Attendance
Committee members in attendance:
Shirl Barnhart
Daniel Barton
Scott C. Blauvelt
Donald C. Bluedorn
Marie M. Clark
Terry Dayton
Jeffrey J. Foley
Richard C. Lehman
Jan Oliver
Robert Ritchey
Ronald J. Rohall
Deb Simko
Robert Softcheck
Charles O. Stowe
Roger Uhazie
Jeff Fliss, DEP Rep.
Jay Tarara, DEP
Committee members not in attendance:
Mitchell Brourman
Robert A. Croker
Gerald E. Feldman
Robert C. Junk, Jr.
D. Curtis Kaelin
Jerry G. Schulte
Vincent A. Vicites
Others in Attendance:
Lenny Lichvar, Sothern Alleg. Conserv.
Kristin Carter, DCNR Topogeo, Pgh
Shawn Meenihan, Waste Manag. Irwin
Joe Lapcevic, Allegh. Energy Supply
Robb Piper, Camb. Co. Cons. Dist.
Dan Ireland, Pa American water
DEP Representatives:
Bill Gast
Pam Bishop
Michelle Moses
Cleta Kwiatkowski
Dennis L. Angelo
Ron Horansky
Lori Mohr
Hoss Liaghat
Introduction
The chair commenced the meeting at 10:00 am and Robb Piper, the manger of the Cambria County Conservation District, briefly explained the County's environmental activities. Bob Ritchey as a committee member distributed one sheet hand out "Act 220 Paper # 6" discussing ground water recharging and water diversion impacts/recommendations.Administrative Items
- DEP Summary of Activities: Lori Mohr explained a summary of the DEP activities including the status of the Act 220 budget, SRBC and DRBC Act 220 budgets, Growing Greener Grants, etc.
- June Meeting Minutes: The summary from the previous meeting held on June 14, 2004 was approved.Motion made by: Mr. Ritchey
Motion Second: Mr. Softcheck
Motion was carriedStatewide Committee Meeting Summary: Don Bluedorn presented a brief summary of the statewide committee meeting. He explained the guidelines of the three subcommittees. The CWPAs subcommittee hopes to have objective criteria prepared by November 2004. Once accepted by the statewide committee, the objective criteria will be sent to regional committee for comment. Policy and Integration sub-committee will finalize its vision statement in Sept 2004. It will be sent back to regional committees in Oct 2004. The statewide committee has already adopted the public outreach subcommittee's universal message.
Comments From Public: Lenny Lichvar from the Southern Allegheny Conservancy stated his concern about the extent of the water quality component in the state water plan and the cumulative water withdrawal by users of less than 10,000 gpd. Both questions were discussed and were responded by the DEP staff and the committee members.
Attendance Policy Discussion:
The members discussed different strategies in regard to attendance policy. Finally, a motion was made by Mr. Bluedorn stating that if a committee member misses three meetings in one year, he/she and other committee members will be notified in writing by the chair. The chair will also coordinate with John Hines in regard to re-appointment of members.
The motion was seconded by Shirl Barnhart and was carried.
Public Participation Updates/Discussion (universal and regional messages)
Don Bluedorn explained the Universal Message and that it should be distributed to identified stakeholder groups.
Motion was made by Bob Ritchey to send the Universal Message to identified stakeholder groups. The motion was seconded by Don Bluedorn and was accepted unanimously. The chair will prepare a cover letter for distribution of the Unversal Message. Ms. Simko will prepare a draft of a more focused and more simplified regional message.
Water Quality Law:
Michelle Moses from Office of Chief Counsel of PA-DEP presented a review of Pennsylvania's Water Quality Standards. She also distributed a copy of PowerPoint presentation.Critical Water Planning Area Discussion:
Mr. Bluedorn asked for volunteers to serve as regional representatives for the Ohio regional committee on the CWPA sub-committee and the Policy and Integration sub-committee. Scott C. Blauvelt and Terry Dayton were nominated, voted and were accepted for the CWPA and policy and integration subcommittee designees.Mr. Bluedorn discussed the need for collection of data for Laurel Hill watershed, which is a CWPA candidate in Ohio region. Deb Simko, Don Bluedorn, Jan Oliver and Roger Uhazie were volunteered to investigate this issue and present a summary of their findings in a future meeting.
October Meeting, Wrap-Up and Adjourn to the Watershed Specialist Presentation and Field Trip
Next meeting will be held on October 18, 2004 in ALCOSAN in Pittsburgh.
It was requested to invite COE for a presentation.
ALCOSAN will have a presentation about sewage discharges in the next meeting
The official meeting was adjourned by a motion from Don Bluedorn and seconded by Bob Ritchey at 2:30.
Cambria County Watershed Specialist, Conemaugh Watershed Association and Field Trip
After the official adjourn of the meeting, Jackie Ritko presented a summary of the activities in the county including: the clean up activities, fisheries, grants, polluted acid mine drainage and remediation. A group of the members participated in a site visit of a few acid discharge points and remediation efforts.