Allen Park
Belleville
Brownstown Township
Dearborn Heights
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Gibraltar
Grosse Ile Township
Huron Township
Lincoln Park
Melvindale
Riverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
South Rockwood
Sumpter Township
Taylor
Van Buren Township
Wayne County
Westland
Woodhaven
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District
Wyandotte
DRAFT AGENDA ALLIANCE OF DOWNRIVER WATERSHEDS
Thursday, January 17, 2013
1:30 pm
Wade-Trim
25251 Northline Road
Taylor, Michigan
1. Welcome and Introductions
a. Roll Call of Alliance Members and Alternates Present
b. Addition or Changes to Draft Agenda
c. Approval of October 18, 2012 meeting notes Action
2. Rain Barrel Opportunities
Chris Merucci – Great Lakes Rain Barrel, LLC Information
3. Finance Committee Report
a. Financial Status Report 2012 Information
b. 2013 Dues Distribution Update Information
4. Permit Update
a. Contested Permit Information
b. New MS4 Permit Information
5. Status Reports per ADW Budget Framework
a. IDEP Activities Information
b. Planning and Reporting –Grants Update Information
c. Progress Evaluation Activities Information
d. Public Education Tasks Information
e. ADW Annual Report Information
6. 2013 Activities Information
7. Other Items and Announcements Information
8. Summary of Action Items and Items for Next Meeting Information
9. Set Next Meeting Date Information
10. Adjourn Action
Allen Park
Belleville
Brownstown Township
Dearborn Heights
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Gibraltar
Grosse Ile Township
Huron Township
Inkster
Lincoln Park
Melvindale
Riverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
South Rockwood
Sumpter Township
Taylor
Van Buren Township
Wayne County
Westland
Woodhaven
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District
Wyandotte
Alliance of Downriver Watersheds
Meeting Notes
January 17, 2013 1:30 pm
1) Welcome: Mark Gahry from Brownstown Township opened the
meeting. In attendance were:
Designated or Alternate Community Representative:
Brian Arp, City of Gibraltar
Mark Gahry, Brownstown Township
Troy Nuccio for Mark Gaworecki, Hennessey Engineers for
Woodhaven, Southgate
Thomas Wall, Woodhaven-Brownstown School District
Mark Kowalewski, City of Wyandotte
Tom MacDonald, Van Buren Township
Kelly McRobb-Ackland, Wade Trim for City of Taylor
Noel Mullett, Wayne County
Roberto Scappaticci, City of Romulus
William Turner, City of Lincoln Park
Other Interested Parties:
Razik Alsaigh, Wayne County
Karyn Boldys, MDEQ
Bob Burns, Friends of the Detroit River
Bill Fisher, City of Trenton
Leah Groya, Living Lab
Jessica Koerner, MDEQ
Ric Lawson, HRWC
Jane Mackey for Congressman John Conyers
Patrick McCauley, Gasiorek, Morgan, Greco & McCauley
Vicki Putala, OHM
Elizabeth Thacker, OHM
Brian Woodworth, Wade-Trim for Brownstown Township
OFFICIAL ACTIONS of the ADW taken at the meeting are shown in bold capitalized letters.
Action Items for the future are shown in bold italics.
1) Welcome and Introductions
a. Roll Call of Alliance Members and Alternates Present – roll call was performed
and a quorum was present. b. Addition or Changes to Draft Agenda – There were no proposed changes to the agenda.
c. Approval of October 18, 2012 meeting notes. ACTION: There was a motion by Van
Buren Twp to accept the October 18, 2012 meeting notes. Seconded by Wayne
County. Passed unanimously.
2) Rain Barrel Opportunities
Chris Merucci from Great Lakes Rain Barrel, LLC presented rain barrel sale
opportunities.
The barrels are American-made, completely sealed, UV protected, and have a diverter
system so the downspout doesn’t need to be cut. The barrels hold 65 gallons.
If the ADW order is large enough, the price of the barrels will be $70 each ($20
discount). There will be a $2 per barrel kick back to the ADW.
The group would need to sell 300 rain barrels to get the discounted price. The ADW may
be able to piggy-back on another sale to get the discount. The HRWC is having a sale
with pickup on May 18 in Ann Arbor. Chris indicated that it would be possible to have
the ADW sale on the same day with a pick up location in Ann Arbor and another
somewhere downriver.
Leah Groya will add the rain barrel sale to the public education committee meeting
agenda so the committee can decide how to proceed with the rain barrel sale.
3) Finance Committee Report
a. Current Financial Status Report 2012
Razik Alsaigh presented a status report on the 2012 budget. Razik indicated
that once all of the 2012 bills were paid, he anticipates a small amount
available for future bills.
A couple communities still have outstanding dues for 2012.
b. 2013 Dues Distribution Update
Razik reported that work was being down to recalculate the dues distribution
based on the updated census.
There were problems encountered with calculating the ADW population in
the boundary communities. Razik is working with SEMCOG to resolve the
problem. Leah Groys indicated that this exercise may have already been done
for the Watershed Management Plan. Vicki Putala will check to see if the
calculations were already done.
