Draft Anacostia Steering Committee Meeting Summary
August 7, 2008
Page 8 of 8
-APPROVED-
MEETING SUMMARY
STEERING COMMITTEE
OF THE
ANACOSTIA WATERSHED RESTORATION PARTNERSHIP
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The 13th meeting of the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership Steering Committee was held on Thursday August 7, 2008 in the Board Room at COG. The attendees, alphabetical order, were:
Name / OrganizationMr. / Tom / Arrasmith / Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee
Mrs. / Tom / Arrasmith / Guest
Dr. / Mary / Barber / Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee
Mr. / Tom / Brosnan / NOAA
Mr. / Frank / Dawson / Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Dr. / Richard / Eskin / Maryland Department of the Environment
Mr. / Stuart / Freudberg / MWCOG
Mr. / Calvin / Farr / WSSC
Mr. / John / Galli / MWCOG
Mr. / William / Gardiner / City of Hyattsville
Dr. / Edward / Graham / MWCOG
Ms. / Linda / Howard / The Summit Fund
Mr. / Robert / Hoyt / Montgomery County DEP
Dr. / Hamid / Karimi / District of Columbia DOE
Ms. / Catherine / King / US EPA Region 3
Mr. / Aubin / Maynard / MWCOG
Ms. / Dana / Minerva / Anacostia Watershed Partnership – Executive Director
Dr. / Sam / Moki / Prince George’s County DER
Mr. / Robert / Pace / USACE
Mr. / Stephen / Pattison / Maryland Department of the Environment
Dr. / Harriette / Phelps / University of the District of Columbia, Emeritus
Mr. / Steven / Shofar / Montgomery County DEP
Mr. / Phong / Trieu / MWCOG
The action items deriving from the meeting are as follows:
(Updated: August 22, 2008)
Item / Action / Lead / Status
SC Meeting Summary / Distribute Draft by 8/17/08 / COG (Graham) / Completed
Committee Roles & Responsibilities / Revise as discussed & distribute for approval via email. / COG (Graham) / Sent out 8/22/08
Action Agenda / Finalize for presentation at September 2008 Leadership Council meeting / Dana Minerva / Copy sent to editor
Action Agenda / Engage services of editor & printer for final publication / Dana Minerva / Editor & printer selected
Funding Strategy / Revise Funding Strategy for action by Steering Committee on 10/2/08 / Dana Minerva / Pending
Monitoring / Management Committee to assign priorities to the list of monitoring needs and explicitly link needs to indicators. / MC (Yetman) / Pending; NE & NW Branches being addressed will be woven into the FY 2010 budgets.
Leadership Council / LC Meeting set for 9/11/08 in Prince George’s County. Details to be worked out. / Steve Pattison with support as needed by COG staff / Now scheduled for September 17, 2008
Trash Summit / Tracy Bowen of AFF will provide a survey on the public’s perception of trash; Prepare recommendations based on this. / COG (Galli); MC (Yetman) / To be addressed at the 9/3 MC meeting.
Toxics Remediation Plan / Complete White paper. / EPA (King) / Funding secured. No hard date yet.
Toxics Conversation / Convene ad hoc group to broadly review toxics issues and provide an AWTA update at 1/2/08 SC meeting / Dana Minerva / Pending
Restoration Plan / Prepare & conduct a Hill Briefing / Dana Minerva & Robert Pace / Date keyed to release of Sligo portion of the ARP.
