackle projects on the river with various entities. The projects will include a cleanup along the river, repairing habitat restoration projects and tree planting projects to replace dead spruce. Bill said that Victoria's goal is 500 people this year. Times will be 9 am till 3 pm on May 6"' with everyone meeting at a designated place later for a social gathering and picnic. Bill Shuster said that the USFS would have extra trees for planting available this year. Deric M. suggested putting a booth up at the health fair on March 315Tto see about getting interested people for the Appreciation day. D. Recreation Impact Study -Status Report, Chris Degernes Chris provided an update on the status of the funding for this project. The House passed a supplemental budget bill that transferred Chese funds to another project, and then the Senate reinstated the funds. At this point, it looks like the funds are intact, but until the Legislature finishes the CIP budget, we won't know for sure. It has been difficult to determine how much planning Co do with the funding uncertainty. Chris suggested having a committee meeting before the April board meeting to discuss what to do. E. Boat Wake Study Update on Report Status- Lance Trasky, ADF&G Lance said ADF&G received a rough draft from the Corps of Engineers Waterways Experimental Station. Reviewers within ADF&G and USGS have been asked to review and give preliminary direction for Dr. Maynord to rewrite this into a board review draft. Most of the review comments have been received, and they will forward the info back to Dr. Maynord. This is clearly a very comprehensive study and has been written beyond the average reader's ability to understand what is being said. Lance said they are now asking the Corps of Engineers to provide an executive summary, rewrite the results in Che discussion sections in easy to understand language and put in chaos and figures comparing the different boat types and waves. Hopefully he may have another draft to pass out at the next meeting, but he will keep everyone posted. No draft has been passed out publicly yet. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes - Mareh 15, 2001 Page 7 of 9 F. General Updates -Commercial Operators, Pending Permits, Suzanne Fisler Suzanne said the first round of agency committee meetings for Mile 45-60 has been set up for March 30`h. Bill Shuster said there is a new alternative that will be brought up at the meeting proposing an alternative on the south side of the highway. Suzanne said another thing going on now is that the initial discussions are taking place to plan for the Unity Trail crossing of the Kenai River Flats. This is likely to be a controversial topic; and once there is something for the Board to consider, it will be brought back to the board. An agency meeting is planned for March 27th in Kenai to discuss the concerns of this topic. One Guide Orientation session has been conducted to date, with another planned for March 17. The sessions are going well, and require that all guides attend at least the morning session, and all new guides required to also attend an afternoon session. The Board is welcome to attend. Other dates include: Apri17, April 21, May 12, May 26, and June 9. All except for the last one are to be held at the Kenai River Center, while the June 9 session will be at the Cooper Landing Community Club. V. PL"BLIC CO'VINIENT One persons encouraged the board to speak louder, as it is hard to hear. VI. AI>JOUI2Ie~NiENT A. Board Comments Jeff said he attended first guide orientation that Suzanne and Bili gut on and they did a great job, well received and the guides were pleased. Paul said that House Bill 93 passed through the Fisheries Committee and is now going through Resources. He said comments are very important right now regarding this issue (fee for dip net users). Bill said the federal subsistence board meeting is next week regarding the rural status of the Kenai Peninsula. Also he said today he received the monthly snow survey reports, concentrating on the upper Kenai watershed, and as of March 15` all but one of Che seven courses run were above average in water content. B. Date/Agenda of Next Meeting April 19, 2001 -Kenai River Center Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -March 15, 2001 Page 8 of 9