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Rob Pulliam called the meeting to order at 2:00 and welcomed everyone. OLD BUSINESS Minutes Minutes of the July 17, 2001 meeting, prepared by Kenda Flores in Andy Austin's absence at that meeting, were approved. PL-566 Rob reported on information received from Jim Czarnezki. Last year Missouri received 1.6 million dollars for PL-566 projects. That figure is 5.5 million dollars this year. NEW BUSINESS December 2001 North Central Division Rivers and Streams Meeting Rob and Brian Canaday attended the meeting . Wisconsin's work with dam removals was of particular interest since our committee is looking into beginning similar efforts in Missouri. The spring 2002 meeting will be held March 19-20 in Rock Island, Illinois. Rob suggested MDC's rock use guidelines as a topic for discussion. Rob will be attending. Since there will not be a Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in 2002, Chris Guy from Kansas brought forward the idea of having some kind of joint meeting that would include the Rivers and Streams, Walleye, Centrarchid, and Trout technical committees of North Central Division. Rivers and Streams supported this idea and it will be discussed in more detail at the Rock Island meeting. Rock Use Guidelines Brian and Paul Calvert provided an update on MDC's rock use guidelines and distributed copies for committee members in attendance. The guidelines were developed so that there would be consistency in how rock is used on MDC-sponsored projects as well as to help with Design and Development's (the engineering arm of MDC) workload. The guidelines apply to every MDC division that may use rock for stream projects. Rock will not be used without sign-off authority from Design and Development. The guidelines could eventually apply to EQIP and WHIP projects since MDC is the technical lead on NRCS stream projects. Discussion ensued as to how non-MDC members of MOAFS could get to see the rock use guidelines. The suggestion was made to post it on the MOAFS website. It was decided that having an MDC policy on a MOAFS website was not appropriate. However, if MDC was to put it on their website, the MOAFS website could link to it. John McPherson was going to check with Norm Stucky and George Seek, division administrators for Fisheries and Private Lands, respectively, to see if this is something MDC could do. A motion was passed in support of this course of action. Spill Data Management Matt Matheny reported on problems he encountered trying to generate a state map of spill incidents for the newsletter. The DNR keeps its spill data in paper files at their regional offices which makes a statewide summary difficult. How the data is filed and whether or not it is GIS-referenced depends on the kind of spill. Point source permitted discharges from publically-owned treatment plants, non-municipal treatment plants, and CAFOs are GIS-referenced and the DNR has a goal of updating this database every three months. MDC's Environmental Services Unit also has GIS-referenced data for spills that resulted in fishkills. Stream Conservation Guide Now for some 'retro' business (so old it's new again), Rob reported that Mark Van Patten is almost finished with the Legislation/Advocacy section of the guide. Rob will work with Lynn Schrader on getting the document to the editors. Bill Turner suggested asking Dr. Rabeni and Dr. Galat for a quick review to see how long it would take to get the draft to final form. Despite the length of time since the inception of the project, it was generally agreed that the chapters would not require a major rewrite. Originally, MDC was going to provide at least some of the funding for production of the guide but it has not been in the MDC budget for three years. No one had a good estimate of what the guide would cost now. Rob will check on costs, funding sources and getting a first edit arranged. Dam Removal Tom Priesendorf reported on efforts of the dam removal sub-committee. Questionnaires to gain insights on dam removal in Missouri and identify potential projects were submitted to the ten MDC Fisheries regions. MDC support would be necessary to have a viable project. Tom hoped that the questionnaire would help determine the level of support and turn up a good project which would then help AFS identify its role. Advocacy would be the most likely role in any dam removal project. There were only three responses to the questionnaire and no dam removal nominations. A recurring theme in the dam removal discussion is that each case is different. Removal of a Dam on Apple Creek, for instance, could be up to a 55-year project because of the dam's design and the amount of sediment stored behind it. Lock and Dam Number One on the Osage River could be a beneficial removal but it would be extremely expensive and the ownership of the structure is unclear. Mike Roell suggested that the work done by Illinois and Wisconsin