Friends of Lake Jesup
March 18, 2004 7:00 PM
OVIEDO PUBLIC LIBRARY
D R A F T M I N U T E S
Call to Order: Chairman Robert King called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.
Announcements & Introductions: Chuck Vreeland, FDOT, made an announcement to the group that he would have to be absent from the meetings for a couple of months and that Scott Bear, CH2MHill, would cover all issues for FDOT and the bridge replacement. Chairman King asked for self-introductions
Approval of Minutes of February 19, 2004
Old Business
- Update on Restoration Plan / Hydraulic Model, USACOE - Chairman King said an e-mail from Pete Milam was included in the agenda package that would serve as an update for the Corps project.
- Funds spent on Lake Jesup - Cheryl Moore, Congressman Tom Feeney's Office, asked that the agency's that have spent money, or have contracts for projects, on the restoration of the lake please e-mail amounts to her.
- Winter Springs water withdrawal update - Chairman King said e-mail from Jim Bourg on the status of the surface water withdrawal study.
Update of Muck Removal Project - Chairman King discussed two letters that were being sent out with regard to the dredging project.
_________________________________________________
March 16, 2004Regina Lovings SJRWMD Jeff Ellidge SJRWMD Robert Christianson SJRWMD Ed Lowe SJRWMD Barbara Bess FDEP Vivian Garfien FDEP Lisa Prather FDEP David Herbster FDEP Ed Hayes FFWCC Dear agency representative,
At the February 2004 meeting of the Friends of Lake Jesup, discussion centered on the need to find a suitable disposal site or method for the muck that currently needs to be removed from the lake. It is the consensus of the group to pursue several suggested alternatives.
One idea is to dispose of the material via land spreading, on multiple sites around the lake as opposed to one large site. We would like to share with you information on possible technology that will allow spreading in areas once thought to be too small or inappropriate. It is the Friends request of you to evaluate this proposal and to provide your input as to the possible locations of land spreading sites, problems that may be encountered, and your thoughts on how best to move forward.
Having learned some from our last site location attempt on the Cameron Ranch property, the issues of compensatory storage and nutrient return to the lake will obviously need to be addressed. What would be most helpful are the hard and fast rules that must be met in planning any disposal site within the basin.
- How much of the nutrients that are removed from the lake can be allowed to return to the lake in the process of removal and disposal. This can be in percentage of total pounds, total pounds, concentration of runoff created or.....?
- What areas (elevations) are available for disposal without creating the regulatory need for additional storage capacity, and what elevations are off-limits to disposal material?
(i.e. - Elevations between average water level and 100-year flood level are off-limits without creating new storage capacity, however, placing muck above or below these levels, no additional storage will be required.)
Once these limitations are clearly articulated, the disposal planning will proceed without fear of permitting impediments. Please contact us for additional information; we are looking forward to having your agency's perspective incorporated into the next disposal proposal.
COPIES:
Tom Feeney, Representative US CONGRESS Sandy Adams, Representative FLORIDA HOUSE Lee Constantine, Senator FLORIDA SENATE ___________________________________________________________________________
March 18, 2004
Regina Lovings SJRWMD Jeff Ellidge SJRWMD Robert Christianson SJRWMD Ed Lowe SJRWMD Barbara Bess FDEP Vivian Garfien FDEP Lisa Prather FDEP David Herbster FDEP Ed Hayes FFWCC Dear agency representative,
The Friends of Lake Jesup would like to thank each of you for your continued support and assistance in finding solutions for the muck disposal project. Consistent with our current direction of research, we would like to introduce you to an alternative process of transporting, placing and dewatering the muck.
Mr. Troy Deal has been attending our meetings and has provided our group with invaluable insight into the hydraulic dredging business. We request that you review the attached materials and apply your individual expertise toward potentially incorporating some of the processes into our project. We need your questions, reservations, objections and general comments to help work toward a final plan.