Restoration Plan / Propose process for establishing post-2010 goals for Steering Committee consideration at 10/2/08 SC meeting. / Dana Minerva / Pending
Membership Expansion / Follow up to approval of John Akridge as new SC member: Letter of welcome; briefing package; offer of staff briefing / Dana Minerva / Completed
Bylaws / Review and revise to reflect maturing of the Partnership, keyed to Roles & Responsibilities. No specified date, perhaps early 2009. / COG (Graham) / To be addressed in early 2009
Accountability Review / Discuss concepts and options based on Bay program experience at 10/2/08 SC meeting / Frank Dawson / To be on 10/2/08 SC agenda
Communication Strategy / Provide an update at the SC meeting on 10/2/08 / Dana Minerva / To be on 10/2/08 SC agenda
Dialog with SHA / MC report to the SC on 10/2/08 regarding the “state highway” discussion at the 9/3/08 MC meeting / MC (Yetman) / To be on 10/2/08 SC agenda
Annual Reporting / MC prepare recommendation to the SC regarding annual reporting, concentrating on efficiency & effectiveness at the 10/2/08 SC meeting / COG (Galli); MC (Yetman) / To be on 10/2/08 SC agenda
WSSC SSOs / Obtain Mr. Farr’s presentation & WSSC SSO progress data / COG (Maynard) / Posted on 8/8/08 agenda
I. Call to Order; Approval of June 5, 2008 Meeting Summary; Review of Agenda; Introductions; Announcements
Mr. Pattison called the meeting to order at 10:02.
Mr. Pattison and Ms. Barber presented a certificate to Tom Arrasmith in recognition of his extraordinary service to the Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee (AWCAC).
II. Follow up on Action Items from the June Meeting
A. Roles and Responsibilities
Mr. Pattison led the discussion of the Roles and Responsibilities document that had been updated since the last meeting. Much of the text of the document was taken from the Steering Committee bylaws and in some cases is somewhat out-of-date. There was an extensive discussion with the following key questions being raised:
· The Restoration Plan – Mr. Galli asked for clarification regarding the “watershed-wide Anacostia Watershed Comprehensive Restoration and Protection Plan” included in Item #1 under the Steering Committee section. He asked how this fits in with the Anacostia Restoration Plan (ARP) being prepared by the USACE and the other partners. It was pointed out that this might include items outside the scope of the ARP, including as it relates to local budgeting. This led to a broader discussion of the desirability of amending the bylaws at some date to be determined.
· Assessing Plan Implementation and Reporting Progress – Mr. Dawson, citing recent experience in the Chesapeake Bay Program, suggested consideration of an outside reviewer to assess how the Partnership is doing. How does the Partnership assess progress? Mr. Karimi noted that such an assessment would have probably helped Bay restoration progress and that there remains a question of who would perform such an assessment and how it would be accomplished. Mr. Pattison suggested the possibility of sending an annual progress report to the Leadership Council, along the lines of Steering Committee (SC) Item #6. Ms. Minerva noted that we have committed to an annual assessment of the implementation of the ARP. She also noted that the Action Agenda has a summary of how we’ve done against key indicators; this could be a point of departure for a more comprehensive assessment. Mr. Pace (apropos the Management Committee (MC) Item #1) asked whether the Partnership really wants to have an annual update of the plan. Perhaps an annual report would be more appropriate. Mr. Shofar noted that MC Items #1, 2 & 4 all have an annual component to them and that this task would largely fall to COG staff. He asked whether this frequency makes sense in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Mr. Pace suggested that an annual evaluation makes sense but an annual plan update may not be necessary. Mr. Hoyt noted that the environmental groups have commented that Montgomery County’s requirement for an annual MS4 report is too frequent and something more like 2 to 2-1/2 years may be more effective. He also noted that the County has been considering preparation of an annual “4-pager.” Mr. Galli noted that COG staff does prepare an annual report focusing on the key indicators.
· Setting Direction for the Partnership – Ms. Howard recommended that the phrase “based upon recommendations from the Management Committee” be deleted from the first paragraph in the SC section.
Action – (1) COG staff will revise the Roles and Responsibilities based on the discussion and send it out electronically for SC approval. (2) The Management Committee will consider the how best to accomplish annual reporting and present its recommendation to the Steering Committee at the October 2, 2008 meeting. (3) While no firm date has been set, COG staff will propose revisions to the bylaws reflecting the maturing of the partnership, perhaps early in 2009.
