Okaloosa County BOCC — November 4, 2012 — Trip Report to GCERC Mtg Dec 11 2012 — reading text

Subject: Trip Report to Gulf Coast Ecosystems Restoration Council (GCERC) Meeting, Dec. 11, 2012 at the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel, 64 Water St., Mobile AL Submitted By: Commissioner Dave Parisot 1. Subject meeting was opened at 1:00PM by Alabama Governor Robert Bentley. Members of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council are: A. U.S. Dept. of Commerce: Dr. Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary (Chair) B. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture: Harris Sherman, Under Sec’y for Natural Resources and Environment C. Dept. of the Army: J. Andrew Hagelin (sub for Jo Ellen Darcy, Asst. Sec’y for Army—Civil Works) D. U.S. Envir. Prot. Agency: Ken Kopocis, Asst. Administrator for the Office of Water, Designate (Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator also participated) E. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security: Rear Admiral Roy Nash, USCG (sub for VADM John Currier, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard) F. U.S. Dept. of the Interior: Rachel Jacobson, Asst. Sec’y for Fish and Wildlife and Parks G. State of Alabama: Designee is David Perry, Chief of Staff to the Governor H. State of Florida: Designee is Mimi A. Drew, NRDA Trustee and Former Sec’y of FDEP I. State of Louisiana: Designee is Garret Graves, Chair, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana J. State of Mississippi: Designee is Trudy Fisher, Exec. Dir., Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality K. State of Texas: Designee is Toby Baker, Commissioner, Texas Commissioner on Environmental Quality 2. GCERC Chair Dr. Rebecca Blank, Acting Sec’y of U.S. Dept. of Commerce, stated that RESTORE planning at all levels needs to move forward even though the civil fines have not yet been assessed. The money should be used to get the Gulf Coast back on its feet. She also commented that President Obama wants the plan to come from the Gulf Coast, not from Washington, DC. 3. Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator, reiterated that the President wants the planning to come from the Gulf Coast regions. She also commented on the significant impacts of stormwater runoff on coastal waters. 4. Rachel Jacobson, U.S. Dept. of Interior, commented on the Four Strategic Pillars established by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Task Force (now defunct and replaced by the GCERC by Presidential order) and that these will be part of the guidelines of the GCERC. These four Pillars are: Restore and Conserve Habitat; Restore Water Quality; Replenish and Protect Living coastal and Marine Resources; and, Enhance Community Resilience (Discussion of these can be found in the Task Force’s Report “Gulf of Mexico Regional Ecosystem Restoration Strategy”, December, 2011). 5. Harris Sherman, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, also commented on the importance of containing stormwater runoff on water quality and especially from croplands and the impacts of nutrients. 6. Trudy Fisher, Exec. Dir., MS Dept. of Environmental Quality, commented that we must be prepared when the RESTORE Act funding appears. The GCERC Comprehensive Plan is due by July 6, 2013. The GCERC plans to publish its proposed plan draft by the end of December 2012 and to hold public meetings in the 5 Gulf States in late January and February of 2013. After this, they will publish the Draft GCERC Comprehensive Plan in March 2013 with the Final Plan in July 2013. Her comments also indicated that the GCERC will be primarily involved with “Pot 2” (30%) of the RESTORE Act, not “Pot 3” (30%) States allocation. 7. Dr. Paul Sandifer, Chief Science Advisor, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gave a power-point presentation on the Gulf of Mexico Coordinated Ecosystem Restoration Research, Monitoring, Observations, Science, and Technology Program (CERRMOST). This will be funded by one of the 2.5% “pots” plus 25% of the interest from the Treasury on RESTORE funds. This program is addressed in Section 1604 of the RESTORE Act. 8. The above was followed by a 2-hour scheduled period of public comment (which I did not attend).