In accordance with notice to members of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council’s Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) subcommittee, a meeting of the subcommittee was held on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 4 p.m. at the University of Rhode Island (URI) OSEC Room 115 in Narragansett, R.I.

MEMBERS PRESENT
Michael M. Tikoian, Chairman
Don Gomez
Paul Lemont

STAFF PRESENT
Grover Fugate, CRMC Executive Director
Laura Ricketson-Dwyer, CRMC Public Educator and Information Coordinator

Others present
Jen McCann, URI/Coastal Resources Center and RI Sea Grant; Kate Manning Butler, URI CRC; Dennis Nixon, Associate Dean, URI GSO; Sam De Bow, URI GSO; Eugenia Marks, Audubon Society of RI; Wendy Waller, Save The Bay; Megan Higgins, ENE

Call to order. M. Tikoian called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m.

Item 1. Approval of previous meeting minutes: The minutes from the October 15, 2009 subcommittee meeting were approved unanimously. M. Tikoian made a note that B. Goldman will not be attending the meeting. M. Tikoian also complemented those who organized and participated in the R.I. Sea Grant Baird Symposium. All of the subcommittee members attended. P. Lemont seconded that motion and D. Gomez asked for the presentations. J. McCann said they will be online.

Item 2. Research update: G. Fugate briefed the subcommittee on research and other developments. The recreation and tourism chapter was presented at the November 4 stakeholder meeting. The SAMP team collected comments and will get them back to the subcommittee as soon as possible. P. Lemont asked if there are going to be answers for people on their questions; in particular, he said he thinks 90 days is too much time for reviewing the whole SAMP at the end. G. Fugate said that the CLF is suggesting the team go through chapters quickly and leave more time at the end with the whole document. M. Tikoian expressed that it wouldn’t be fair to burden the public with the whole document at the end. D. Nixon said he can understand that there’s a burnout with the chapters and that it’s difficult to look at them piecemeal. J. McCann clarified that the subcommittee has not yet identified a time period for the final review.

G. Fugate reported to the subcommittee that the marine mammal and turtle report was made public. Audubon Society has submitted comments and the SAMP team is working on a response. The team is also working with Ocean Engineering and the mammal and turtle experts on acoustic modeling for ambient and threshold noise levels. The essential fish habitat camera data is now being run by NMFS to confirm the mapping program. There was also a Section 7 (endangered species section) consult as well, he said. There

was a meeting with the fishermen and the MMS site was confirmed, G. Fugate said. There have been consultations with DWW, SHPO, USACE, MMS and the Tribe on Section 106 matters and a meeting was held on October 20. G. Fugate added that MMS has added the Tribe to its Task Force on renewable energy development, as MMS felt that their membership will ensure timely and coordinated archaeological reviews. M. Tikoian asked who’s checking in with DWW on their avian studies. G. Fugate said that no one is specifically, but they’re working with researchers so they’re up to speed on the data. D. Nixon said it’s in the best interest of DWW to do the work correctly. M. Tikoian asked how acceptable acoustic levels are determined, and G. Fugate said NMFS determines the levels. M. Tikoian asked for clarification on exactly who is attending the meetings. G. Fugate said that for the marine mammals meeting it was him, Jim Miller and an MMS representative. At the essential fish habitat meeting it was ACE, CRMC (G. Fugate and David Beutel), DWW, and Megan Higgins from ENE. M. Tikoian asked if there are agendas and objectives and minutes for all of these meetings. G. Fugate said that for most of them, yes. Some of the meetings are spur of the moment, however. Some are just informal sit-downs.

G. Fugate said that Public Archaeological Lab has been hired to do the Section 106 scope of work, and that is being sent to the USACE. There will be a meeting after the Corps reviews the scope. D. Gomez asked how the scope of work and review fits into the schedule; will it impact the schedule? G. Fugate said that it doesn’t look like it will, but it’s not within the CRMC’s control. There will be visual impacts to the lighthouse and the spring house, he said, and the SHPO office will decide what happens. There will most likely be an early December meeting. M. Tikoian asked if the CRMC went through the Section 106 issues with the Providence River dredging project, and G. Fugate said yes. G. Fugate reported that the Mineral Management Service has scheduled its task force meeting for November 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the URI bay campus. G. Fugate reported that the Massachusetts task force meeting is two days later; they have invited us to join their task force but there are some issues that must be resolved before a decision is made, G. Fugate said. M. Tikoian asked if the task force meeting was open, and G. Fugate said no.

M. Tikoian asked who else was on the MMS task force beside G. Fugate and B. Goldman. G. Fugate replied that in creating the task force MMS had invited Tim Costa, Mike Saul (of EDC), SHPO office, ACE, USFWS, NMFS, the Tribe, EPA and other MMS representatives. M. Tikoian said that members of the Ocean SAMP subcommittee or URI faculty should serve, instead of the Governor’s staff. G. Fugate explained that MMS will only invite agency representatives. M. Tikoian asked who from MMS had told him this, and G. Fugate said Erin Trager. M. Tikoian said that if they’ve not officially been added to the task force, he doesn’t want them on it. P. Lemont will attend the meeting, M. Tikoian said. Does Erin Trager think Mike Saul and Tim Costa are on the task force, or have they only asked to be on it, M. Tikoian asked G. Fugate. G. Fugate said that the Governor’s office made him aware that Tim Costa and Mike Saul were on the task force, and that G. Fugate had given her the additional names. M. Tikoian said that it is CRMC that decides who is appointed to the TF. G. Fugate said no, it is the governor’s decision. M. Tikoian clarified that the governor had asked him to name the appointees. Tim Costa and Mike Saul being on the task force breaks down the firewall, and he has a problem with that, M. Tikoian said. That’s why the subcommittee put G. Fugate and B. Goldman on it, he said. They’re why that was done, M. Tikoian said. If the task force wants to invite people, that’s their choice, but they’re not actually on the task force, he said.

