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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSurface Water Work Session January 19 20161 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Whatcom County Council Special Surface Water Work Session January 19, 2016 CALL TO ORDER Council Chair Barry Buchanan called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. in the Civic Center Garden Level Conference Room, 322 Commercial Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. ROLL CALL Present: Barbara Brenner, Barry Buchanan, Ken Mann, Rud Browne, Todd Donovan and Carl Weimer Absent: Satpal Sidhu SURFACE WATER WORK SESSION (AB2016 -024) 1. COORDINATED WATER SYSTEM PLAN (CWSP) / JOINT BOARD / PLANNING UNIT UPDATE Andy Ross, Planning Unit Member, stated the City of Bellingham isn't participating in the Planning Unit on a regular basis. The Planning Unit has begun facilitating its own meetings. The Planning Unit received $40,000 for Planning Unit and caucus outreach for 2016. The Planning Unit made a preliminary recommendation to not make any changes to the current instream flow rule at this time. They will revisit the issue in the future. Sylvia Goodwin, Planning Unit Member, stated they will continue to look at instream flows. Ross stated the Planning Unit endorses comments on the interlocal agreement that merges the Salmon Recovery Board to the Joint Board. Upcoming events include a possible conceptual settlement proposal presentation from the Lummi Nation, a Lower Nooksack Strategy presentation, and a review of the Coordinated Water System Plan (CWSP). The councilmembers discussed the first meeting at which the Planning Unit will self - facilitate and the process for choosing a chair. Gary Stoyka, Public Works Department, stated the Joint Board is working on the proposed interlocal agreement that merges the Salmon Recovery Board and Joint Board. He's presenting the interlocal agreement proposal to several groups and is accepting feedback. It will come to the Council in March 2016. The Joint Board is also working on the groundwater modeling project. Surface Water Work Session, 1/19/2016, Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 The Water Utility Coordinating Committee (WUCC) members are reviewing the documents for the CWSP and will meet again in February. He described the review process for the CWSP, which may come to Council sometime in early summer. 2. PUGET SOUND NEARSHORE ESTUARY RESOTRATION PROGRAM (PSNERP) PROCESS UPDATE Paula Cooper, Public Works Department, described the PSNERP history and background. The first phase of the project is done. They are seeking construction authority for 12 projects. The Nooksack is one of three Tier One projects. For them to move forward, they need to move the project to the next stage. They are seeking congressional authorization to keep PSNERP funded through the next Water Resources Development Act bill, possibly in 2016. The project won't really move forward until 2018, which gives them time to coordinate with the County. The funding would include data collection, design, and pre- construction evaluation. The State would have agreements with the local jurisdictions. All the landowners and the County must be willing to move forward. The project is considered fully formed, but it can be refined and detailed during the next phase, when the County and PSNERP plans need to coordinate. If anything changes by 20 percent, Congress must be informed and could end the project. The PSNERP Management Team has met with the local farm bureau to discuss preservation of agricultural land. At this point, they don't want the County to oppose the plan. Councilmembers discussed the disagreement from the local farmers about the plan, the difference in acreage as suggested by the PSNERP Team and the local agricultural community, and the 65/35 funding split. 3. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) FLOODPLAIN MAP UPDATES Paula Cooper, Public Works Department, submitted a handout (on file) of the updated flood map that was mailed to residents. She described the flood map update process. People have responded positively to the new map. Karen Brown stated the public needs to see the new map. All these flood programs are changing Whatcom County. Cooper stated the map will change who will be required to have flood insurance and what they will pay. Most people will see a reduction. Others will be made aware they're in a floodplain. Loans require flood insurance if they're on the map. 4. FLOODPLAINS BY DESIGN PROCESS UPDATE Paula Cooper, Public Works Department, stated they are at the pre - proposal stage. She described the State - funded program for local projects that integrate flood risk reduction with habitat improvements, maintaining a viable agricultural base, water quality improvements, and recreation improvements. Surface Water Work Session, 1/19/2016, Page 2 The councilmembers discussed whether this needs to go to the Planning Unit for review and how to identify which issues specifically should or should not go to the Planning Unit. Cooper submitted and read from a presentation (on file) on reach one of the Nooksack River. There are gaps in levee protection in critical areas. When it floods, the water overtops Slater Road up to eight to ten feet, and floods Marietta. The Army Corps of Engineers identified several deficiencies. There is an opportunity to reconfigure the levee so it's underneath the roadway. It will be set back and have better side slopes. Riparian cover along the river will be improved. The proposal is to rebuild the levee to have better integrity and restored riparian areas. It will also address all the deficiencies raised by the Corps. Donovan asked why there are gaps in the levee. Cooper stated the levee system has been developed in sections over