4) Permit Update
a. Contested Permit
Patrick McCauley reported that the contested case has been in the court of
appeals for almost 2 years and they are waiting for an oral argument date.
The argument has been made that communities should remain under the 2003
current permit until the contested case issue is resolved. It has been asked
that the DEQ stop going forward with the new permit and that a status
conference be scheduled.
b. New MS4 Permit
Since the last meeting, most of the Lower Huron communities have requested
to be moved to the FY18 permit cycle with the rest of the ADW. Woodhaven
and Sumpter Township have not requested to be moved to the FY18 cycle.
Jessica Koerner indicated that Woodhaven and Sumpter could still request to
be moved to the FY18 cycle, but she couldn’t guarantee that it would be
accepted.
Hennessey Engineers will work with Woodhaven and Sumpter to request a
permit cycle date change.
5) Status Reports for ADW Budget Framework
a. IDEP Activities
Noel Mullett provided an update on facility dye test and drain inspections.
From Oct 1 – Dec 31, 2012, there were 7 dye tests performed in Romulus.
There was 1 illicit connection and 1 environmental concern found at 2
facilities. There were 2 drains inspected, covering 7 miles. Communities
involved included Romulus, Southgate, and Taylor. There were 48 outfalls
surveyed and 2 suspicious discharges discovered.
Noel presented a proposed Five Year IDEP Training Plan. The plan proposes
rotating training between 3 counties. Years 1, 3, and 5 would be the
traditional IDEP training and Years 2 and 4 would be good
housekeeping/illicit discharge training by SEMCOG.
The Five Year Training Plan would likely be a cost savings to the 2013 ADW
budget due to cost sharing.
The technical committee will meet to discuss the proposed training plan.
b. Planning and Reporting – Grants Update
On October 19, the ADW submitted a proposal for a 319 grant. The
MDEQ’s website indicates that selected projects will be announced in the
early summer of 2013.
c. Progress Evaluation Activities
Ric Lawson reported that the macro-invertebrate monitoring results were
similar to the last couple years. In general, conditions are better as you move
upstream. There was one site on the Ecorse Creek that had very low scores
that may need some investigation. There were some sites that showed
improvement over the 3 year Spring average.
Ric Lawson reported on the water quality monitoring. Sampling ended
September 30. There were 36 sites monitored. Unfortunately there were not
a lot of rain events in the 2012 summer.
Water quality monitoring results for TP and TSS indicate that TP is not
coming from TSS and is instead probably coming in dissolved form. E. coli
threshold levels were regularly exceeded. Conductivity (indicates salts or
metal contamination) was exceeded regularly at 7/8 sites. There were a
couple locations with low DO on a regular basis.
Planning for 2013 – continue with water quality monitoring, add investigative
sites, possibly more geomorphology, and continue with macro-invertebrate
monitoring.
Noel Mullett reported on macro-invertebrate monitoring. The ADW Fall Bug
Hunt was initiated and completed during October. 17 sites were surveyed. 6
sites on the Ecorse Creek scored Fair. 6 sites in the CDR scored Fair. 1 site
on the Lower Huron scored Good and 3 others scored Fair.
Schools in the ADW assisted at 9 of the Fall Bug Hunt sites. There were 342
students involved.
d. Public Education Committee Update
Leah Groya reported that the Public Education Committee would be meeting
to finalize the details of the 2013 budget. All are welcome to participate.
Noel Mullett gave a Green Schools update – 9 schools out of 26 accepted a
free tree to plant. Participation was lower than desired. About half of the
schools accepted the tree seedlings.
Ric Lawson discussed the 2013 ADW calendars that will be printed as part of
the 2013 public education budget. He stated that the calendar really needs
nice pictures. Please let Ric know if you know of any good spots to
photograph. Also, communities should start thinking now of how they will
distribute the calendars. Fall events are ideal for distribution.
e. ADW Annual Report
Leah Groya reported that annual reports will now be due every other year
(next report due in November 2013). The ADW will continue to produce
annual reports. The 2012 report is currently about 75% complete and should
be complete within the next couple weeks. The team will email a link to the
report once it’s been completed.
6) Other Items and Announcements
The Public Education/Tech Committee meeting will be held on Feb 4, 2013 at 2 pm at
Wayne County’s office. An agenda will be emailed.
7) Summary of Action Items and Items for Next Meeting
Leah Groya will add the rain barrel sale to the public ed committee agenda.
Vicki Putala to see if the population distribution calculations were already completed as
part of the Watershed Management Plan.
Hennessey Engineers will work with Woodhaven and Sumpter Township to get them on
the FY18 permit cycle.
The technical committee will meet to discuss the proposed 5 Year IDEP Training Plan.
The team will email a link to the 2012 annual report once it has been uploaded to the
ADW website.
8) Set Next Meeting Date
The next meeting was tentatively set for Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 1:30 pm at Wade-Trim.
