HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-26-18 WRC Final Minutes_0TOMPKINS COUNTY WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL 1
Monday, Feb 26, 2018 2
TCAT Main Conference Room 3
Final Minutes 4
Attendance 5
Member Seat Member Seat
Sharon Anderson P Cooperative Extension Frank Proto P At-Large
John Andersson P At-Large
Marjory Rinaldo-
Lee P Environment
Fay Benson P Agriculture Linda Wagenet P At-Large
Chris Bordlemay Padilla P Water Purveyor
Cynthia Brock P Recreation Bill George P Associate Member
Liz Cameron P Co. Environmental Health Roxy Johnston E Associate Member
George Fowler A At-Large Jose Lozano P Associate Member
Barry Goodrich P Watershed Organization Darren MacDougall A Associate Member
Ed Gottlieb P At-Large John Mawdsley A Associate Member
Michelle Henry P EMC Representative Todd Miller P Associate Member
Kristen Hychka E Municipal Government Steve Penningroth E Associate Member
Emelia “Mia” Jumbo P At-Large Elaine Quaroni P Associate Member
Joan Jurkowich P Co. Planning Dept. Joanne Trutko P Associate Member
Darby Kiley P Municipal Government Tom Vawter P Associate Member
Lynn Leopold P Municipal Government Kristin McCarthy P County Staff
Jon Negley P
Soil & Water Cons.
District
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A quorum was present. 7
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Guests: Tarig Ahmed, Nicole Henry, Francine Jasper, Dooley Kiefer, Fawzia Tarannum 9
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Call to Order – Chair Darby Kiley called the meeting to order at 4:17 pm. 11
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Privilege of the Floor – None 13
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Agenda Review/Changes – None 15
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Approval of January 2018 Minutes – A motion by Lynn Leopold, seconded by Marjory Rinaldo-Lee, to 17
approve the January 22, 2018, minutes was passed by the members present. Motion carried. 18
Water Issues in India: Their Impacts and Way Forward – Fawzia Tarannum, Cornell University 19
Fawzia Tarannum, a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at Cornell whose expertise lies in water conservation and 20
management, spoke to the Council about the dire water issues facing her home country of India. A PowerPoint of 21
Fawzia’s presentation is available on the Water Resources Council website, and a few highlights of her talk are 22
shared here below: 23
• 54% of India’s population faces high to extremely high water stress 24
• Most rainfall occurs for 15 days during the monsoon season. However, catchment is a huge issue as India 25
lacks the storage to harvest much rainwater. 26
• India is the world’s largest user of groundwater: more than 60% of irrigated agriculture and 85% of 27
drinking water supplies are dependent on groundwater. If condition continues, the situation will be critical 28
in 20 years. 29
• There is talk of putting in new pipelines to draw from areas with more water but that too will create 30
environmental and economic issues (e.g. displaced persons, destruction of wildlife habitat). 31
• Roughly 76 million people are without access to safe drinking water, 56% of the population has no access 32
to sanitation. 33
• Access to clean water could help address several other global issues, including girls and education, as 34
women traditionally take care of obtaining water for their families and often spend hours per day walking 35
to drinking water sites. In addition, girls frequently drop out of school due to a lack of toilet facilities. 36
• The caste system is a huge hindrance to addressing access to clean water in India. 37
• There have been many intra-India and inter-state (India and Pakistan, India and Nepal, etc.) disputes over 38
transboundary water sharing. 39
• Existing regulations are sometimes not implemented, in large part due to rampant corruption in the 40
system. 41
• No long-term sustainability plan is in place to secure the country’s water infrastructure, so donor agencies 42
have been known to abandon projects midway. 43
Committee Reports 44
Water Withdrawals – Cynthia Brock 45
46
The committee will be convening the fourth Monday of the month, at 1 p.m., at the new City of Ithaca Water 47
Treatment plant. They have yet to meet. 48
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Water Quality Strategy – Joan Jurkowich 50
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Joan and Frank will start meeting next month. 52
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Monitoring Partnership – Darby Kiley 54
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Darby gave the committee report on behalf of chair Roxy Johnston as she was unable to attend the meeting. There 56
is no new word on the TDML. There was a group call, from which the Finger Lakes Water Hub and New York 57
State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) were notably absent. Roxy was invited to 58
participate in the Harmful Algal Blooms stakeholder meeting March 6th to represent the Monitoring Partnership. 59
She and Dave Bouldin will try to put together a list of relevant facts about P stability in the lake and how that 60
might influence management decisions. NYSDEC has reached out to the Soil and Water Conservation Districts 61
for wish lists for projects to reduce Ag nutrient loading. Cornell has submitted a request for an extension on the 62
Lake Source Cooling permit, which expires April 30, 2018. The special conditions related to the monitoring and 63
modeling study would be out, but other parameters would stay the same. Community Science Institute is going to 64
