February 17, 2005 Meeting Minutes

UI Facilities Management Building, Jack’s Creek Meeting Room

Members Attendance

Visitors: Bill French, Palouse Water Conservation Network; David Hall, Latah County Resident; Bob Haynes, CDA Regional Manager IDWR; Mike McVay, UI grad student; Nicole Badon, UI grad student; Guy Gregory, WA Dept. of Ecology, Spokane; Alyssa Douglas, IDEQ; Stacey Douglas, UI student; William B. Hall, UI emeritus; Jim Osiensky, UI Professor; Nancy Chaney, Moscow City Council; Nikki Agidius, Latah County Planning; Kathleen Warnick, Moscow Citizen; Marilyn Becket, Latah County Resident; Robin Nimm, UI grad student; Christy Schwartz, conservation specialist, City of Moscow Water Dept.; Derek Holom, UI grad student; Katie Rhode, UI grad student; Tom Brooks, Hawkins Bay Regional Council, Napier, New Zealand.
 

1)    Approval of the January 20, 2005 Meeting Minutes – Rob Corcoran, the PBAC Chair, called the meeting to order at 2:33 pm. The January 20, 2005 meeting minutes were approved by consensus.

2)    Introductory Report on the Shallow Aquifer Survey Project (Nicole Badon)  Nicole Badon is a University of Idaho graduate student setting up a shallow aquifer monitoring network as part of her masters thesis in hydrology. The objectives of her monitoring project are to: (1) develop a groundwater monitoring network for the Wanapum aquifer system by installing data loggers in residential and commercial wells; (2) to download water level data on a regular basis (at least every 3 months); (3) develop and update a database for the shallow aquifer system; (4) conduct pump tests to clarify connectivity and boundaries; (5) analyze and interpret the data and (6) to write her thesis summarizing the above. Badon’s inherited database consists of 9 Wanapum wells with data ranging from 1999-2001. Eight of the nine wells are currently being monitored. Water level data shows a seasonal influence on water levels with a slight decline during the summer months and a recovery in the winter months. Seven new wells were added in September, 2004 giving a total of 15 Wanapum wells being monitored on a continuous basis.  Discrete data are being collected additional wells.  More wells will be monitored continuously when the new dataloggers arrive.  Data from five of these wells have been downloaded but not yet analyzed. A pump test using City of Moscow well # 2 was just completed.  More pump tests are planned to delineate the connectivity between wells and the extent of the areas of impact for the cones of depression. Future plans include a GPS Survey of the monitoring wells so all water level data can be compared as mean sea level measurements; expansion of the monitoring network with the installation of more data loggers; and the downloading, analyzing, and interpreting of additional pump test information.  Workman requested that Badon present her first pump test results at the next PBAC meeting.

3)    Whitman County Monitoring Well Field on WSU Cunningham Farm - This project is proceeding slowly due to legal concerns from WSU legal council regarding ownership of and liability for the monitoring well field. In addition, Ted Wright of McPherson-Wright Well Drilling, who is expected to do the drilling, needs to take a certification test to license him to drill resource conservation wells in Washington. If these challenges are overcome and if there are no further interruptions the well drilling could start in approximately 3 weeks. The next step will be to install a gravel pad for the drilling rig.
With more monitoring well fields and other projects planned for the near future that will require assigning project ownership and liability, Kirkland suggested that PBAC discuss how to handle these projects or whether it might be best to change PBAC so that it may acquire property for drilling monitoring wells fields and constructing recharge projects.

4)    Update on Appeal of Groundwater Management Petition and Naylor Farms (Bob Hayes) – Hayes, the regional manager of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, passed out a letter from him to PBAC reviewing conditions 10, 6 and 9 of the hearing officer’s Preliminary Order approving the Application for Permit for the Naylor Farm. Condition 10 deals with the protocol agreement between the cities and Naylor Farm.  Haynes said the Order could have stated it better but “to the extent that the provisions of the protocol apply to the duties and authorities of the Department of Water Resources, those provisions of the protocol are considered conditions of Permit Number 87-10022”, the Naylor Farm permit.  Both in the letter and in person Haynes emphasized that condition 6 requires Naylor Farm to procure and comply with all applicable local planning and zoning ordinances.  The purpose of condition 9 is to prevent speculation in water rights.  It prohibits the permit holder from assigning the permit to another party without the prior written approval of IDWR.  The hearing date for the interveners and Naylor Farms to present additional geologic data and the implications for possible connectivity has been set as April 6^th and 7^th, 2005 at the Latah County Fairgrounds.

