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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPWBC 12-01-2010 Wilmington/New Hanover Port, Waterway and Beach Commission Minutes of the December 1, 2010 Meeting 4:00 PM Chamber’s Watson Board Room Members Present: Joe Augustine, Layton Bedsole, Bill Caster, Chairman Rick Catlin, Mayor David Cignotti, Chris Coudriet, Tom Eager, Don Harris, Connie Majure‐Rhett, Kevin O’Grady, Avril Pender, Van Reid, Jason Smith. Guests Present: Kathleen Riely (WRAR), Ken Willson (CPE‐NC), Brad Rosov (CPE‐NC), Tom Jarrett (CPE- NC), Laura Blair (NC State Ports), Erik Stromberg (consultant), Jim Iannucci (NAC), Tim Owens (Carolina Beach), Patricia Matson (Lumina News). Chairman Catlin called the meeting to order. Harris/Caster moved acceptance of the minutes. Motion carried. Changes to Commission: Commissioner Bill Caster is moving to SC so will leave the Commission. Chairman Catlin presented Mr. Caster a plaque in appreciation of his service. Chairman Catlin will resign as chair as he has been elected to the NHC Board of Commissioners. Joe Augustine will chair Nominating Committee. Mr. Catlin has been elected Chairman of the NC Water Resources Congress. Permitting Contingency Plan: Last renourishment cycle, there were not enough Federal dollars for some NHC beaches. County did not have contributing authority to support renourishment (except for navigation issues at Wrightsville Beach). NHC is working with DC to get contributing authority for beaches. Hope to have way to fund next cycle with or without DC. County Commissioners have approved the concept of the Permitting Contingency Plan and have contracted with CPE. Tom Jarrett with CPE described the components of the contingency plan. CPE began work prior to the contract due to timing related to the upcoming funding cycle and milestones that will need to be met to allow the County to do what is necessary to supplement future nourishments. They were hopeful to have a draft to the county by year end, followed by 6 months of feedback and modification then the final report to the county. The report will be done in a timely manner that will allow for the County to approve implementation of the contingency plan so that permits and other approvals are in place in time for the next nourishment cycle. The report contains project descriptions and summaries of what’s been done and where. It also covers the existing borrow areas, permitting options, monitoring requirements and future nourishment cost projections. History: Wrightsville Beach is nourished approximately every four years. Prior to the end of each nourishment cycle, erosion encroaches into the design section in the project area located north of Stone Street. Carolina Beach is on a three year nourishment cycle and also experiences erosion problems along the northern 6,000 feet. Erosion in this area can be attributed to the impacts of Carolina Beach Inlet which was artificially opened in 1952. The southern 8,000 feet of the project generally maintains the design cross‐section between each nourishment cycle. Kure Beach is also nourished every three years. The project has performed better than predicted; however, there are two areas, one located near the north end of the project and the other on the south end, that usually experience erosion into the design template by the end of the nourishment cycle. Borrow areas: The existing borrow areas for the three projects can sustain functional projects for some time, however, the sediment trap/borrow area in Masonboro Inlet used to nourish the Wrightsville Beach project typically falls short of being able to supply all of the material needed. Also, the offshore borrow area used to construct and maintain the Kure Beach project will not be able to support the project for the next 30 years which will require the permitting of a new borrow source. The sediment trap/borrow area in Carolina Beach Inlet used for the Carolina Beach project has been able to meet all of the nourishment demands for that project and should continue to do so. Non‐federal permits for the use of the existing borrow areas for all three projects will require geotechnical investigations in order to satisfy the State Sediment Criteria rules. The Corps normally conducts some geotechnical investigation in each borrow area prior to each nourishment operation, however, the timing of the Corps efforts may not conform to the permitting schedule. In this event, the County should undertake to accomplish the work using non‐federal funds. Unfortunately, the County will not be eligible for reimbursement for in‐kind services, but advancing the work using County funds would assure timely execution of the permit process. The Corps has identified additional potential borrow areas for Wrightsville Beach and Kure Beach which would provide sufficient volumes of material to meet all future nourishment needs. These additional borrow sources would also have to meet the standards established by the State Sediment Criteria. In addition to the areas identified by the Corps, the County should also consider removing material from the sand spit on the south end of Wrightsville Beach that formed following the completion of the Masonboro Inlet south jetty. While this area has property rights issues, State statutes would allow Wrightsville Beach to condemn the area to allow it to be used as a source of beach nourishment material. Permits: Non‐federal permits for the three projects is a unique situation in that the State has to issue non‐federal permits for what has been federal projects. There are two permitting options: (1) permit exactly what the Corps does now or (2) modify the projects to permit additional borrow sources and modify the projects to address the identified performance issues. Both options will require a CAMA major permit, a 401 certification from the Division of Water Quality, and a Department of the Army permit. Option 1 has two possible permitting procedures: (a) get a general permit #291 from the Corps that will fast track but is good for only one cycle (probably 2016). Under this scenario, all review authority goes to the state. Or (b) get an individual permit that entails a 14‐16 month process and would result in a 30 year federal permit and a 3‐4 year CAMA permit. Option 2 (permit project modifications) would require more environmental documentation (possibly and Environmental Assessment or and Environmental Impact Statement) and coordination with State and Federal resources agencies and could take 24 to 36 months to complete. Funding Requirements: Mr. Jarrett distributed a sheet showing funding scenarios for Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure Beaches. If the state participates in funding, the fund remains in a positive position. See attached as part of these minutes. The options help the county determine ways to improve proficiency and plan ahead for the next funding cycle. The Corps can put monitoring requirements that were not required on federally funded projects. There are advantages of scale to do all three projects together. Mr. Catlin feels the group is on target and thinks we need to do things with the Corps before they quit doing them. He then asked Mr. Eager to provide an update on the Ports. Mr. Eager indicated the Corps will complete a study for a deep water port in NC in the next few months. No location has been mentioned. The study will go to the governor for use by the Logistics Task Force. Currently the NC Ports are in a holding pattern. Other eastern ports have funding earmarks that we do not have. Our competition, Savannah and Charleston, have issues also, especially Savannah as they are faced with deepening issues vs. the environmental impact. A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Harris and seconded by Mr. Reid. Mr. Catlin adjourned the meeting at 5:05 pm with good wishes to Mr. Caster on his move.