9) Adjourn
Allen Park
Belleville
Brownstown Township
Dearborn Heights
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Gibraltar
Grosse Ile Township
Huron Township
Inkster
Lincoln Park
Melvindale
Riverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
South Rockwood
Sumpter Township
Taylor
Van Buren Township
Wayne County
Westland
Woodhaven
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District
Wyandotte
DRAFT AGENDA ALLIANCE OF DOWNRIVER WATERSHEDS
Thursday, April 18, 2013
1:30 pm
Wade-Trim
25251 Northline Road
Taylor, Michigan
1. Welcome and Introductions
a. Roll Call of Alliance Members and Alternates Present
b. Addition or Changes to Draft Agenda
c. Approval of January 17, 2013 meeting notes Action
2. Rain Barrel Sale – May 11 Information
3. Finance Committee Report
a. Final Financial Status Report 2012 Information
b. 2013 Dues Distribution Update Action
c. Election of ADW Treasurer Action
4. Permit Update
a. Contested Permit Information
b. New MS4 Permit
Letter to Governor Snyder Information
5. Status Reports per ADW Budget Framework
a. IDEP Activities Information
Approval of 2013 IDEP Activities Work Plan Action
b. Planning and Reporting – Grants Update
SAW grant program Information
c. Progress Evaluation Activities
2012 Progress Evaluation Report Available Information
2013 Work Plan & Budget Information
d. Public Education Tasks
2013 Activities Update Information
Green Schools Update Information
ADW Calendar Update Information
SEMCOG Public Ed Survey Information
e. ADW Annual Report Information
6. Other Items and Announcements
Ecorse Creek – citizen concern Information
Oakland County WRC Storm Water Summit Information
7. Summary of Action Items and Items for Next Meeting Information
8. Set Next Meeting Date Information
9. Adjourn Action
Allen Park
Belleville
Brownstown Township
Dearborn Heights
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Gibraltar
Grosse Ile Township
Huron Township
Inkster
Lincoln Park
Melvindale
Riverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
Sumpter Township
Taylor
Van Buren Township
Wayne County
Westland
Woodhaven
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District
Wyandotte
Alliance of Downriver Watersheds
Meeting Notes
April 18, 2013 1:30 pm
1) Welcome: Mark Gahry from Brownstown Township opened the
meeting. In attendance were:
Designated or Alternate Community Representative:
Brian Arp, City of Gibraltar
Michael Belcher, Woodhaven-Brownstown School District
Dan Brooks, City of Dearborn Heights
Brent Florek, Charles Raines for Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Riverview
Mark Gahry, Brownstown Township
Jim Taylor, Van Buren Township
Dean Tuomari, Wayne County
William Turner, City of Lincoln Park
Tom Wilson, City of Romulus
Other Interested Parties:
Razik Alsaigh, Wayne County
Bill Fisher, City of Trenton
Leah Groya, Living Lab
Ric Lawson, HRWC
Vicki Putala, OHM
Elizabeth Thacker, OHM
OFFICIAL ACTIONS of the ADW taken at the meeting are shown in bold capitalized letters.
Action Items for the future are shown in bold italics.
1) Welcome and Introductions
a. Roll Call of Alliance Members and Alternates Present – roll call was performed
and there was not a quorum present. b. Addition or Changes to Draft Agenda – There were no proposed changes to the agenda.
c. Approval of January 17, 2013 meeting notes. No action was taken.
2) Rain Barrel Sale – May 11
Leah Groya reminded the members about the upcoming ADW rain barrel sale on May
11.
Anyone can order a rain barrel from the Great Lakes Rain Barrel website. To order, go to
the website and use the promo code listed on the flyer. Those that order need to pick up
their barrel in Van Buren Township on May 11.
ADW members should promote the rain barrel sale on their website, cable TV, flyers,
meeting announcements, etc.
Elizabeth will email a reminder to ADW members to promote the rain barrel sale.
3) Finance Committee Report
a. Final Financial Status Report 2012
Razik Alsaigh presented the final status report on the 2012 budget.
Items that were over budget were covered by leftover money from other tasks.
There is some money ($43k) on hand for FY13 payments.
2012 Dues – South Rockwood is no longer an ADW member. Ecorse said
they would be paying, but no payment has been received. Flat Rock still
owes some dues money. Razik will work with Brent Florek to get Flat
Rock’s 2012 dues payment..
b. 2013 Dues Distribution Update
Razik presented a 3-page handout showing the updated dues distribution.
The 1st page provided annual dues based on the 2000 population census (what
members have been paying)
The 2nd
page provided the dues distribution based on the updated 2010
census.
The 3rd
page provided the dues distribution based on the updated 2010 census
with South Rockwood removed.
ACTION: There was a motion by Romulus to accept the updated dues
distribution based on the 2010 census with South Rockwood removed
(page 3). Seconded by Dearborn Heights. Passed unanimously (9-0). c. Election of ADW Treasurer
Since Tom MacDonald has retired from Van Buren Township, the ADW will
need to elect a new treasurer.
Tom Wilson suggested Roberto Scappaticci as a possible treasurer. Since
Roberto was not present, Mark Gahry will contact him to see if he is
interested in the position.
4) Permit Update
a. Contested Permit – An email from Patrick McCauley was shared. The email gave an
update on the contested case and stated that it was still on hold. The City of Novi has
filed a motion in the Court of Appeals to lift the Stay of Proceedings issued in 2011.
b. New MS4 Permit
Since the last meeting, the ADW sent a letter to the governor expressing its
concerns with the unfunded mandate of the storm water program.