5)    Quick Briefing on the legality of Passive Recharge in Washington - Guy Gregory, the technical unit supervisor for the DOE eastern regional office in Spokane, briefly responded to the question, “Is it legal in Washington to connect the Wanapum with the Grande Ronde to allow for passive recharge?” He answered that it is illegal to connect aquifers in Washington. However, certain elements in Washington law allow for recharge. Currently in the Palouse region there is watershed planning underway, WRIA 34, and water recharge is one of the issues being addressed.  Gregory said the more specific PBAC addresses the various issues and the probable consequences, the more likely it is that DOE will work with PBAC to find a way to permit appropriate recharge.

6)    Proposed Meeting with Phil Nisbet to discuss Moscow Basin Geology in vicinity of Naylor Farm- Kirkland reported that Phil Nisbet volunteered to meet with interested parties to review the core drilling on the Naylor Farm and the surrounding geology of the Basin based on what he has gleaned from his studies in the area.  Concerns were raised regarding the timing of the meeting in conjunction with the Naylor Farms hearing. Kirkland said he would reschedule the meeting after the supplemental hearing.

Recommendation for PBAC Citizen’s Advisory Group- (Handout) Corcoran went over IDWR Director Dreher’s missive regarding the Citizen’s Advisory Group (CAG) to PBAC. The general consensus among PBAC members was that the CAG should be made up of a variety of individuals from both Washington and Idaho. Corcoran stated that PBAC needs to make up a charter, guidelines, etc. for the CAG. In addition, Corcoran stated that the PBAC bylaws need to be amended before the CAG can be put into effect. Workman recommended a new Section VI, permitting the creation and disbanding of special committees, be added to PBAC’s bylaws: “Special committees may be created from time to time as the need arises to carry out a specified task.  The creation and purpose of a special committee shall be established by majority vote of all members with then existing voting rights.  A special committee may similarly be disbanded by majority vote of all members with then existing voting rights.”  As part of the motion the present Section VI of PBAC’s bylaws will become Section VII.  A motion to amend the PBAC bylaws with Workman’s presented recommendation was approved unanimously. A second motion to appoint a sub-committee to determine and recommend the tasks and composition of the Citizen’s Advisory Group was approved unanimously. The sub-committee is to be chaired by Joe Kline with members: Kimberling, Adams, MacDonald, Storey and Stroschein.

7)    OLD BUSINESS

a)    2004 Annual Report- It was requested that all comments on the executive summary to the 2004 Annual Report, handed out last meeting, be passed on to Kirkland in the next week.

b)    Budget Sheet – Not yet updated, however all entities are now paid up for Fiscal Year 2005.
 

8)    REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

a)    Geological Hearing on Naylor Farm Water Right Permit- The IDWR hearing officer agreed to hold a special hearing on the geology of the Palouse Basin in the vicinity of the Naylor Farm and the implications on connectivity. It will be held April 6 & 7 at the Latah County Fair Grounds.

b)    WRIA North Fork Palouse Recharge Proposal - (Handout) Kirkland and Bob Anderson of Golder Associates have been revising a ground water storage proposal for the North Fork of the Palouse region which will evaluate options for increasing recharge to the two aquifer systems. Kirkland stated that any suggestions or comments on this project would be welcome.

c)     Exposure in the Communities
Townsend said he is adamantly opposed to using ground water for the expansion of the WSU golf course.  Kline responded that WSU continues to be committed to conserving water and meeting its water needs in the most efficient manner possible.  WSU is presently responding to the issues raised in the State Environmental Policy Act, whether there is more to do or a determination of non-significance will be adequate.   Kline reiterated WSU’s commitment to the joint WSU-City of Pullman effluent water recycling project.

9)    NEW BUSINESS – N/A
 

10)           NEXT MEETING DATE

Respectfully Submitted,

Larry Kirkland