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Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
Fall Creek Watershed Committee Minutes
November 1, 1999
McLean Firehouse
Present: Joyce Gerbasi, Henry Slater, Bob Faust, Jim Skaley,
Craig Schutt, David Weinstein, Ray Rabeler, Marshall Taylor, Steve
Penningworth, Russ Beck, Ron Beck, Roxy Johnston
Notable additions to the group included: Ron and Russ Beck from
Beck Farms, Craig Schutt from Tompkins County Soil and Water District,
Henry Slater, Town of Dryden Code Enforcement Officer and Project
Impact Leader, Dave Weinstein and Joyce Gerbasi, both with Tompkins
County EMC, Roxy Johnston from City of Ithaca
The minutes of the last meeting were summarized. Particular attention
was paid to the prior discussion about organization of the committee
(citizens-based, watershed-wide) and what some of the goals could
be as articulated at the last meeting.
The group was asked to describe additional issues and/or goals
which they would like to see the committee address. Issues raised
included:
- farm waste management, particularly livestock waste and CAFO;
- fencing of animals from streams and public support for additional
costs imposed upon farmers;
- including small farming operations in outreach/education efforts
to enhance clean water;
- solids (plastics) pollution in the local streams;
- sediment pollution from ditch maintenance, county and town
highway dept. operations;
- coordination and involvement of other groups (e.g. Trout Unlimited,
the Agricultural Committee forming under the Intermunicipal Organization
(IO) working on the Cayuga Lake Watershed Plan).
Marshall Taylor reviewed four goals which he identified as reasons
for his involvement in the FCWC.
- Improve our appreciation and understanding of the value of
the Fall Creek Watershed and its streams and of Cayuga Lake into
which those streams flow.
- Help our communities develop a common vision of what we want
our streams to be like in 10, 20, and 50 years.
- Conduct our own assessments of watershed conditions including
opportunities, problems, and potential solutions.
- Increase the public's knowledge, including that of our elected
officials and public employees, as to how their actions impact
our water resources and our long-term health and quality of life.
Additional goals raised by the group were: Information Exchange;
Understanding each others concerns and restrictions; Exploring our
common interests.
The potential benefits and possible problems of forming some type
of affiliation with CLWN was discussed. Benefits may include: -
moral support from the "buy in" of a larger, more established
citizens group; immediate recognition and standing for the FCWC
within the structure of a larger group; - reduction of the effort
necessary to determine our rules of operation, drafting of bylaws,
incorporation, and attaining not-for-profit and IRS 501-C-3 status;
- access to CLWN resources (e.g. current membership list, web hosting
service, and mail permit); Possible problems are: - trying to work
within a larger, bureaucratic organization could slow the current
momentum of the group; - does a regional organization with their
focus on Cayuga Lake care all that much about Fall Creek?; - the
CLWN Board of Directors might want to dictate FCWC activities, positions
and statements.
No direct affiliation is proposed at this time. Cooperation with
CLWN should be possible regardless of affiliation. Marshall was
asked to inquire of CLWN Board their interests and concerns about
potential affiliation should we want to pursue that in the future.
Steve Penningroth gave a brief overview of the impacts of the Clean
Water Act (CWA) and its NYS implementation. The points he made included:
o Citizen groups can have a significant impact in the documentation
of existing uses in a watershed and in the determination of the
designated uses of a stream by the state. o Monitoring, including
citizen monitoring, can be a key component of setting water qualit
y criteria by the state. o Existing uses of streams in the Fall
Creek Watershed must be protected under the antidegradation clause
of the CWA. o When it comes to setting Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDLs) for Fall Creek streams, citizens voices and potential citizen
collected baseline data will (should) play an important role.
Other members of the group noted that: o Farmers need to hear what
they need to do without attending a lot of meetings discussing the
topic. o The current CAFO program is the first step, all livestock
operations within the watershed must be addressed by 2009. o If
Fall Creek is recognized as an impaired waterway, why isn't NYS
DEC already preparing TMDLs? o The FCWC could help by focusing on
the "its all of us" message.
It was generally agreed that the FCWC was not ready to prepare
a public program on the Clean Water Act as suggested in its first
meeting. It was suggested that a series of meetings (formats undecided)
be held where the focus is on identifying the opportunities and
problems in the watershed. Discussion at the next meeting of the
organizing group will focus on this topic and on setting up a citizens
monitoring network.
Do work groups make sense for special projects? At what point formalize
goals/mission? Ideas for Citizen Action in the watershed
Roxy Johnston announced the next Caroline Watersheds Committee
meeting will be held on 16 November at the Caroline Town Hall and
the next Cayuga Lake Watershed Network meeting to the held on 11
November somewhere in Ithaca.
Sharon Anderson will make arrangements for next meeting on 22 November.
Ron Beck agreed to contact Trout Unlimited. Marshall will ask CLWN
to tell us more about their views on possible affiliation. Each
member was asked to consider who else needs to be at FCWC meetings
and how do we get them to attend. Let Sharon know contact information
for sending out confirmation notices (607-272-2292 or ska2@cornell.edu)
A small group will meet at Craig Schutt's office on Tuesday 9 November
at noon to discuss setting up a citizens monitoring network.
Next meeting: Nov. 22, 7:30-9:00 p.m., McLean Firehouse,
2 The Square, McLean, NY
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