get kits to perform Microcystin analyses to facilitate HAB monitoring locally. There will be five CSLAP points in 65
Cayuga this year. 66
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Soil Health – Fay Benson 68
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Members continue to work on their publication, which they envision as a regional soil health educational 70
document linked to the TMDL. Barry thinks in the end they will have one document geared toward the 71
agricultural community and another written for the residential community. 72
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Emerging Contaminants – Jose Lozano 74
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No update 76
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Grants – Jon Negley 78
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There has been no hydrilla regrowth in Fall Creek and Cayuga Inlet, the areas they’ve previously treated, but 80
since the herbicides don’t stay put there is no point in continuing to treat there. Bob Johnson has encountered 81
small hydrilla patches in Cayuga Lake, in the vicinity of Stewart Park and the Cornell Sailing Center, as well as 82
along the western shore. Army Corps has offered to help, and the Hydrilla Task Force is weighing treatment 83
options — e.g. copper, hand-pulling, herbicide. 84
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Outreach and Education – Lynn Leopold 86
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The group met earlier today (Feb. 26) and continue to make progress on their map, which they plan to make full 88
size with practical information on amenities featured on the backside. They most likely will not print it on vinyl 89
because of the cost. Joan forwarded them useful information on the Cayuga Lake Blueway Trail project. Todd 90
Miller is working on mockups, and Cynthia will print a copy on the City of Ithaca plotter for committee members 91
to review. 92
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Workshop on Road Ditching – Sharon Anderson 94
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Kristen Hychka met with the highway superintendents, who were enthusiastic about the theme for the workshop 96
and offered good feedback. Sharon Anderson touched base with the Local Roads program. The committee still 97
needs to settle on a date and location for the workshop. 98
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Chair Report – Darby Kiley 100
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The Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization (IO) is hosting a watershed summit Thursday, April 102
19th. Targeted to highway superintendents and municipal officials, this daytime event is connected to the Letter 103
of Support the WRC recently signed on behalf of the IO and its partners for a Cornell Engaged Opportunity grant. 104
105
Dooley Kiefer suggested that the Council consider drafting a proclamation in favor of the United Nations World 106
Water Day (March 22nd) for the County Legislature. Darby doubted there was enough time for the members to 107
pull something of quality together. Dooley also reported that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement written 108
public comment period for the proposed expansion of the Hakes C&D Landfill in Painted Post has been extended. 109
Many Steuben County residents have expressed concern over the possible increase in fracking drill cuttings from 110
Pennsylvania being transported to the landfill, which is owned by Casella Waste Systems. 111
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Staff Report – Joan Jurkowich 113
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Joan informed everyone that the Planning and Sustainability Department has undergone an office renovation and 115
visitors may now only enter the building on the Dewitt Park side. Also, the Department is hiring for three new 116
staff members and the new tourism director, Nick Helmholdt, started work today (Feb. 26). 117
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Member Announcements 119
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• Frank inquired whether PDEQ had given a deadline for the Council’s 2017 Annual Report presentation 121
(they have not) and when to expect Angel Hinickle of the Soil & Water Conservation Board to give her 122
SPDES MS4 Permit Annual Report (the answer was May). 123
• Cynthia reported that the NYSDEC is testing groundwater samples at Nate’s Floral Estates mobile home 124
park, which sits atop the former City of Ithaca Landfill, to determine if the site may be contaminating a 125
drinking water source. Soil sampling will come at a later date. She attended an information session last 126
week presented by NYSDEC Region 7 staff, who explained that the funding used for groundwater 127
sampling at Nate’s is earmarked for testing of other unregistered sites in New York State that may have 128
flown under the NYSDEC’s radar until now. 129
• Lynn asked if anyone had news about the proposed garbage incinerator in the Seneca County Town of 130
Romulus. Cynthia reported that PDEQ chair Anna Kelles would be submitting a resolution opposing the 131
incinerator to the County Legislature. 132
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Adjournment 134
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Chair Darby Kiley adjourned the meeting at 5:53 pm. 136
These draft minutes will be formally considered by the WRC at its next monthly meeting, and corrections or 137
notations will be incorporated at that time. Prepared by Kristin McCarthy, Tompkins County Planning and 138
Sustainability Department. Approved by Water Resources Council: March 26, 2018. 139