HomeMy WebLinkAboutSurface Water Work Session January 20 20091
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Whatcom County Council
Special Surface Water Work Session
January 20, 2009
Council Chair Seth Fleetwood called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. in the
Whatcom County Civic Center Annex, Second Floor Meeting Room, 322 N. Commercial,
Bellingham, Washington.
Present: Absent:
Barbara Brenner None
Bob Kelly
Carl Weimer
Laurie Caskey- Schreiber
L. Ward Nelson
Sam Crawford
SURFACE WATER WORK SESSION (AB2009 -024)
1. REVIEW OF JANUARY 2009 EMERGENCY FLOOD WORKS
Jon Hutchings, Public Works Department, stated they are still responding to the flood
aftermath. Today, they would talk about the process. Now, they are gathering information
about the damage that's been done and turning it into a body of information to support a
federal declaration of emergency. There was flood damage all over the county. This Friday
is the deadline to get the initial information to the State.
Joe Rutan, Public Works Department, talked about roads. They've identified 51 sites
at this time with some level of damage. They continue to make assessments and are busy
gathering the information to get to the State this Friday. They will have to talk about what
it means to fix something. In some cases, total repair to previous condition may be unwise
or financially not possible. These fixes will have impacts to the department's work plan.
Brenner asked for information on past requests to the Army Corps of Engineers and
its role in the future.
Nelson asked what they can expect and hope for from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA).
Ken Richardson, Public Works Department, stated they received a request for
preliminary damage assessments for public and private damage, due this Friday. Now, they
will put together the best guess of the total damage, submitted through Emergency
Management, to State and federal government. Now they must make sure they have
enough damage assessments done to trigger a disaster area. They don't know when the
FEMA inspectors will arrive in Whatcom County to assess public damage, but it may be in
two weeks. They are working on private. damages now. They have identified more than
$1.5 million in damages directly on the river, and a possible total of $10 million in damages.
These aren't estimates of what it will cost to do repairs.
Nelson asked the best case scenario. Richardson stated he hasn't been through one
of these before. FEMA has gone through the experience of Katrina, and it will be more
difficult to get money from FEMA.
Surface Water Work Session, 1/20/2009, Page 1
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2 Rutan stated his staff is consumed with this assessment right now. His staff has
3 been working on this event since December 12. He thanked the Council for recognizing his
4 staff's effort.
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6 Crawford stated new channels formed at the edge of road pavement where culverts
7 have been blocked. He asked if they can fill them up with gravel for now, for two reasons.
8 The first reason is safety. If someone drives into that new channel, it will be a safety
9 hazard. Second, the pavement edge could collapse and harm the pavement if there are
10 more rain events. Rutan stated they're doing that. One example is Emerald Lake Way.
11 Those areas are hazards to people and risks to the infrastructure investment. They are
12 working on them according to severity and frequency in an area.
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14 Crawford asked if they should, on the upstream side, reinforce the street -side so
15 water is forced away from the road in the future. Rutan stated that when designing roads in
16 Western Washington, they always think about drainage.
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18 Hutchings stated one thing they focused effort on was stormwater infrastructure in
19 the lake watersheds. The connection between private stormwater facilities and what the
20 government must maintain is difficult to determine. In addition to fixing the public
21 infrastructure, they must resolve problems also with the private fixtures.
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23 Kirk Christensen, Public Works Department, stated they looked at Lake Whatcom,
24 Lake Padden, Lake Samish, and Birch Bay watersheds.
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26 Lake Whatcom's Cable Street held up well. There was no erosion. The swales
27 worked, but there was still a bypass event, as the system was designed to handle. They
28 couldn't tell if there was a plume on the lake. Water overtopped Hillsdale at Silver Beach
29 Creek for several days. There were also problems in several areas around the lake. A lot of
30 the areas that had problems are already projects in the stormwater plan, so they can be
31 fixed.
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33 Hutchings stated the analysis done during the stormwater planning process
34 represented the actual problem areas. When properly engineered, the exceeding volume of
35 water is properly routed to not cause bank erosion, culvert blow -outs, and other problems.