G. Fugate reported that the Massachusetts Ocean Plan is out for public comment, and there was a meeting between all of the federal regulators. Suggestions were made on marine spatial planning, specifically to RI, and they been forwarded on to the Ocean Policy Task Force.

Item 3. Budget format/updates: Regarding the new accounting format, K. Manning Butler told the subcommittee that the EDC asked that the new format be used to cumulatively show expenditures for different activities. The format shows the budget, funding source and expected end date, as well as invoices. She said it also shows total invoices to-date, along with month-ending and total. Progress shows percent accomplished and current progress for month and cumulative progress. There is a column for budget, and it shows that 42 percent of the total budget has been expended as of the end of September. The new format also shows total cumulative progress, K/ Manning Butler said. P. Lemont asked if the budget/project variance is shown as coming under budget. K. Manning Butler said no; it shows the variance between the amounts spent and project completion percentage. J. McCann said that the SAMP team was asked only to show comments on negative numbers. M. Tikoian inquired about a large expenditure of $300,000 from August (K. Manning Butler clarified that the amount was $360,000), and he asked if it had been updated for the new figures. K. Manning Butler said that the chart shows previously invoiced total, the current and total to-date as of September 30, so yes. M. Tikoian also asked for more information on technology assessments that are 85 percent complete. K. Manning Butler said these are structural (turbine structures). G. Fugate said that there are no design standards for turbines in the U.S. There is a German and an international set, but they are a 50-year return; we need 100-year return, he said. There are some standards for the Gulf, but they’re for oil platforms, he added. The Bloc Island wind farm could be the first in the water in the U.S. and because it would be located in state waters, MMS will not be reviewing it or providing any design evaluation, he said. A panel has been assembled to come up with design standards for both state and federal projects, G. Fugate said. The CRMC and SAMP team will put the panel together with MMS, DOE, USACE and CRMC/URI.

P. Lemont asked about the SAMP chapter adoption schedule. It looks like a lot of activity is going to take place in few months, he said. G. Fugate said that most of it is data collection that will continue to occur. P. Lemont commented that the SAMP team will be compressing a lot of the work at the end. G. Fugate said that the SAMP team intends to adhere to the meeting schedule that was presented to the subcommittee. P. Lemont asked if the public comment periods would overlap and G. Fugate said no. M. Tikoian asked for clarification on a budget item for Malcolm Spaulding that is only 50 percent complete. K. Manning Butler said Spaulding has a major contract with the University of Maine and once paid it will increase expenditures in that area. M. Tikoian asked what the difference was between two similar budget items and G. Fugate said one is a met model and one has to do with ocean design. M. Tikoian said he liked the new format.

Item 4. Legal updates: M. Tikoian said there are none but he wanted to address one thing in the previous meeting minutes, regarding a court case and MMS boundaries that were referenced. G. Fugate said that Massachusetts is stepping over the boundary into the Rhode Island expansion area and into the Little Compton area, assuming it’s within MMS’ control. G. Fugate said that there had been a productive legal meeting on November 4 and a respectful agreement to disagree with Massachusetts on these boundaries. Some agreement will most likely be reached but it’s very clear that we both assume we have the jurisdiction over the same areas, he said.

Item 5. Discussion: P. Lemont said a couple of months ago the subcommittee discussed scaling back on meetings if things were progressing. He said that the subcommittee needs to hold the second November meeting but suggested scaling back and having only one in December.

D. Gomez said that it seems the team is making progress with the fishermen, and working with the Tribe and on endangered species. Are there any other issues, deal-breakers, that are known, he asked. G. Fugate said that the team hasn’t gotten all of the bird data yet but the team is hopeful there isn’t a large bird population at the Block Island site. It’s likely that any opposition will come from the Block Island site, he said. D. Gomez asked if it would have to do with the viewshed, and G. Fugate said yes.

M. Tikoian asked if there is any extra money in the budget for outreach to schools and to chambers of commerce. J. McCann said that there is no plan for school outreach. In terms of the chambers of commerce, the SAMP team has been meeting with them on the chapters and also the team is also working with libraries for evening events. M. Tikoian suggested that the SAMP team could give presentations at the C.O.C. regular events. D. Nixon suggested the annual Chamber meeting that will be at URI next year as an opportunity for outreach. G. Fugate informed the subcommittee that former Save The Bay Director Curt Spalding had been appointed as regional director of the EPA. ADJOURN. The subcommittee adjourned the meeting at 5 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by
Laura Ricketson-Dwyer, CRMC public educator and information coordinator

CALENDAR INDEX