WRIA 56/HANGMAN CREEK Watershed Implementation Team Meeting Friday, October 13, 2006 10:00 - 12:00 p.m. Spokane Conservation District Conference Room Spokane, WA Meeting Summary Attending: Dee Bailey, CDA Tribe Reanette Boese, Spokane County Steve Bortfeld, Hangman Hills Water District Bruce Carmack, Rockford Resident Walt Edelen, Spokane County Conservation District Susan Gulick, Sound Resolutions (Facilitator) Keith Holliday, Dept. of Ecology Rick Noll, SCCD Gary Ostheller, Fairfield Grange Bill Rickard, City of Spokane, Environmental Programs 1. Agenda/Minutes q The meeting summary for the 9/19/06 meeting was approved with no changes. 2. Early Action Items q The Tekoa Well has been completed. The new well is capped and the project was under-budget. The new well needs a larger pump, and the irrigation efficiency still needs to be assessed. This is an additional point of withdrawal so no new water right was needed. It may be possible to request that Tekoa continue to augment streamflow in the summer months with one of their wells. This needs further evaluation. q Walt and Rick visited with Rich Weatherly to assess the Tekoa asphalt in-stream barrier placed in the stream approximately 40 years ago. The asphalt was to protect a sewer and water line crossing. Now that the two lines are inoperative, it serves as an opportunity to remove it and allow for a free flowing reach through town. Further assessment is needed to determine whether or not there is a real benefit. q There may be some wells in Spangle that are available for groundwater monitoring. There needs to be some testing to see if this is feasible. The City of Fairfield is also open go groundwater monitoring as long as there are no costs to the City. Hangman Hills has an emergency well that is rarely used that may be suitable for monitoring. Rick and Walt will put together a proposed strategy for groundwater monitoring. WIT members should give them any additional suggestions for sites. q Walt shared a water-wise kit with the WIT. A company in Modesto, CA produces these for use in schools. There is an entire curriculum that goes along with kit, including conducting a home audit. This may be a good tool to consider for middle schools/junior high schools in the WRIA. 3. Formation of the WIT q The grant with Ecology is still in process, but Keith was able to prepare a pre-authorization letter so that the WIT could officially begin Phase IV as of this meeting. q The contract between Susan and the SCCD has been signed. q Susan will put together a draft goal and objective statement for the DIP for the WIT to consider. q The WIT did not have time to review the proposed changes to the operating procedures; this will be added to the next agenda. q The WIT discussed the need to have meetings out in the watershed. This will make it easier to recruit members who are wiling to come to meetings in their communities but are not as willing to drive to Spokane. q The WIT also discussed the need to persuade missing interest groups to join the WIT. This will also be discussed at a future meeting. In addition, as the WIT reviews the plan recommendations and develops the DIP, it will be important to note any key people or organizations who are affected by a recommendation or who are needed to successfully implement the recommendation. These people or organizations should be invited and encouraged to participate in the development of the DIP. q The WIT discussed the need to set regular meeting times. The WIT agreed with Susan’s recommendation that it should meet twice a month until the DIP is completed. In general, the WIT agreed that Tuesday may be the best day to meet. However, due to scheduling difficulties, only the next two meetings were scheduled and no fixed dates were agreed to. This will be reconsidered at a future meeting. 4. Approach to Preparing the DIP q The WIT agreed that it was a good idea to sort the recommendations by two criteria: 1) How large of a benefit the recommendation will have on the watershed, and 2) How practical or convenient it is to implement. q The WIT discussed the need to develop clear implementation steps for projects that are highly beneficial but may be difficult to implement due to lack of funding, technical challenges, or other reasons. It is also important to move forward on the “easy” recommendations—those with existing funding and/or staff resources. q The WIT agreed that doing “homework” before the next meeting would be beneficial. Susan will put together a simple rating form that can be used to sort the recommendations. WIT members will also be asked to begin the brainstorming process of listing what action steps should be taken in the next 1-2 years, and who should do them. q The WIT does not think the DIP should include implementation details for each strategy in the plan. The strategies should be viewed as options for how to implement each recommendation. The DIP will focus on the recommendations, but WIT members should continually refer to the strategies to ensure that the best strategies are incorporated into the DIP. 5. Other Issues/Announcements q Keith is moving to a new position within Ecology and this will be his last meeting. The WIT complimented Keith on all his good work and wished him well in his new position. Keith expects that Brian Farmer will fill in for him until a replacement is hired. q There is a TMDL potluck meeting on October 19th at 5:30 p.m. q Flood Control Assistance Program Grants are due in May of 2007. 6. Upcoming Meetings q The next WIT meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 24th in Spangle from 10:30-12:30. The exact location will be noted on the agenda. q There will also be a WIT meeting on Monday, November 6th from 10-12 at a location to be determined. If you have questions or comments, please contact Susan Gulick of Sound Resolutions at (206) 548-0469 or by e-mail at Susan@Soundresolutions.com.