36 In the end, there is an engineered system that can infiltrate the water during the water
37 quality events, and bypass those flows in such a way as to not cause the level of damage
38 they witnessed. The goal is to make systems that can withstand these events.
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40 Christensen stated another issue is bank stabilization.
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42 Brenner asked if they are causing more problems in other areas by making one fix in
43 one area. Christensen stated they aren't, if designed properly.
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45 Brenner asked if there were new problems during this event that they didn't have
46 before. Rutan stated they do treatment designs for six -month to two -year storm,
47 depending on the regulation. Detention is for a two -year storm. They look at overflow for a
48 100 -year storm. However, they don't have an integrated system, and the regulations are
49 fairly new. They look at a system as holistically as possible, but it's probably not enough.
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51 Crawford asked if it's possible to have a robo -call system for everyone who has a
52 culvert under their driveway, to remind the property owners to clean out their culverts.
Surface Water Work Session, 1/20/2009, Page 2
Many landowners around the county have plugged culverts and they aren't doing anything
about it.
Christensen stated they also had a problem with debris at Agate Bay on Lake
Whatcom. They are working with the City on a solution. There was one major road erosion
problem and several minor problems. Things are in good shape there. He described the
locations. There were a few minor flooding problems in Birch Bay. There were no major
problems at Lake Padden.
Hutchings stated they looked specifically at stormwater impacts to the lakes from
where people get their drinking water.
Nelson stated if they did water quality monitoring directly after the storm. Hutchings
stated the City did. They are at the end of the tributary monitoring contract.
Mike McFarland, Parks and Recreation Department Director, described the impacts to
parks and showed slides. The entrance road to Canyon Creek Community Forest has
washed out, and they have to talk about whether to make it a walk -in access. They need to
work with Sierra Pacific. There were several slope failures around the park system. There
was a failure to the interurban trail, which was a slide at Cleator Road. They haven't yet
determined where the slides originated. He described the damage at Plantation Rifle Range,
Silver Lake, Lake Whatcom, the Hertz Trail, and other County parks.
Brenner asked if they have insurance for any of these damages. McFarland stated
they will submit a claim, but there was little damage to facilities. It's all just damage to the .
park areas. They won't meet the County deductible. They are in the process of completing
the FEMA forms. Approximately $533,000 is what they will report.
(Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.)
Paula Cooper, Public Works Department, stated she will prepare a revised work plan
and supplemental budget request in the upcoming months.
Caskey- Schreiber asked if this event is bigger than the 1990 event. Cooper stated it
is not.
Hutchings stated the magnitude of the event on the river doesn't reflect the
magnitude of the stormwater event in the watershed. There was a 15- or 17 -year flood
event at Cedarville.
Cooper stated that is a different magnitude than Ferndale. The event upriver was a
much higher occurrence. They had over 16 inches of rain in a couple of days upriver. The
snow pack helped the river. Without the snow pack, the river would have gotten a lot
higher. It was a fat hydrograph, so it hung, up there over flood stage for 24 hours. The
duration is similar to the 1990 event. From the standpoint of peak flow, they still had snow
pack at the end. In 1990, the snow pack destabilized and came down.
Brenner stated it didn't thaw out down far enough. That's why there was more
flooding. Cooper stated a lot of the groundwater storage was not accessible. That's part of
what they saw in the overflow to Canada. A lot of the groundwater couldn't .infiltrate
because of the frozen ground. She gave a presentation of slides showing river levee
damage. They will do some interim measures to keep things from getting worse, and get
credit from the Corps as in -kind for the permanent rehab in the summer time.
Surface Water Work Session, 1/20/2009, Page 3
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She had originally planned to talk to the Council regarding the early flood warning at
Jones Creek in Acme. They have been working with the fire district. The Flood Control
Zone District committee recommends that the Council support their flood response efforts
and program. They are asking for funding from the flood district to fund a stream gauge on
Jones Creek near the Turkington Road area that would call the fire district and sound an
alarm, including three years of maintenance. They are trying to get that into place with the
Executive. It will cost less than $15,000. She wants to use the emergency response plan
from the fire district in Acme as a pilot project for other areas. It was very effective during
this event. The fire district has taken on the role of emergency management.