B. Calendar for 2009
The proposed calendar for 2009, shifting from the first Thursday of every other month to the fourth Thursday of every other month was agreed to. The shift has been made to eliminate the standing conflict with the DC-WASA Board meeting. COG has made the appropriate room reservations. Because of the holidays, the December 2009 meeting will be held on December 17. Mr. Shofar asked whether the Steering Committee meets too frequently. The consensus was that the current bi-monthly frequency best meets current needs.
III. Executive Director’s Report
A. Update on Action Agenda and Leadership Council Event
Ms. Minerva reported that the Action Agenda is complete, subject to final design considerations.
Mr. Pattison reported that Governor O’Malley has identified September 11, 2008 as the date of the Leadership Council meeting. It is part of the Governor’s “Capital for a Day” initiative and is to be held in one of the Port Towns in Prince George’s County. He also indicated that Mayor Fenty is prepared to accept the chairmanship of the Leadership Council.
The following additional points were made:
· Ms. Minerva stated that the Action Agenda will be ready for presentation at the LC meeting.
· Mr. Dawson recommended that the event also include some action such as a tree planting in concert with related environmental initiatives.
· Ms. Howard recommended that each of the LC members be afforded an opportunity make an announcement reflecting their commitment to restoration activities.
· Mr. Pattison pointed out that the Governor’s staff has the lead in organizing the event.
· It was also pointed out that several members of Congress have a keen interest in the Anacostia restoration and would likely appreciate being included in the event.
Action - (Based on subsequent discussion with Mr. Pattison). Ms. Minerva will draft a letter of invitation for use by the Governor’s staff.
B. Report on Anacostia Funding Subcommittee
Funding Strategy - Ms. Minerva reported on the initial meeting of the Funding Subcommittee and on discussions that she and Mr. Pattison had with the Keith Campbell Foundation and the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Mr. Pattison noted that one of the key goals is to develop a more transparent work program and budget process, where individual line items are tied to specific tasks. The Funding Subcommittee is to continue its deliberations so that the proposed Funding Strategy can be presented to the Steering Committee on October 2, 2008.
Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund Grant - Ms. Minerva recognized the contributions of Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources toward preparation of the Bay Trust Fund grant application. If successful, it will lead to approximately $5 million over a 5-year period for implementation of LID projects in the Sligo Creek watershed. She noted that the grant application is due on August 29, 2008. Mr. Pattison indicated that this should be included in the Funding Strategy.
Action – Ms. Minerva will revise the Funding Strategy per Funding Subcommittee guidance and present it to the Steering Committee at the October 2, 2008 meeting for approval.
C. Expansion of the Steering Committee
At the June Steering Committee meeting, Ms. Howard volunteered to recruit someone to fill the “Green Developer” position on the Steering Committee. She recommended approval of Mr. John Akridge as a Steering Committee member. An engineer and business major by training, Mr. Akridge has had a distinguished career of more than 30 years’ experience in the development industry in the Washington metropolitan area. He also has an extensive record of philanthropic activities, including service on the Board of Trustees of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Maryland/DC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. He was also involved in the development of DC regulatory guidelines to improve water quality in the Anacostia River.
Mr. Dawson moved approval of Mr. Akridge’s membership. Ms. King seconded the motion which carried unanimously. It was agreed that there is no rush to fill additional positions at this time.
Action – Ms. Minerva will prepare a letter of welcome to Mr. Akridge for Mr. Pattison’s signature. COG staff and Ms. Minerva will provide him with appropriate background information on the partnership and extend and an offer of a briefing on Anacostia restoration and the Partnership.
D. Process to Set Post-2010 Targets
Ms. Minerva indicated that before proceeding with the development of Post-2010 Targets, she intends to consult with the Management Committee at its September 3, 2008 meeting. She likes the approach taken by the Hudson River that she distributed previously. The general time frame is to set new (post-2010) targets by the end of 2009. An ad hoc committee was set up to prepare a process recommendation. The members of the ad-hoc committee are: Robert Pace, Dana Minerva, Ken Yetman, Linda Howard, Steve Shofar, Hamid Karimi and Nancy Stoner. Dr. Phelps noted that members of the academic community could perhaps assist in this effort.