Ric Lawson had some concerns with the letter. Ric will summarize these
concerns for the ADW.
5) Status Reports for ADW Budget Framework
a. IDEP Activities
Dean Tuomari presented the proposed 2013 IDEP Activities Work Plan.
The Work Plan includes 1) Collaborative IDEP Investigations, 2) Mapping of
Outfalls to Waters of the State, and 3) IDEP Training
ACTION: There was a motion by Wayne County to approve the IDEP
Work Plan. Seconded by Gibraltar. Passed unanimously (9-0).
Dean presented the proposed 5-year IDEP training program. The goal of the
program is to share expenses. Training would alternate between traditional
IDEP training and SEMCOG’s Municipal Facility training. IDEP training for
this fall is being planned in Flat Rock but no date has been set yet.
ACTION: There was a motion by Grosse Ile to approve the 5 year IDEP
Training Program. Seconded by Woodhaven-Brownstown Schools.
Passed unanimously (9-0).
Dean presented an IDEP Activity Summary for Jan-March 2013. There were
facility inspection and site evaluations performed in Taylor and Romulus.
b. Planning and Reporting – Grants Update
There has still not been any news whether the ADW will be awarded the 319
grant that it applied for in 2012.
Vicki Putala talked about the upcoming SAW grant.
The SAW grant program is a new funding program for storm water, asset
management, and sanitary projects.
The rules of the program are still being developed, but at this time it appears
that it can be used to help with the new MS4 permit requirements (update
engineering standards, ordinances, etc).
Asset management projects – equipment, software, staff time may be eligible
for funding.
There will probably be a draft application out in August and will start
receiving applications in October.
The tech committee will meet before the next full ADW meeting to
brainstorm possible grant projects.
c. Progress Evaluation Activities
Ric Lawson discussed the 2013 progress evaluation activities. There is a total
of $87k of work planned. The scope of work for HRWC and Wayne County
was provided in a handout.
Ric stated that volunteer monitoring had just started and they anticipate a
good sampling year. Recent rain has not been a problem.
Dean Tuomari provided a summary of Wayne County progress evaluation
activities from Jan-March 2013. There has been good participation from
schools.
d. Public Education Committee Update
i. 2013 Activities Update
Leah Groya provided a summary of the 2013 PEP activities. Activities
include: labeling/signage, green school literature/seedlings, pollution
prevention outreach, rain barrel sale coordination, IDEP training, articles,
toxics reduction outreach, HHW events, e-waste promotion, website
upgrades, 2014 calendars.
ii. Green Schools Update
Dean Tuomari provided a summary of the 2013 ADW Teacher Tree
Survey. Eight schools have so far expressed interest in receiving trees.
iii. ADW Calendar Update
HRWC is taking the lead on developing the 2014 ADW calendar.
They are currently working on photography. Please contact Ric Lawson
if you know of a good location to photograph.
HRWC is hoping to have a draft of the calendar ready for the July
meeting.
iv. SEMCOG Public Ed Survey
The ADW sent a letter to Amy Mangus (SEMCOG) stating that the group
is interested in a follow-up public survey to see the effectiveness of public
education efforts. Amy responded that SEMCOG is currently short-
staffed and suggested that the ADW be represented on the Southeast
Michigan Partners for Clean Water. This would be an appropriate place
to further discuss a possible survey.
v. Other Items
Flyers for upcoming Household Hazardous Waste and E-waste Days were
provided.
The next PE/Tech meeting will be held on June 3 from 2-4 pm at Wayne
County’s Commerce Court office. All are welcome to attend.
e. ADW Annual Report - Even though an annual report to the DEQ was not due this year, a
summary of ADW activities was still compiled. It can be viewed on the ADW website.
6) Other Items and Announcements
a. Ecorse Creek citizen concern
Vicki Putala received an email from a concerned citizen regarding garbage in
Ecorse Creek.
Vicki asked how the ADW would like to proceed with addressing such
concerns. Ric Lawson suggested determining the jurisdiction and forwarding
the concern to them.
Dean Tuomari stated that he believed the location may be under the County’s
jurisdiction. Vicki will forward the concern to the County.
b. Oakland County WRC Storm Water Summit
Oakland County will be hosting a storm water summit. The tentative date is
October 4. It would be helpful to have ADW members attend. More
information will be forwarded as details are finalized.
7) Summary of Action Items and Items for Next Meeting
Elizabeth to email rain barrel information to the ADW again.
Elizabeth to remove South Rockwood from the membership list.
Razik/Brent to contact Flat Rock regarding 2012 dues.
Mark to contact Roberto to see if he’s interested in serving as ADW treasurer.
Ric to summarize his concerns regarding letter to governor.
The tech committee will meet before the July ADW meeting in order to brainstorm ideas
for grant projects (June 3 tech/pe meeting).
Vicki will forward the citizen concern to Wayne County.
8) Set Next Meeting Date
The next meeting was set for Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 1:30 pm at Wade-Trim.
