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MEMORANDUM
DATE: |
June 10, 1997 |
TO: |
Watershed Evaluation
Team (WET) members |
FROM: |
Dan Farrow, NOAA
SEA Division |
RE: |
Review of the Marina Pumpout Characterization Report and Update on the Parish President Briefings |
Characterization Report Review
Enclosed is the first draft
of the Characterization Report to Install New
and Improve Use of Marina Pumpouts. Although there
are still information gaps in the report, we would
like the WET members to review this draft and
provide feedback as to whether the information
content and level of detail is sufficient to allow
the WET to make a recommendation about whether
or not to proceed with implementation of this
project. If you chose, use Attachment 1 to make
comments for each section of the report.
Although your comments on
all parts of the report are important, please
pay particular attention to Section
11 Detailed Restoration Strategy Description. As written, this section contains a list of possible
actions that would promote installation and improved
use of pumpouts. However, these actions are not
organized into an operational plan that specifies
when, how, and by whom these actions will be undertaken. Should a proposed
plan be included in this report, or should the
development of this operational "game plan" take
place subsequent to the WET's recommendation concerning
implementation feasibility?
The schedule for completing first drafts of the Characterization Reports is shown below:
| Characterization Report | First Draft to WET | Receive WET comments | Final Draft to WET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improve Use of Marina Pumpouts | June 10, 1997 | June 24, 1997 | July 15, 1997 |
| Bayou Petit Caillou Sewerage | June 20, 1997 | July 7, 1997 | July 28, 1997 |
| Grand Bayou Sewerage | June 27, 1997 | July 11, 1997 | July 28, 1997 |
| Larose to Golden Meadow Storm Water Control | June 27, 1997 | July 11, 1997 | August 1, 1997 |
| Revise Shellfish Relay System | July 3, 1997> | July 18, 1997 | August 1, 1997 |
Once the final drafts for
all five reports have been completed, the project
team will organize a meeting, tentatively planned
for Wednesday, August 6, at which the WET members
will discuss the relative feasibility of each
project and make a recommendation about which
of the five projects profiled should be taken
forward to implementation. The WET will also be
asked to indicate their preference as to which
project(s) should be the focus of an Implementation
Planning Meeting in September/October.
The recommendations from
this WET meeting will be presented to the BTNEP
Management Conference at their next meeting, and
the Conference will be asked to comment on and
endorse the recommendations. If they concur, the
project team would start to organize the fall
Implementation Planning Meeting, the purpose of
which is bring stakeholders and decisionmakers
together to develop a detailed strategy for promoting
implementation and obtaining commitments for action
from individuals and organizations.
Parish President Briefings
At the April 14th meeting,
WET members stressed the importance of informing
Parish Presidents about the Shellfish Challenge
Initiative and the priority shellfish restoration
project in their parish. The project team has
worked with each Parish representative to help
organize these briefings and has provided the
representatives with a set of talking points that
describe the Shellfish Challenge Initiative, the
restoration project prioritization process, the
feasibility characterization, and issues of concern.
The strategy in conducting these meetings is to
make the Parish Presidents aware of the Shellfish
Challenge Initiative's status and to provide a
"courtesy" briefing prior to the President seeing
any news articles or fielding any constituent
questions about the project in their parish.
If you have questions about
the draft Characterization Report, next steps
in the Shellfish Challenge Initiative, or the
briefings for the Parish Presidents, please contact
Fred Kopfler (601- 688- 2712) or Tom Herrington
(601- 688-79410) at the Gulf of Mexico Program,
Dan Farrow (301- 713-3000 x 156) at NOAA's Strategic
Environmental Assessments (SEA) Division, or Brent
Ache (504 -561-6618) at Battelle, New Orleans
office.
Attachments (1)
