September 2, 1998

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Chairman Ralph Morgenweck called the meeting to order. Introduction of Governance Committee members and audience attendees followed. Attendance sign-in sheet is attached.

Approval of April 21 Meeting Notes

The July 22, 1998 minutes were approved, as amended, by consensus of those present. A copy of the final minutes are attached to these minutes.

Executive Director Report

Executive Director Dale Strickland reported that written comments on the Annual Report had been integrated into the document and that additional comments were received the previous evening from the Finance Committee. The report will be circulated as a working document as soon as the additional comments are incorporated. He further reported that no reimbursements had been requested at this time.

Committee Reports

Water Management Committee

Committee Chairman John Lawson reported that an August 11, 1998 workshop had been held with Boyle Engineering on consumptive use and hydrologically connected groundwater, and an August 12, 1998 workshop dealt with the a long-list of alternatives.

 He further reported that a September 1 committee meeting was held to discuss hydrologically connected ground water, status of the Water Conservation/Supply Study, and Colorado's response to comments regarding Colorado's Plan for Future Depletions. The meeting was well attended and additional items for discussion were identified. Those items included: 1. Membership on the water committee; 2. Slow down the process by deferring meetings until November 17, 1998; 3. Transbasin diversion of Colorado River Basin water; 4. Third party impacts and how they should be addressed; and 5. Time period with regard to an implementation stage (IE. what time period will the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service use to judge program performance).

Each point generated from the September 1 meeting was discussed as follows:

 1. Membership on the Water Management Committee. Ralph Morgenweck felt the proper place to address membership on the Water Management Committee was in the committee's charter. The charter should list the membership and provide rules of operation. Discussion followed. Norm DeMott moved to nominate Kurt Bucholz as a water user for membership on the Water Management Committee; seconded by Mike Besson. Dennis Strauch voiced strong support for including Bucholz as a member of the Water Management Committee. Discussion followed. The motion carried. Ralph requested that the Water Management continue to work on the their charter and that the charter include membership and rules for operation.

 2. Defer meetings until November and Third Party Impacts. Members of the audience requested a deferment of Water Management Committee meetings, due to the seasonal workload of the agricultural community. Discussion followed. Due to the time frame established by the Cooperative Agreement and the need for EIS development, there was a consensus of the Governance Committee to keep the schedule moving. There was also agreement that the Governance Committee must focus on increased outreach to better inform the public about progress on elements of the Cooperative Agreement and the development of a Proposed Program. It was also agreed that more outreach and/or education was needed related to third party impacts. John Lawson will work with Dale Strickland and the Outreach Committee to increase outreach efforts.

 3. Time period with regard to an implementation stage. Ralph indicated that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will prepare a discussion paper to address the issue.

 4. Colorado River transbasin diversion specifically for delivery to Nebraska for endangered species. As interpreted by 2 members of the Governance Committee, this is illegal under the Colorado River Compact, and should not be considered further in the Boyle study. Discussion followed. It was agreed that the most appropriate method for screening out alternatives was through the Water Conservation/Supply Study. It was reported that as a part of Boyle Engineering's contract a September 16 workshop is scheduled to develop the screening criteria to handle this type of issue. Ralph requested that the states work closely with Boyle to assist in development of screening criteria.

 John Lawson indicted that consensus was reached on the use of the 1975 - 1994 time period in evaluating alternatives in the Water Conservation/Supply Study. The Time Period Justification Paper will not be presented at this time due to additional editing; however, it will be forwarded for distribution.

Land Committee

Immediate Past Committee Co-Chair Jim Lundgren introduced Vernon Nelson and Rhodell Jameson as newly elected co-chairs of the committee. He reported on the activities of the following committees:

 1) The Mapping Committee is requesting better coordination between the various participants of the Cooperative Agreement. There will be a GIS workshop sponsored by the EIS Team on October 14.

 2) The Habitat Criteria Committee has revised the score sheet, and it is now ready for more testing. In addition, the committee has developed evaluation surveys.

 3) The Information Committee is feeling the need for a Governance Committee office in central Nebraska.

 4) The Land Entity Ownership Committee has met, and is requesting a facilitator at a future workshop to help select the preferred entity option. The committee is also forming a core working group to assist in the decision making process. It also needs convenient access to legal counsel.