time. The area was never raised. Cooper continued the presentation and stated the next phase is to receive grant money for design for reach one. The following biennium, they will ask for construction funding. She continued the presentation on reach four, which has more potential for ecosystem improvements. It is alternative one in the systemwide improvement framework (SWIF) program. She described the flooding problems in reach four. They will work with landowners to see if they can open narrower areas of the river. Cooper continued the presentation on Fishtrap Creek levees and described the history of the levee damages and repairs. The landowners are interested in a smaller setback that allows some riparian restoration. They are also interested in improving the drainage. Staff is scoping a feasibility study to see if they can re -plumb the agricultural drainage. Brenner asked if they can retain the floodwaters to save the water for irrigation, instead of pumping the water back into the river. Cooper stated the goal is to lower the groundwater so the farmers can plant. The farmers want a pump station. John Thompson, Public Works Department, stated there has been discussion among people, such as Steve Jilk with the Public Utility District (PUD), about looking for opportunities to use flood water for summer uses. Cooper stated they will explore the idea, but it won't replace the desire for better drainage in the fields. Thompson stated people are talking about the idea of storing flood water, but no one has gotten very far with it. Cooper continued the presentation on the alternatives for the right bank levee setback. The Lummi Nation is concerned that complications will increase regarding its fishing boats and with sedimentation. It is engaging the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) in developing a study to address concerns with sedimentation and evulsion. Browne asked if the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (PSNERP) or agricultural community proposed boundaries follow the natural boundaries of the hydrated soils. Cooper stated she doesn't know. Climate change is creating estuary drainage challenges as sea levels rise. The USGS will help with those kinds of challenges. Surface Water Work Session, 1/19/2016, Page 3 1 Weimer asked if these alternatives avoid Mr. Bedlington's property. Cooper stated 2 they do. 3 4 Brenner asked if the areas showing new flooding are due to climate change. Cooper 5 stated it's due to better mapping technology. 6 7 Cooper concluded the presentation on the Lynden levee. Water backs up and gets 8 into the floodplain. The Corps identified deficient culverts. They will reconfigure the area 9 by connecting the two drainages and creating one fish - passable pipe with a flap gate. They 10 may eventually relocate the channel away from the treatment plant. They will apply for 11 phase one design and phase two construction in this pre - proposal. If the grant agency 12 decides they don't want to give as much money, they could delay phase two. The cost will 13 be $4 million to $6 million and requires a 20 percent match by the County. If the County 14 receives the grant, she hopes the Council will support hiring another flood engineer to do all 15 this work. 16 17 Donovan asked about rankings. Cooper stated the comprehensive water resource 18 integration project (CWRIP) was a project in which they identified and ranked all the plans 19 and projects throughout Whatcom county to evaluate the breadth of public benefit of each 20 project. The higher the benefit evaluation score, the broader the public benefit. The State 21 will consider the proposal based on its own scoring system. She will submit a project 22 summary to the State that includes a description, budget, and summary of the County's 23 readiness to proceed. If the State likes the project, it will invite the County to submit a full 24 application in June. She's given this presentation to several stakeholder groups throughout 25 the county. 26 27 Carol Perry asked about the PSNERP. The State didn't inform the County about the 28 PSNERP project for 14 years. Many in the county are opposed to the project. The County is 29 tempted by State money, but the money can't be spent on what Whatcom County wants or 30 needs. Cooper stated she doesn't disagree. The State has recognized its error and has 31 committed to work cooperatively with the County to implement what the County wants 32 locally, as long as the County can maintain significant ecosystem benefits. The farmers 33 have seen these proposals, which lower flood elevations and create better flood Drotection. 34 35 Unidentified speaker asked about salmon species prioritization. Thompson stated 36 this project affects the lifecycle of all the species. 37 38 Cooper asked if she can include in the grant application that the Council supports the 39 hiring of another flood engineer if the County receives the grant to implement this work. 40 The cost of the engineer's time will be billed against the grant. 41 42 Donovan asked if the engineer would be gone when the project is over. Cooper 43 stated she hopes the County will receive more grant money, and they can reduce a position 44 when someone retires. 45 46 Brenner stated it bothers her when the information in the packet materials is 47 incorrect. 48 49 50 Surface Water Work Session, 1/19/2016, Page 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 11:45 a.m. The Council approved these minutes on �,`1,�1tS14AtP1r11!!J! ATTES!, `? C 0 r .a March 22, 2016. WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON 4 ,rt • 1, " s v.-�/ / gyp. • / � r - 0� I %--7aa l � C7 qj1a 13t ox+v - r3 cis 94ricil -lerk B r Bucha an, Council Chair s t Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription Surface Water Work Session, 1/19/2016, Page 5