Hangman (Latah) Creek Watershed

Planning Unit Meeting

Spokane County Conservation District

June 14, 2005

Chair:             Walt Edelen, Spokane County Conservation District (SCCD)

Present:          Keith Holliday, Department of Ecology

Dee Bailey, Coeur d’Alene Tribe

                        Bill Rickard, City of Spokane, Environmental Programs

                        Peter Grunte, Landowner

Steve Bortfeld, Hangman Hills Water District

Reanette Boese, Spokane County

Bruce Carmack, Landowner

Gary Ostheller, Fairfield Grange

AGENDA/Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m.  The minutes for the May 19, 2005 meeting had been previously distributed for review. The minutes were approved with the following changes. 

• Steve Bortfeld was not in attendance of the May 19^th meeting.  He will be removed from the Present List. 
• Under Plan Discussion and Approval on page 2, the third sentence of the first paragraph should state that Keith and Bill could “vote to” approve the plan later, instead of “approve”. 
• Under Plan Discussion and Approval on page 2, the sentence below the 1^st paragraph should state the same “vote to approve” statement instead of the “approve” wording”.  This occurs once more in the last sentence under this heading.
• Page 2 – Commissioners was spelled incorrectly

Plan Approval Status

Walt began discussions regarding the status of the plan submittal to the Spokane and Whitman County Commissioners.  Walt and Keith had recently visited the Whitman County Commissioners on May 31 in Colfax, WA.  The briefing went well.  There were no serious concerns regarding the plan at this time.  Walt will get back to them regarding procedures for coordinating approval with Spokane County in a joint session conference call. 

Walt will work with Reanette Boese and Rob Lindsay to schedule a briefing with the Spokane County Commissioners.  WRIA 56 will be scheduled ahead of the WRIA 55/57 Plan. 

Walt had prepared the SEPA for the plan and had distributed it to the committee for review.  The following comments were addressed.

• Page 3, # 14(a).  Reanette Boese will check on the aquifer sensitivity designations for Hangman Creek and get back to Walt.
• Page 3, # 14(a)1.  There are recommendations regarding stormwater management and wellhead protection in the plan.  This should be noted in the SEPA.
• Page 6, # 4(d).  Riparian management and vegetation enhancement have been recommended in the plan.  This should be noted in the SEPA.
• Page 7, # 8.  The Spokane River and Little Spokane River watershed should be changed to Hangman Creek watershed.
• Page 7, # 8(b).  Dryland agriculture is dominant in the watershed and should be noted in the SEPA.
• Page 7, # 8(g).  The current shoreline management plan for Spokane County is being updated.  It should be noted that this plan is a programmatic non-project proposal.  The same should be noted for the comprehensive plan question in 8(f) above.

Walt will make changes to SEPA and submit to planning unit for review.  Once approved for release, the SEPA checklist will be submitted in the public notices of the following newspapers; Spokesman Review, North Palouse Journal, St. Maries Gazette, and the Colfax Gazette.  There will be a two-week notice for comments.  The publication dates will be forwarded to Bill Rickard for informational purposes.

A joint session between the Spokane and Whitman County Commissioners was discussed.  Ecology believes that a conference call during the approval session would be sufficient for conducting approval.  Two county commissioners must be present from each county and they must have their own public hearings. 

The schedule for plan approval by the commissioners is anticipated for the month of July.  However, approval is ultimately dependent on many different factors.

The Hangman Watershed Management Plan was originally scheduled for completed by June 30, 2005.  Due to timing issues with Commissioners, a three-month no cost extension has been requested from Ecology to complete the approval process.

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) – Phase IV

Bill Rickard distributed a DRAFT version of the MOA developed to continue into Phase IV of watershed planning in Hangman Creek.  The group discussed it briefly and will return comments directly to Bill Rickard.  Bill will revise the MOA and distribute it prior to the next meeting.

Phase IV Grant Application

Walt distributed the application for the Phase IV Grant.  Discussion ensued on the detail required to accomplish the Detailed Implementation Plan and how these tasks translated to the grant application.

Next Meeting

The next meeting was set for July 12, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.