9) Adjourn
Allen Park
Belleville
BrownstownTownship
Dearborn Heights
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Gibraltar
GrosseIleTownship
HuronTownship
Inkster
Lincoln Park
Melvindale
Riverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
Sumpter Township
Taylor
Van Buren Township
WayneCounty
Westland
Woodhaven
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District
Wyandotte
DRAFT AGENDA ALLIANCE OF DOWNRIVER WATERSHEDS
Thursday, July 18, 2013
1:30 pm
Wade-Trim
25251 Northline Road
Taylor, Michigan
1. Welcome and Introductions
a. Roll Call of Alliance Members and Alternates Present
b. Addition or Changes to Draft Agenda
c. Approval of January 17, 2013 meeting notes Action
d. Approval of April 18, 2013 meeting notes Action
2. Finance Committee Report
a. Financial Status Report 2013 Information
b. Election of ADW Treasurer Action
c. Schedule 2014 budget planning meeting Information
3. Permit Update
a. Contested Permit Information
4. Status Reports per ADW Budget Framework
a. IDEP Activities
Facilities Dye Testing Information
Upcoming IDEP Training – Flat Rock Information
b. Planning and Reporting – Grants Update
2012 319 grant update Information
SAW grant program Action
c. Progress Evaluation Activities Update Information
d. Public Education Tasks
Rain Barrel Sale Summary Information
ADW Calendar Update Information
Website Upgrade Information
Green Schools Update Information
Watershed/Creek Crossing Signage Information
5. Other Items and Announcements
6. Summary of Action Items and Items for Next Meeting Information
7. Set Next Meeting Date Information
8. Adjourn Action
Allen Park
Belleville
Brownstown Township
Dearborn Heights
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Gibraltar
Grosse Ile Township
Huron Township
Inkster
Lincoln Park
Melvindale
Riverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
Sumpter Township
Taylor
Van Buren Township
Wayne County
Westland
Woodhaven
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District
Wyandotte
Alliance of Downriver Watersheds
Meeting Notes
July 18, 2013 1:30 pm
1) Welcome: Mark Gahry from Brownstown Township opened the
meeting. In attendance were:
Designated or Alternate Community Representative:
Brian Arp, City of Gibraltar
Brent Florek, Charles Raines for Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Riverview
Mark Gahry, Brownstown Township
Mark Gaworecki, Hennessey Engineers for Belleville, Southgate,
Woodhaven
Mark Kowalewski, City of Wyandotte
Kelly McRobb-Ackland, Wade Trim for City of Taylor
Noel Mullett, Wayne County
Other Interested Parties:
Jim Gorris, City of Gibraltar
Leah Groya, Living Lab
Greg Kacvinsky, OHM
Ric Lawson, HRWC
Patrick McCauley, Gasiorek, Morgan, Greco & McCauley
Vicki Putala, OHM
Elizabeth Thacker, OHM
OFFICIAL ACTIONS of the ADW taken at the meeting are shown in bold capitalized letters.
Action Items for the future are shown in bold italics.
1) Welcome and Introductions
a. Roll Call of Alliance Members and Alternates Present – roll call was performed
and there was a quorum present. b. Addition or Changes to Draft Agenda – There were no proposed changes to the agenda.
c. Approval of January 17, 2013 and April 18, 2013 meeting notes. ACTION: There was
a motion by Grosse Ile to accept the January 17, 2013 and April 18, 2013 meeting
notes. Seconded by Gibraltar. Passed unanimously.
2) Finance Committee Report
a. Final Financial Status Report 2013
Mark Gahry indicated that the 2013 financial status report was included with
the meeting handouts.
b. Election of ADW Treasurer – there were no volunteers
c. Election of ADW Secretary – there were no volunteers
d. Schedule of 2014 budget planning meeting – the 2014 budget needs to be drafted. The
finance committee would like to meet in September. A meeting will be set up via email.
3) Permit Update
a. Contested Permit
Patrick McCauley provided an update on the contested case.
On June 5, Riverview filed an application to the Michigan Supreme
Court to lift the stay of proceedings. Patrick indicated that the point of
a stay of proceedings is to keep things status quo and it was their
opinion that the new permit does not keep things status quo.
4) Status Reports for ADW Budget Framework
a. IDEP Activities
A map was provided that identifies priority areas for illicit discharge
elimination. Stretches of streams within the watershed have been rated as
low, medium, or high priority.
Noel Mullett reported that there were requests for 29 municipal facilities to be
dye tested. The priority map will be used to determine which facilities to dye
test first. If not all 29 facilities are tested in 2013, they will be rolled over into
2014.
Mark Kowalewski thought that the number of Wyandotte schools to be tested
may be inaccurate. Noel will check with Dean Tuomari to make sure the
count is correct.
Noel Mullet provided a report on municipal facilities dye testing, drain
inspections, and complaints during the April-June 2013 quarter.
IDEP training will be held on September 24, 2013. The training was set for
Flat Rock but the cost may be too high. Mark Gahry offered Brownstown
Township facilities as an alternate location.
b. Planning and Reporting – Grants Update
The ADW learned that it was not successful with its 319 grant application
from 2012. The team will be talking with the DEQ to determine why the
application was not successful.
