See other minutes at: Governance Committee / Land Committee / Technical Committee / Water Management Committee

July 13, 2005
Final Minutes
Governance Committee Meeting
Wyoming Water Development Commission
Cheyenne, Wyoming

Public Comments – No comments were expressed.

Vice Chair Election – Ralph Morgenweck was nominated and elected as vice chair of the Governance Committee.

Minutes – All past draft minutes were approved as written.

Updates

Governance Committee Negotiating Team – Dale Strickland reported that the Executive Director’s office was tasked with reviewing the Program Document and attachments to identify edits, inconsistencies, etc. for review by the Governance Committee at upcoming meetings. Comments from the group on any document can be sent to the Executive Director’s office at any point. The review will be staged and will start with the Program Agreement and Program Document, Milestones, etc., before moving into the other attachments that are currently be more actively drafted (e.g., Adaptive Management Plan).

Roger Patterson reported on the Legislative Subgroup meeting the night of July 12. The draft legislation will be distributed after edits via the Executive Director’s office. It was suggested that the Executive Director draft a Program summary that can be used as talking points when discussing the issue with delegation members. The group also needs to identify a sponsor for the legislation. It was suggested that Colorado and Wyoming currently have members on the appropriate committees to introduce the issue. A small group from the Governance Committee will also be needed to present the issue in Washington, DC.

Adaptive Management Working Group (AMWG) – Dale reported that the group is ahead of schedule and has developed draft Conceptual Ecological Models for whooping crane, terns and plovers, pallid sturgeon, and physical processes. The AMWG will try to finish the models at the next workshop. The last workshop will be a general review of the Adaptive Management Plan (AMP). The current large task is identifying the alternative hypotheses language developed for river clearing.

There was discussion regarding what version of the AMP should be printed when the Program Document and attachments are printed for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). It was generally agreed that the Executive Director should bring any large policy items to the September meeting; however, it was understood that given the current Governance Committee workshop schedule on the issue that the Governance Committee may not discuss the document fully until after it is printed in mid-October. The workshop is currently planned for October 31-November 1.

Water Management Committee (WMC) – John Lawson updated the Governance Committee on the North Platte Channel Capacity Study. The Governance Committee approved a budget of $50,000 and delegated a WMC subgroup the authority to select the contractor. The subgroup selected JF Sato and Associates at the budgeted amount of $50,000. It was noted that JF Sato also proposed an expanded scope for approximately $45,000. Kent Miller, Twin Platte Natural Resources District, expressed support for the expanded scope.

Technical Committee – No TC activities since the last meeting.

EIS Team – The EIS Team began the final analyses in early May and the hydrology runs have been completed for all alternatives. The group is now working on Land Plan analyses and sediment aspects. The biologists will soon have the information they need to start their analyses. A more detailed schedule update was requested for the next meeting.

Budget Items

Program Budget – The Negotiating Team reviewed and revised the budget on July 12 for a current Program budget estimate of $214.9M. This includes a budget estimate for bypass flow costs, Cottonwood Ranch Property value as a Program credit, increased monitoring and research budget for water quality, wet meadow research, and other species monitoring. The Governance Committee asked that the budget be put into a format for legislative purposes. It was noted that the bypass cost estimate is tentative pending Department of the Interior policy direction and that other budget items may also change as better estimates are provided. There was discussion regarding how to set up the budget to identify the 50:50 cost sharing between the federal government and states.

Executive Director’s Budget – The Governance Committee considered and approved the Executive Director’s budget for July 1-December 31, 2005.

Cooperative Agreement Extension Budget – It was identified that the Cooperative Agreement will need extension beyond December 31 so that FERC licenses and other permits remain valid. When this is discussed, a draft budget for the period January 1-October 1, 2006 will be needed.

Structures Document – The Upper Platte Water Users provided a Governance Committee member selection process for inclusion in the Structures Document. The South Platte Water Users and Downstream Water Users provided an update on where they are in developing the process.

Public Comments – No comments were expressed.

Future Meetings – Future agenda items were identified, and included the Colorado funding mechanism for the Program and U.S. Forest Service vegetation management.