Please contact Troy with process specific questions and myself for project conceptual questions. We are working toward a demonstration and pilot project and will need everyone's input in making sure that it answers all concerns regarding a full scale implementation. Also it is important to select a site that is representative of a full-scale project, if you have any suggestions or comments let me know.
We hope that with this information and some creative thinking we can locate a number of smaller sites around the lake to dispose of the muck in an environmentally friendly way. Without the cost of additional engineering and the substantial earthwork associated with a centralized site, we could find ourselves able to use multiple smaller machines, transporting shorter distances, and being able to complete the muck removal in a much shorter time.
Thanks in advance for your timely response,
COPIES:
Tom Feeney, Representative US CONGRESS Sandy Adams, Representative FLORIDA HOUSE Lee Constantine, Senator FLORIDA SENATE ______________________________________________________
Chairman King reported that City of Sanford had sent a letter (which was included in the agenda packet) stating they were interested in discussing the use of Site 10 with Ed Hayes and the FFWCC.
Bill Daniel reported that he and Vivian Garfein, FDEP, would be looking at Site 10 on April 12.
Mr. Hayes reported on a change in the way the funds were returned and re-requested by FFWCC. He said the Governor's Office had requested that the FFWCC withdraw its legislative budget request, asking for the funds to be returned to the agency. He said that the Office wanted to use a more appropriate means in returning the money to the agency and that agency staff had checked with Rep. Adams and others to see if this process was satisfactory, which it seemed to be.
Lawson Snyder, FFWCC, gave a more detailed explanation of how the funding stands with the Legislature. He said that Sen. Pruitt (Senate Appropriations Committee) had reported that Larry Dale had called. He said the senator wasn't happy about the outcome of the first project and that the senate does not have the full amount ($14 million) in its budget.
Mr. Hayes said he had met with Troy Deal of Aztec Development to learn more about the land spraying process. He emphasized that a disposal site, or sites, would have to handle 27 million cubic feet of consolidated spoil material, 620 acres one foot deep. He said he talked to FDOT and the Lee Ranch is off the table. Mr. Daniel said Site 10 is 1893 acres. Mr. Hayes said he would set up meeting with the Airport Authority and the City of Sanford.
Chairman King asked if Ms. Bess could gather soil type information if possible.
Update of SR 46 Bridge Project / FDOT 30% drawings / Recent meetings - Scott Bear, CH2MHill, asked the group if there were any comments on the plans that were distributed at the February meeting.
Mr. Bear gave an update to the group on the recent value engineering and 30% design meetings. He said he would make available copies of the value engineering report, which was due out within the week.
Mr. Bear said 45% design plans would be completed by the second week of June, at which time no more comment will be allowed on the plans. He said these plans would go out to contractors to begin the bidding process. He said ROW identification would be completed by April 7 and acquisition would begin in December. He said construction could begin any time after July 1, 2006 and take two years.
In-Basin mitigation update/Lake Jesup Basin Mitigation Initiative - Chairman King reported that Seminole County would not take the lead on the mitigation initiative but might do a study of the proposal for a regional stormwater park on Solary Canal and provide some engineering to move the proposal forward. He said the WMD also wasn't interested in running a mitigation bank. He said the cost of the property is $2 million but up to four applicants could receive mitigation from the site without declaring it a mitigation bank.
Chairman King said he hadn't heard back yet from Steve Rich, who was helping with the project.
TMDL meeting - Chairman King said the committee is looking for a statement on the group's goal for the lake's water quality when TMDLs are put into place. After discussion and with a suggestion from Mr. Snyder, it was decided that the entire lake, which receives drainage from a highly urbanized area, should have the same water quality of Lake Harney, upstream, Lake Monroe down stream and the river itself at the mouth of the lake.
Adjournment - 8:45 p.m. (The library system policy changed, requiring the meeting to be adjourned 15 minutes prior to the library closing. Meeting ends rather abruptly with the guard looking over our departure!