Vicki Putala talked about the upcoming SAW grant.
o Applications are expected to come out in October and can be
submitted starting December 2.
o The ADW is an eligible applicant.
o The tech committee met to brainstorm ideas for grant projects.
Ideas include: Collaborative PEP/PPP and IDEP, develop post-
construction runoff controls engineering standards and
ordinances, collaborative pollution prevention/good
housekeeping, TMDL implementation plan, update monitoring
plan, develop framework for sustainable storm water funding.
Greg Kacvinsky (OHM) gave a presentation on sustainable storm water
funding.
o Many communities have infrastructure in a state of disrepair and
have no way to fund improvements.
o A typical rate is $4-7 per month and charges are usually based on
amount of impervious surface.
o There are 9 storm water utilities in Michigan (Jackson is
currently being contested).
o Jim Gorris stated that he believed there would be complaints
from citizens over a storm water utility. Ric Lawson responded
that if the ADW develops the utility as a group, it takes pressure
off the individual communities.
o Vicki pointed out that there are no strings attached with using the
SAW grant to provide a framework for a storm water utility.
ACTION: There was a motion by Grosse Ile for the technical
committee to begin work on the SAW grant. Seconded by
Riverview. Passed unanimously.
c. Progress Evaluation Activities
Ric Lawson provided a summary of the water quality monitoring.
o Total Suspended Solids were not in excess at any of the sites.
o Total Phosphorous is continuously exceeding at all sites.
Macro-invertebrate sampling showed the Stream Quality Index flattening out
or declining in some of the creeks. This could be weather-related or some
other trend. It needs to be further analyzed.
Noel Mullett provided a summary of Wayne County progress evaluation
activities from April-June 2013. There has been good participation from
schools.
d. Public Education Committee Update
i. Rain Barrel Sale
The rain barrel sale was held on May 11, 2013. There were 75 rain barrels
sold at the event.
Educational materials were also distributed at the sale.
At the last Public Education committee meeting, the committee made notes
of improvements for future barrel sales.
Mark Gahry reported that Brownstown has sold almost all of its 50 barrels
that they had purchased. Mark asked if communities could purchase
barrels again at a reduced cost. Leah Groya will contact Great Lakes Rain
Barrel to ask.
Mark Gahry said that Brownstown has an April event and would be willing
to host the rain barrel sale in 2014.
ii. Green Schools Update
Noel Mullett reported that 15 of 26 ADW green schools accepted the offer
to get a tree.
It would be very helpful if ADW members could step up and assist the
schools in getting their tree planted.
The program is partnering with the Wayne County Conservation District
to make an event out of the tree planting, which will be done in early
November.
iii. ADW Calendar Update
Ric Lawson brought some sample calendars to the meeting. Ric will
email Elizabeth a pdf of the calendar to distribute.
Photographs in the calendar came from both professional and amateur
sources.
The calendar features a “water hero” theme and includes tips, a watershed
map, and other information.
Calendars will be printed in August. If you have any comments or input,
please do so asap.
The Public Education committee will decide the best way to distribute
the calendars.
iv. Website Update
Leah Groya reported that the ADW webpage now has an educational
resources page. The new page provides a central location for storm water
related resources.
If there’s a good resource that you use that should be added to the
educational page, please email Leah.
v. Watershed/Creek Crossing Signage
The ADW is trying to document sign locations that have already been
placed throughout the watersheds. A map will be created to show where
these signs are currently located.
The next step will be to contact communities in order to get more signs in
place.
5) Other Items and Announcements – nothing to report
6) Summary of Action Items and Items for Next Meeting
The team will set a 2014 budget planning meeting.
The tech committee will begin working on the SAW grant.
Leah will contact Great Lakes Rain Barrel to see if communities can purchase rain barrels
at a reduced price.
Ric to email a pdf copy of the calendar to Elizabeth to distribute to the ADW.
The PE committee will decide how to best distribute the calendars to the ADW members
7) Set Next Meeting Date
The next meeting was set for Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 1:30 pm at Wade-Trim.