Nelson asked why they would provide money to a fire district for early warning.
These are monies they need for prevention and control. Cooper stated the County uses
funding for its early flood warning system.
Nelson asked if this request went through the coordinated water resources
integration program (CWRIP). Cooper stated it did. It ranked fairly well due to the public
safety component.
Hutchings stated they will discuss things to do with the community to educate and
inform the community about early flood warnings.
Rutan stated they are posting a county map with damage sites and associated
information on the County website.
Nelson asked what this does to the work plan. Cooper stated she will develop a
revised work plan.
Hutchings stated that until the principal staff get a chance to finish immediate
reporting and emergency repairs so they can reprioritize the work plan, they won't have
that answer.
Frank Abart, Public Works Department Director, stated this will clearly affect
everything they'd planned for in 2009. Everything planned will be delayed. They will be
working on damage repair for at least six months. Everyone must be patient and
supportive.
Caskey- Schreiber stated the status of Lake Whatcom is much different now than it
was before, given all the mass - wasting and sediment loading, and it affects the total
maximum daily load (TMDL) study. Abart stated the maximum daily load was probably
exceeded during this event. The State Department of Ecology is swamped with issues right
now, also.
Caskey- Schreiber stated continue to educate the public about how to help keep
waterways clear. Figure out a way to address that.
(Clerk's Note: The Council took a five - minute break at 11:28 a.m.)
OTHER BUSINESS
Michelle Newell, 6020 Truck Road, Deming, asked the plan for Truck Road.
Surface Water Work Session, 1/20/2009, Page 4
1 Jon Hutchings, Public Works Department, stated they haven't made any decisions on
2 which roads will be maintained. Repairs will be made as they can. The Council will have
3 say on how that progresses. For individual property owners along Truck Road, it is a policy
4 question that depends on where the Board of Supervisors chooses to invest its money and.
5 whether public infrastructure is a higher or lower priority than private property.
6
7 The County must make sure it does a geo- technical analysis and independent
8 analysis of Truck Road before making that decisions. Truck Road itself hasn't been on the
9 list for the Public Works Department because it hasn't been directly, immediately threatened
10 by the river. Any decision regarding Truck Road must have outside technical analysis.
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12 Weimer stated part of the problem with Truck Road is ascertaining just where the
13 bedrock is located.
14
15 2. REVIEW OF PROJECTS FUNDED UNDER 2009 FLOOD CONTROL ZONE
16 DISTRICT BUDGET
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18 Jon Hutchings, Public Works Department, stated certain line items for expenditure
19 didn't make it into the 2009 budget for the Flood Control Zone District budget. The
20 expenditures from the flood control zone fund and the real estate excise tax (REET) fund are
21 all in the top quartile of the benefit evaluation score. The question is their priority for the
22 Board of Supervisors. There has been discussion about critical areas enforcement.
23
24 Sam Ryan, Planning and Development Services Department, stated she would like
25 guidance from the Council regarding critical areas ordinance enforcement.
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27 Crawford asked if there are things the County is not enforcing because it doesn't
28 have staff. Ryan stated there are.
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30 Crawford stated he would assume that they would continue to work down the
31 prioritization list. Ryan stated that's correct.
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33 Crawford asked if these violations are things that staff notice or people complain
34 about. Ryan stated they are both.
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36 Weimer stated the Council approved the Conservation Program on Agricultural Lands
37 (CPAL) program, which will only work if staff in the Planning Department direct people
38 toward the CPAL program. That's what this money was to do.
39
40 Ryan asked if there is a shift in policy. This position has morphed from when it was
41 originally approved. She asked if there is something they can do different.