 5) The Third Party Impacts Committee held their initial meeting recently. The Executive Director is working with the committee and a larger group appointed by the Governance Committee to develop a study plan for use in a Land Committee study of third party impacts. A study plan and request-for-proposals is anticipated by January 1, 1999. The committee held a listening session in Kearney on August 26, 1998 to give the counties in central Nebraska the opportunity to identify potential third party impacts.

 6) The Budget Committee is to develop future budgets with the aid of Dale Strickland..

7) Mr. Lundgren discussed the Land Committee Charter. He indicated that two versions of a charter have been drafted; however, they need to further address membership issues and rules of operation. Jim Cook and Doug Robotham will assist Vernon Nelson, Rhodell Jameson and other members of the Land Committee in an attempt to develop a single working document from the two existing drafts. This working draft will be returned to the Land Committee Charter Working Group for consideration as a recommendation to the Governance Committee. It was agreed that membership and rules of operation are the fundamental issues all committee charters must deal with.

Outreach Committee

Committee Chairman Jim Cook presented a proposed charter/outreach plan for the Outreach Committee. Discussion followed. The plan was adopted by consensus of the Governance Committee as a working document. Vernon Nelson, Land Committee Co-chair, stated that outreach must get down to the local level (ie. on local TV and radio talk shows) rather than depend on broad mailings that people do not read. Jim Cook pointed out that there is a program planned for KRVN on September 9, 1998.

Monitoring and Research/Technical Committee

Committee Chairman Jay Maher presented proposed Peer-review guidelines. The guidelines were adopted by consensus of the Governance Committee as a working document. It was reported that a workshop to facilitate the development of monitoring and research protocols will be held October 1 and 2 in Kearney, Nebraska.

Finance Committee

Committee Chairman Mike Besson requested the development of 2 year budget plans for the Water Management, Land, and Technical committees. Dale Strickland will work with these committees to develop their budget plans. Dale will also develop a budget for activities not associated with a specific committee.

 The operating budget, as outlined in the Cooperative Agreement, was discussed. Alternatives were discussed for forming or contracting with an entity that is empowered to receive program funds and disburse funds to cover operating costs. The entity would be utilized by the Governance Committee for the contributions from the three participating states and the federal government. Dale Strickland and Doug Robotham addressed the pros and cons of utilizing the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The possibility of setting up a special entity that could receive and spend the funds from each party was also discussed. Jim Cook will follow up on that option. Don Kraus will be investigating opportunities to contract with foundations other than the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

 The availability of operating capital was discussed. The Cooperative Agreement includes a 50% cost share over the term of the agreement. The 50% cost share includes cash and cash equivalents (ie. habitat). The Cooperative Agreement also contains an estimate of $3 to $5 million dollars for completing the EIS. The source for financial support for the EIS if costs exceed $5 million was discussed. The lack of clear understanding of the amount of money available from the federal government to support current projects affects the Governance Committee's ability to commit to additional expenditures. The money available from the three states was also discussed. The states ability to spend money is limited by the amount appropriated by each state and this also contributes to a cash flow problem for the Governance Committee.

Larry Todd will attempt to clarify the Bureau of Reclamation's ability to provide cash in support of additional Governance Committee activities. Dale Strickland indicated the Governance Committee's ability to obligate additional funds is uncertain at the present time. The next meeting of the committee will be October 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the EIS Office in Denver.

Environmental Impact Statement Effort Status

Curt Brown reported that public forums will be held September 2, following the Governance Committee meeting, in Cheyenne, September 24 in Kearney, Nebraska, and September 25 in Sterling, Colorado.

 Members of the Governance Committee indicated that some subcontractors working on the EIS do not understand the relationship between the EIS and the Governance Committee. Curt indicated he would instruct the prime contractor, Woodward Clyde Consulting, to educate the subcontractors regarding who they work for. Doug Robotham requested a list of contractors and subcontractors working on the EIS.

Governance Committee Response to Accretion Depletions Assumptions in Colorado Future Depletion Plan

This issue was tabled until the October meeting.

Future Meetings

The next Governance Committee meetings are scheduled October 7, 1998 in Denver; Colorado and November 18, 1998 in Nebraska. The October 7 meeting will be held at the USFWS office in Lakewood, Colorado.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.