8) Adjourn
Allen Park
Belleville
BrownstownTownship
Dearborn Heights
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Gibraltar
GrosseIleTownship
HuronTownship
Inkster
Lincoln Park
Melvindale
Riverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
Sumpter Township
Taylor
Van Buren Township
WayneCounty
Westland
Woodhaven
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District
Wyandotte
DRAFT AGENDA ALLIANCE OF DOWNRIVER WATERSHEDS
Thursday, October 17, 2013
1:30 pm
Wade-Trim
25251 Northline Road
Taylor, Michigan
1. Welcome and Introductions
a. Roll Call of Alliance Members and Alternates Present
b. Addition or Changes to Draft Agenda
c. Approval of July 18, 2013 meeting notes Action
2. Finance Committee Report
a. Financial Status Report 2013 Information
b. Review Current ADW Bylaws Action
c. Election of ADW Treasurer Action
d. Election of ADW Secretary Action
e. Election of ADW Vice-President Action
f. 2014 Budget Action
3. Permit Update
a. Contested Permit Information
4. Status Reports per ADW Budget Framework
a. IDEP Activities
Facilities Dye Testing Information
IDEP Training Information
b. Planning and Reporting – Grants Update
SAW grant Action
c. Progress Evaluation Activities Update Information
d. Public Education Tasks
ADW Calendar Update Information
Green Schools Update Information
Watershed/Creek Crossing Signage Information
5. Other Items and Announcements
a. ADW Annual Report Information
6. Summary of Action Items and Items for Next Meeting Information
7. Set Next Meeting Date Information
8. Adjourn Action
Allen Park
Belleville
Brownstown Township
Dearborn Heights
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Gibraltar
Grosse Ile Township
Huron Township
Inkster
Lincoln Park
Melvindale
Riverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
Sumpter Township
Taylor
Van Buren Township
Wayne County
Westland
Woodhaven
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District
Wyandotte
Alliance of Downriver Watersheds
Meeting Notes
October 17, 2013 1:30 pm
1) Welcome: Mark Gahry from Brownstown Township opened the
meeting. In attendance were:
Designated or Alternate Community Representative:
Brian Arp, City of Gibraltar
Dan Brooks, City of Dearborn Heights
Brent Florek, Charles Raines for Gibraltar, Grosse Ile,
Riverview, Rockwood
Mark Gahry, Brownstown Township
Mark Gaworecki, Hennessey Engineers for Belleville, Southgate,
Woodhaven
Jim Gorris, City of Gibraltar
Mark Kowalewski, City of Wyandotte
Kelly McRobb-Ackland, Wade Trim for City of Taylor
Noel Mullett, Wayne County
Roberto Scappaticci, City of Romulus
Other Interested Parties:
Robert Burns, Detroit Riverkeeper
Bill Fisher, City of Trenton
Leah Groya, Living Lab
Jessica Koerner, MDEQ
Ric Lawson, HRWC
Patrick McCauley, Gasiorek, Morgan, Greco & McCauley
Vicki Putala, OHM
Elizabeth Thacker, OHM
Brian Woodworth, Wade Trim
OFFICIAL ACTIONS of the ADW taken at the meeting are shown in bold capitalized letters.
Action Items for the future are shown in bold italics.
1) Welcome and Introductions
a. Roll Call of Alliance Members and Alternates Present – roll call was performed
and there was a quorum present. b. Addition or Changes to Draft Agenda – There were no proposed changes to the agenda.
c. Approval of July 18, 2013 meeting notes. ACTION: There was a motion by Gibraltar
to accept the July 18, 2013 meeting notes. Seconded by Grosse Ile. Passed
unanimously.
2) Finance Committee Report
a. Final Financial Status Report 2013
Noel Mullett provided a financial status summary for 2013.
The ADW has paid $240k so far in 2013 (includes amounts paid from grants
and grant local match).
It is projected that there is still $169k in obligated funds for 2013. There is
$200k available from dues collection so it appears that there will be leftover
funds to carry over to the 2014 budget.
Ric Lawson stated that he feels the way the grant match funding is displayed
in the financial status summary is confusing. Noel stated he will talk to Razik
and see if there is a different way of displaying the information.
Several communities only sent in their 1st dues payment for 2013. Razik will
be sending reminders to those communities.
b. Review Current ADW bylaws
At the last finance committee, there were a couple suggestions to changes to
the ADW bylaws (example – allowing official vote via email).
If any changes are to be made to the bylaws, they should be made all at one
time.
The officers will meet with Patrick McCauley in January to go through the
current bylaws and identify any possible changes needed.
c. Election of ADW Treasurer – there were no volunteers
d. Election of ADW Secretary – Roberto Scappaticci from the City of Romulus volunteered
for the position. He was elected to the secretary position unanimously.
e. Election of ADW Vice-Chair – Jim Gorris from the City of Gibraltar volunteered for the
vice-chair position, pending his re-election as mayor. He was elected to the vice-chair
position unanimously.
f. 2014 Budget
Prior to the meeting, the technical and public education committees met to
develop the 2014 budget. The proposed budget and work plan was presented
at the meeting.
In 2013, the budget was $405k. This included the toxics grant. Without the
toxics grant included, the 2013 budget was $225k. The proposed budget for
2014 is $261k.
Some of the activities that the ADW is currently doing could be funded by a
SAW grant. If the ADW proceeds with, and receives an ADW grant, many of
the budget items could be paid for.
An estimate of the remaining dues carrying over from 2013 is $54k. With
that amount carrying over, $207k in new dues would need to be collected in
2014. Therefore, it is proposed to collect 70% of the typical ADW annual
dues (80% was collected in 2013).
2014 IDEP work plan – the proposed work plan is very similar to the 2013
work plan. The facility dye testing budget has been increased for 2014.
2014 PEP work plan – the proposed work plan continues green infrastructure
outreach, looking to purchase 15 new creek/watershed signs, website upgrade
to incorporate information on the ADW website that was previously found on
the individual watershed websites, increased budget for rain barrel sale,
member survey to see how communities are communicating with public, and
pet waste education (replacing calendar budget, which will be done every
other year)
2014 Progress Evaluation work plan – the proposed work plan is very similar
to the 2013 work plan and the overall budget is the same. It is proposed to
work with more schools for macro-invertebrate monitoring
2014 General Facilitation work plan – the proposed work plan is very similar
to the 2013 work plan and includes meeting facilitation, website maintenance,
annual reporting, grant writing, contested case assistance (as needed), future
local grant match, and a contingency budget.