42
43 Weimer stated people have made complaints about stormwater and critical areas
44 violations, which are probably part of the prioritization, that haven't been dealt with. Ryan
45 stated this position is in addition to the other vacant enforcement position they haven't been
46 able to fill. Now, they have two vacant positions. There is one full -time staff person
47 working on critical areas issues.
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49 (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side B.)
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51 Crawford asked for an example of something needing enforcement that is not high
52 on the priority list right now. Ryan stated one example is a property owner whose water is
Surface Water Work Session, 1/20/2009, Page 5
1 draining onto a neighbor's property. That is a civil matter, but the County would ideally do
2 research and visit the location.
3
4 Nelson stated the small farm plans are probably not coming forward. Ryan stated
5 there has been little response to the letters they've sent out.
6
7 Nelson asked how the Council wants to direct the administration in enforcement.
8
9 Caskey- Schreiber stated they've heard a lot about illegal dumping and densely -
10 packed farm animals in buffer areas in Kendall. If she were to add another enforcement
11 person, she would like that person to look at that area. Ryan stated they don't enforce
12 things that other departments must enforce.
13
14 Weimer stated he's heard from the shellfish protection districts about having an
15 emphasis on certain areas such as Drayton Harbor, so they can get a handle on the
16 pollution in Drayton Harbor, which is closing the shellfish beds. They've designated the
17 money for the Conservation District to help people do their farm plans. There isn't an
18 emphasis to make sure people are doing those plans. Have a person drive around the
19 Drayton Harbor watershed who sees people and farms who are supposed to have a small
20 farm plan, and who will check back after a certain time to see if the landowner got the plan.
21 If they target that effort in certain watersheds, they could take care of the closures in those
22 watersheds. It's a water quality thing.
23
24 Crawford stated there is an ongoing study to collect data on a DNA of bacteria in
25 California Creek. A concern was about septic systems getting in to the creek. Initial results
26 showed little human bacteria. The majority of the bacteria was ruminant, which is from
27 farm animals. The solution may be to prioritize which areas they want to go after first,
28 based on the sensitive areas.
29
30 Kelly stated they know there's a direct correlation between cleaning up shellfish beds
31 and targeted enforcement. He wants to have targeted enforcement in appropriate areas
32 that would allow them to clean up certain areas such as Drayton Harbor. Don't be heavy -
33 handed.
34
35 Weimer stated he agrees with having a targeted approach.
36
37_ Brenner stated there are ways to figure out where problems are coming into the
38 creeks. She would like the County to do something like that.
39
40 George Boggs, Conservation District, stated they've done more with the County this
41 past year than they have the previous ten years. Applaud the efforts of the Planning
42 Department and what they've done. They've overcome a number of hurdles. A good
43 process is in place.
44
45 They have contacted over 200 people. There are over 1,000 livestock' operations
46 throughout the county. There are ditches leading to creeks. They see a problem with fecal
47 coliform in Drayton Harbor and also the Nooksack River. It almost had a closure recently
48 due to high counts. The average in the river is going toward 100. It would be great if they
49 could continue education outreach and talk to another 200 new people. If they do that,
50 they will get across the problem in five years. The issue is that some folks don't want to do
51 anything. They have the option of observing standard buffers and best available science, or
52 they can work with the Conservation District. Of those 200 contacts, 170 still have livestock
53 and critical areas, with actions pending. These folks have demonstrated they don't want to
Surface Water Work Session, 1/20/2009, Page 6
do anything. He doesn't see how the staff, working half -time, can continue making new
contacts and do more outreach and still deal with that backlog.
Nelson asked if the Council still wants to move in this direction, in light of new events
that have just occurred. He's not sure of the process before knowing what the stormwater
fixes will be. Things are different today than they were in December.
Hutchings stated many of the non - emergency repair projects have not weathered the
analysis of the coordinated water resource integration project (CWRIP). They don't know
where ongoing programs will fall. They do know that the line items suggested during the
last budget discussion do pass the red face test. They are high priority activities that
benefit public health and safety, habitat, and other things.
