Members ATtendance

X	UI: Larry Kirkland, Facilities Engineer	X	WSU: Craig Benjamin (Chair), Assistant Director of Facilities Operations
X	UI: Jay Becker (Vice-Chair), Assistant Director, Utilities and Engineering	X	WSU: Pete Grigas, Facilities Planning
X	Moscow: Tom Scallorn, Water Dept. Superintendent	X	Pullman: Mark Workman, Dir. Public Works
X	Moscow: Steve Busch, City Council Member		Pullman: Sue Hinz, City Council Member
	Latah County: Loreca Stauber, County Commissioner		Whitman County: Jerry Finch, County Commissioner
X	Latah County: Tom Townsend, citizen		Whitman County: Derek Pohle, County Engineer
	Executive Secretary and Technical Advisor: Juliet McKenna

VISITORS

Mark Cole (Moscow Director of Public Works), Bill French (Moscow resident), Art Garro (Pullman), Bob Haynes (IDWR), Terry Ryan (WSU Energy Manager), Kathleen Warnick (Latah County resident)

1. Call to Order AND APPROVAL of APRIL 19, 2001 Minutes

Craig Benjamin (Chair) called the meeting to order at 2:35 P.M. Minutes were approved as distributed with no corrections.

2. DISCUSSION – recommendations for Use of $100,000 COMING FROM STATE OF iDAHO

Larry Kirkland briefly summarized a proposal to allot up to $80,000 to a pilot project, following Dale Ralston’s suggestions for drilling a well and fitting it to permit controlled drainage of Wanapum water into the Grande Ronde. The intent is to augment recharge to the deep aquifer to stabilize the falling water levels the where all the infrastructure is located

Kirkland requested that the Committee pass a motion authorizing the technical subcommittee and executive secretary to proceed with seeking formal approval for such a project from IDWR and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

Motion by Steve Busch, seconded by Pete Grigas, passed unanimously to authorize the technical subcommittee and executive secretary to proceed with seeking formal approval for such a project.

Discussed the need for a project manager which the majority seemed to favor.

Bob Haynes, the IDWR regional manager addressed the issue of connecting two aquifers via a well in the State of Idaho. The code said that artisian water shall not be allowed to contaminate another aquifer nor be wasted via another aquifer or water conducting strata. Bob said PBAC will need to: show that introducing additional amounts of the Wanapum water into the Grande Ronde aquifer will not adversely impact it and ‚ that using a controlled gravity drain well is a physically and economically beneficial way to address the goal of stabilizing the falling Grande Ronde water levels while meeting growing water needs. IDWR would have to waiver strict adherence to the well construction standards to permit the pilot project. Idaho DEQ will have to address the water quality issues.

Questions and answers addressed what an artesian aquifer is; potential impacts on existing wells in the Wanapum; whether the drainage water must match the deep aquifer water exactly; costs and potential impacts across the state line in Washington. Everyone agreed that these questions need to be addressed and answered before PBAC commits to the actual pilot project.

Bill French asked why not just use surface water directly.

The technical subcommittee agreed to put a project timeline (and development schematic) together for the next meeting.

3. COMMITTEE INVOLVEMENT – (J. Becker)

Jay Becker reminded the committee that Craig Benjamin and Juliet McKenna are both leaving in May. This will necessitate committee members stepping forward to keep the favorable momentum going in spite of the significant vacuum the departure of these two will create.

4. OLD BUSINESS

· Renewal of Intergovernmental Agreement (J. Becker) Jay said two UI administrators have approved the new revised version from WSU but the UI legal counsel has not yet approved it. Jay requested that Craig forward the electronic version of the document to him.

· Status of funding request from Washington No one had any definitive news to report. Mark Workman agreed to check with Mark Schoesler at his next reporting session.

· Groundwater Management Plan update – Larry reported that an updated Action Plan had been received from Whitman County so the Plan is now ready for final review and publishing.

5. REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

a) PBAC Staffing (J. Becker)

Jay reported that his director gave permission for Larry to devote an extra 4 hours a week to PBAC affairs. This means Larry can officially spend about 8 hours a week on PBAC matters. In response to a question, Jay said the financial mechanics were already taken care of for PBAC to buy those hours of Larry’s time. All agreed that the executive committee needs to keep meeting with Roy Mink to define a full-time job comprised of PBAC’s part-time position and a part-time position working for IWRRI.

In the interim, PBAC member Larry Kirkland will be working with Juliet McKenna to smooth out, as much as possible, the transition period and cover the critical issues.

b) Exposure in the Community and Other Reports

Tom Scallorn reported on the Moscow Water Department ‘s Open House at the water treatment plant on May 9 from 12 to 7 in recognition of Drinking Water Week. It was better attended than last year’s and gave the water department staff a valuable opportunity to interact with interested public. Tom has also hired an intern for the summer to help with conservation issue.

c) Update from entities on water- and water conservation-related projects

Pullman –Mark Workman reported that the City of Pullman is in the selection process for a firm to design and build the wellhouse for Well 7 and a booster station. Mark also mentioned the ?Pullman newsletter? which will have tips on water conservation, information about the surcharge in water rates for the summer, and describes several free water conservation workshops put on by Pullman Parks and Rec. in June and July.

Moscow –S. Busch, Council President, reported on a few highlights from the May 14 water workshop for the City Council. The workshop included a power point presentation by Tom Scallorn on challenges related to the infrastructure for water and wastewater systems; discussions of conservation opportunities; the Ralston proposal for recharging the deep aquifer from the shallow; collection of clean water from Moscow Mt for direct use or recharge and enhancing the stream and watershed improvements on the upper Paradise Creek drainage. With regard to the latter Steve mentioned the possibility of converting the flood plain to a greenbelt.

University of Idaho – J. Becker reported that the State has approved a $400,000 expansion of the UI effluent irrigation system for the admin lawn area for the coming fiscal year.

6. NEW BUSINESS

a) Elections

PBAC elections normally occur in June with the new Chair taking over in July. Since the current PBAC Chair, Craig Benjamin, has accepted a position with the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and will be moving by June 2001, elections were held in May. The current Vice Chair, Jay Becker, was elected chair and Mark Workman was elected Vice Chair. The vote was unanimous.

b) Discussion of management of State funded recharge project

Several committee members expressed concern about management of the state funded projects. It appeared to be the concensus that the Committee find management, whether a City of Moscow person or a consultant to oversee the projects. No final decision was made at this meeting.

c) FY2002 Billings to Member Entities

Mark Workman asked that the invoices to the four pumping entities list separately billing for the grant funding, $20,000 each, and administrative expenses, $8,000 each to the four pumping entities and $4000 to the two counties.

7. NEXT MEETING DATE AND ADJOURNMENT

Thursday, June 21, 2001 at 2:30 pm

McClure Hall Room 411

The meeting was adjourned by consensus.

Respectfully Submitted,

Larry Kirkland

Acting Executive Secretary/Technical Advisor

Note: these minutes are submitted in draft form and have not yet been approved by the Committee.