ACTION: There was a motion by Gibraltar to approve the 2014 budget.
Seconded by Romulus. Passed unanimously. g. Extend ADW/Wayne County Fiduciary Services Agreement
The ADW/Wayne County fiduciary services agreement expires at the end of
2013.
The agreement needs to be extended. There will be no changes to the
agreement except to update the dates.
ACTION: There was a motion by Romulus to extend the ADW/Wayne
County fiduciary services agreement, contingent upon review by Patrick
McCauley. Seconded by Wyandotte. Passed unanimously.
3) Permit Update
a. Contested Permit
Patrick McCauley provided an update on the contested case.
A ruling was given that it is a voluntary to operate an MS4 and not a
mandatory action. Therefore, it does not violate the Headlee
Amendment.
The court’s decision was based on a landfill case.
Patrick indicated that a recommendation has been made to file an application
with the Michigan State Supreme Court. The following have to be
established: matter of significant public interest, major significance to the
state, decision of the court of appeals clearly erroneous.
The contested case is still on hold and Patrick indicated that they would like
to keep it open while the Supreme Court makes its decision.
b. Response to ADW Letter to Gov. Snyder
In March 2013, Mark Gahry sent a letter to Gov Snyder on behalf of the
ADW. The letter expressed concerns with the permitting process. The hope
was to get a response from Snyder but he instead passed the letter on to the
DEQ and concerns with the Headlee Amendment were not addressed. The
ARC received a similar response letter.
4) Status Reports for ADW Budget Framework
a. IDEP Activities
The GLRI toxics grant work has been completed. Approximately 1.5 million
gallons/year of polluted water will be removed from the ADW and Rouge
watersheds. 1.5 million pounds of household hazardous waste was also
collected.
Facilities dye testing will soon begin in Gibraltar and Southgate.
ADW members should expect to be contacted regarding the start of a project
to establish a watershed-wide GIS database and map of known outfalls to
waters of the state.
There were 64 attendees at the IDEP training held on September 24, 2013.
An additional training workshop has been scheduled on October 22 in
Farmington Hills to accommodate extra attendees.
There were two hotline complaints received originating from the City of
Taylor. Clean up action was taken in both cases.
b. Planning and Reporting – Grants Update
The PEP/Tech Committee met and put together a scope for the SAW grant
application. The purpose of the grant would be to aid with permit
compliance and to fund many of the collaborative activities done by the
ADW.
The main tasks of the SAW grant will be:
o Update collaborative PEP
o Update collaborative IDEP
o Update post-construction control standards
o Develop collaborative pollution prevention/good housekeeping
practices
o Create a collaborative ADW TMDL implementation plan (green
infrastructure projects and target areas to reduce pollutant loads)
o Update monitoring plan
o Develop a framework for sustainable stormwater funding
(provide the information necessary for communities to take the
next step if they want)
The ADW can apply under the MS4 category or stormwater category. After
much discussion it was decided that the stormwater category was the only
one that made sense for the ADW.
ACTION: There was a motion by Brownstown Twp to submit the SAW
grant application by the due date. Seconded by Wyandotte. Passed
unanimously.
ACTION: There was a motion by Brownstown Twp to authorize the
Chair to complete and execute the form resolution on behalf of the
ADW. Seconded by Wyandotte. Passed unanimously.
c. Progress Evaluation Activities
Ric Lawson provided a summary of the water quality monitoring.
o Water quality monitoring was completed at 12 sites
o 400 hours of volunteer effort were involved
o Data is still being processed and will be analyzed in the
upcoming months.
Macro-invertebrate monitoring – 12 schools have been scheduled to
participate at 15 sites (HRWC has 3 sites)
d. Public Education Committee Update
i. ADW Calendar Update
The calendars have been delivered. It is strongly suggested that
communities get the calendars out now.
The ADW would like feedback on how communities distributed the
calendars.
The ADW had budgeted to print 25,000 calendars but there were extra
funds available due to money saved on photography so 35,000 were
printed instead.
ii. Green Schools Update
Trees will be delivered Nov 5 and pickup will be Nov 7. Please
coordinate with Noel if you are able to partner with your school.
iii. Watershed/Creek Crossing Signage
Work is currently underway to contact communities in order to get more
signs in place.
The goal will be to have at least 1 sign installed in each of the ADW
communities by year end 2014.
5) Other Items and Announcements
a. ADW Annual Report – Many of the ADW communities have a progress report due
November 1. The ADW report will be completed by next Wednesday.
6) Summary of Action Items and Items for Next Meeting
Noel will talk to Razik to see if there is another way of displaying the Wayne County
match in the budget spreadsheet.
The officers will meet with Patrick to discuss changes to bylaws (January).
Vicki/Mark/Patrick will work together to complete the SAW grant resolution form.
Team will complete the ADW annual report by next Wednesday.
7) Set Next Meeting Date
The next meeting was set for Thursday, January 16, 2014 at 1:30 pm at Wade-Trim.
8) Adjourn