One option to move forward with critical areas enforcement may be swapping budget
authority for critical areas enforcement from the flood fund to the general fund, and swap
the budget authority for the CPAL program from the general fund to the flood fund. The
result is keeping general fund planning and development services programs, particularly
related to enforcement, in the appropriate category of funding. Allow the flood fund to do
technical water resource activities. The amounts are commensurate. That doesn't get to
the question of what the Board wants that position to specifically do, and whether or not the
priority is high enough to fund. At this point, allow the Planning Department and Public
Works Department to talk about that. The most appropriate solution may be unfreezing an
existing position with this new line of revenue.
Brenner stated funding for CAO and shoreline education and enforcement could also
come from the real estate excise tax (REET) II fund. It specifically talks about issues
related to stormwater and flooding. Creating the environment to do that is part of planning.
Hutchings stated the question is to what magnitude they allocate a portion of this
additional, and to what activity. There is a proposal that meets the red face test. The
question is how the staff prepares a supplemental budget request to formally allocate that
budget authority. The next step, once they have some specific direction on Board priorities
for the supplemental, is for staff to develop and bring forward that supplemental budget
request. He wants to be clear about what the Board things should be funded from the flood
fund and the general fund. If the hang up is finding additional general fund money, they
can help make that happen. He will work on the assumption these are the principal
activities on which the Board wants to work. Other priorities could rise to the top,
depending on the flood response.
Crawford stated he doesn't agree with that option.
(Clerk's Note: Council acting as the Whatcom County Flood Control Zone District
Board of Supervisors. Board Chair Weimer assumed the duties of the Chair for this portion
of the meeting.)
Weimer moved for the Flood Control Zone District Board of Supervisors to
approve the package as presented, swapping Planning and Development Services
Department enforcement funding and CPAL program funding as described, without
devaluing the CPAL program.
Caskey- Schreiber suggested a friendly amendment to add a caveat that this is
tentative to the upcoming flood repair work required.
Surface Water Work Session, 1/20/2009, Page 7
1 Nelson stated he wants better information before voting. This is a budget
2 amendment, and it isn't tentative. He is opposed. The community is facing problems more
3 serious than shellfish. Water quality issues are being handled. The Planning Department is
4 doing critical areas enforcement. Farm plans are being done, but maybe not to the degree
5 they would like. Don't subvert money into this area when there are problems in other
6 areas. They must do an evaluation "before making this decision. Hutchings stated that is a
7 valid criticism. If they start the process now, the Council would introduce it in March as a
8 supplemental budget request. There is an additional surface water work session between
9 now and then. The staff can begin outlining the specific line items and discuss their benefit
10 evaluation scores, which will change a little bit. Then the Board can debate those line
11 items. Staff is helped with a place to start.
12
13 Crawford stated he agrees with Councilmember Nelson.
14
15 Brenner stated they should lean more toward education than enforcement. The
16 Prosecutor won't enforce against someone who doesn't put up a fence. She asked Mr.
17 Boggs to think of anything else they can do to encourage people to have ownership in these
18 actions rather than forcing them.
19
20 (Clerk's Note: Councilmembers Nelson and Crawford left the meeting at 12 :22 p.m.)
21
22 Boggs stated the $200 farm plan fee could be waived if people comply.
23
24 Brenner stated any enforcement action will cost more than $200. She moved to
25 emphasize education and consider providing an opportunity to waive the small farm fee.
26
27 (Clerk's Note: The Board did not vote on Councilmember Brenner's motion.)
28
29 Weimer stated that motion is not part of his motion. Ms. Ryan will take these
30 comments and bring forward a proposal. They can include that motion in the proposal.
31 They must also look at the fee schedule.
32
33 Motion carried.5 -0 with Nelson and Crawford absent.
34
35
36 ADJOURN
37
38 The meeting adjourned at 12:25 p.m.
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42 Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
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52 D a B ftto ,.E'oun Clerk Fleet od, Council Chair
Surface Water Work Session, 1/20/2009, Page 8