could help Missouri's efforts. He will gather more information and talk with appropriate people in MDC Fisheries administration and Policy and Coordination then report on those findings at the summer meeting. MOAFS may then develop a position paper on dam removal. Gravel Mining Research Suzanne Femmer and Mike Roell gave an update on gravel mining research being partnered by USGS and MDC. Using the DNR permit database, a GIS data layer was developed. Of the sites identified during flights, only 23% were permitted. Some part of the remaining 77% may not even have been required to have a permit. These results will appear in the Phase I report that will be available soon. It is difficult to say how many gravel mines there are. Mining methods and the effects can differ from site to site and area to area. Because of the extent of gravel mining and trespass issues, aerial surveys were the only practical way to survey sites. EPA entered the partnership by providing funding for these flights. All fifth-order and larger stream channels in southern Missouri (except the lower Meramec from Big River downstream due to 9/11 security measures) were flown. In addition, fourth-order segments were identified and then a random sample of 30% of these were flown. During the course of 13 flights and 85 hours of flight time, all mines that were encountered were videotaped and mapped. The next phase of the project will use this information to see how individual mine sites affect stream reaches and describe cumulative effects of mining on stream systems. Sand and Gravel Removal Guidelines Bob Schulz alerted the committee to the lack of support being offered for sand and gravel removal guidelines at DNR Land Reclamation Committee hearings. Land Rec is considering making these rules for commercial sand and gravel operations. Hearings were dominated by people against the guidelines. In general these people, mostly sand and gravel operators, were outspoken and misinformed. Some of the meetings on the guidelines were reported to be intimidating to those that may have wanted to speak in favor of the guidelines. Donna Menown pointed out that the Land Rec Committee needs to hear from the non-regulated public. Bob Ziehmer reported on MDC's testimony in favor of the guidelines. The guidelines are a way to streamline permitting standards; they are a base line. Written authorization could still be sought for individual, site-specific variances. This was unclear to some operators. Bob felt that now this is better understood, the opposition is not so stiff. Comments in favor of the guidelines, however, are still needed and would be accepted until February 8, 2002. Subsequent discussion centered on how to get the word out that letters of support are urgently needed. FERC Process for Bagnell Dam Relicensing Bill Turner is coordinating this issue for MDC. It is a stakeholder process scheduled to go for six years. It is now in year 2. MOAFS is participating in the process as a stakeholder. There is very little Osage River information available so studies are needed. Agreement between MDC and Ameren UE, the owner of the dam, on what studies should be done was difficult to achieve. At one point MDC felt it was necessary to withhold collecting permits from consultants Ameren has retained for the project until the proposed studies could be demonstrated to be useful for determining impacts of dam operation on the Osage River. That was resolved and the results of some of the studies are starting to come in. In the midst of the relicensing, Ameren applied to upgrade two more turbines outside of the current process. In December, FERC dismissed the applications for the two additional turbines. 404 Permit Update Bob Ziehmer gave an update on the 404 Nationwide permitting process and some insights into some recent articles in the media. The general theme of the articles was that there was going to be a loosening of the regulations that are protecting stream and wetland resources. Bob indicated that these were misleading, at best. What is occurring is the reauthorization of the 404 nationwide permit package that is done every five years. These permits apply to specific activities and have specific conditions that must be met for the activity to be allowed under the nationwide program. The Army Corps of Engineers has issued the final version. States can now review the final package and decide 1) to accept the package as is, 2) accept but apply their own conditions to the activities, or 3) not recognize the permits as valid. In Missouri, this is done through the DNR Section 401 Water Quality Certification program. EQIP Paul Calvert quickly reminded the group of potential opportunities and benefits for Missouri streams through recent changes in the EQIP program. Next Meeting The next meeting will be on Tuesday, July 9, 2002 at Bennett Spring State Park at 9:00 AM.
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