Steering Committee Meeting Minutes
April 11, 2002, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
A. Introduction and
Update
The Steering Committee Meeting for the Smith Mountain Pumped Storage Project Shoreline Management Plan began at 10:00 AM on April 11, 2002. The meeting was held on Smith Mountain Lake and at Penn Hall, Virginia.
The meeting began with a boat tour of
Smith Mountain Lake from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
The people on the boat tour observed shoreline conditions including new
developments, locations of proposed developments, and vegetation types and
erosion conditions along the shoreline.
Upon returning from the boat tour, American Electric Power (AEP) served
lunch from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.
The meeting continued at 1:00 PM with
The Louis Berger Group (Berger) (Gregory Theyel and Bill Perry) welcoming
everyone and setting the agenda for the rest of the meeting.
Teresa Rogers (AEP) presented an
update on the permitting process for proposed projects along the shoreline of
Smith Mountain Lake. AEP received
approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the
installation of 53 boat slips at the Lands End development. There are currently two applications being
reviewed by the FERC. These are for the
installation of 56 boat slips at Bernard's Landing and 108 boat slips at the
Camille project. In addition, two
projects are currently under review by the State agencies: a 12 boat slip
extension of an existing dock at Golfer's Crossing and the installation of 8
additional boat slips at Winding Waters.
AEP has also been contacted by developers for three other sites but has
not received any applications to date. The projects each range between 30 and
45 slips to serve on-water and off-water single family residences.
Teresa Rogers (AEP) stated that the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has been commenting on projects that have
been sent to the FERC for approval. She stated that the FWS has been inquiring
about the cumulative impacts of the various projects on Smith Mountain Lake and
mitigation plans that would either avoid, minimize or compensate for
environmental impacts. The FWS is aware
of the on-going shoreline management planning process, and AEP will keep them
informed during the process.
Berger reviewed the January 29, 2002
public meeting. The public meeting had
three objectives: 1) introduction of the shoreline management planning process
with an explanation of the opportunities for participation by stakeholders in
the process, 2) presentation of Berger’s shoreline management planning
approach, and 3) questions and comments from the public about the Smith
Mountain Project Shoreline Management Plan.
Berger reported that there were nearly 200 people at the public meeting
and that the meeting was video taped and a copy is available upon request. The video will also be available via the web
at www.smithmtn.com.
Berger reviewed the results of the
public questionnaire that was first handed out at the January 29, 2002 public
meeting. Members of the steering
committee have distributed 600 surveys and 86 surveys have been returned. Of the returned surveys, 93% of the surveys
are for Smith Mountain Lake, 1% for Leesville Lake, and 6% could not be determined. Full time residents represent 84% of the
respondents, while 12% are part-time residents. Franklin and Bedford Counties represent the vast majority of
returns with 41 and 36 returns respectively.
One return was from Pittsylvania County, and there have been no returns
from Campbell County.
Berger reviewed the questionnaires they received and trends for each of the questions. The following are the general trends that Berger outlined at the meeting:
§
What do you like best about the Lakes? - Nearly all of the
responses mention scenery, beauty, and clean water. Some additional responses mention the availability of water
sports and the proximity to Roanoke.
§
What do you like least about the Lakes? - Items mentioned
most often include: over development, overuse, large boats, and development
without environmental considerations.
§
Environmental areas mentioned: striper spawning grounds,
the S-curve, the Cliffs and Witcher Creek.
§
Areas to limit development that were mentioned most often
are: near the dam, the Cliffs, Hales Ford, the upper reaches of Craddock Creek,
and the S-curve.
§
Areas appropriate for commercial development include: no
new commercial development, concentrate at Hales Ford, keep in already
developed areas, and out of the main channel.
§
The erosion areas mentioned: the S-curve, islands, and
rip-rap everywhere.
§
Positive characteristics of shoreline structures: nearly ¼
of respondents mentioned rip-rap.
Single docks, well-spaced, Franklin County side of Hales Ford, upscale
housing, and a buffer strip were mentioned as well.
§
Inappropriate characteristics mentioned: docks in
disrepair, multi-slip docks, and docks with living quarters.
B. Data
Development
Berger reviewed their progress and
plan for collecting data and developing the data layers for the Shoreline
Management Plan.
1)
Land Use
Berger has commissioned a
subcontractor to take ortho-rectified aerial photos of Smith Mountain Lake and
Leesville Lake. Berger will use these
photos to identify land use along the shore of the lakes and develop a base map
for the shoreline management plan.
Berger is also collecting land use information from government reports
and plans to add this to the base map.
2)
Recreation
Berger has developed a recreation
facility inventory for Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake that identifies
the location and type of recreational facility and its capacity. Berger has begun planning for a recreation
carrying capacity assessment they will complete in 2002. Berger will collect and analyze aerial
photos of the lakes from 10 peak use days between Memorial Day and Labor Day
2002. The photos will be of the entire
surfaces of the two lakes. To analyze
the number of boats on the lakes, Berger will divide the lakes into small sections
that will be used for analysis. Berger
will use the boat counts to develop average boat densities for all of the
sections of the lakes.
In addition to the aerial photographs,
Berger will conduct surveys of boaters during the peak use times. The surveys will include questions regarding
individual perceptions of crowding and safety on the lakes. Berger will correlate the survey data with
the boat densities to establish the relationship between people’s perceptions
and use levels.
Berger will also gather available
information on watercraft accidents on the lakes. Berger will map the available accident locations and correlate
this information with boat densities and people’s perceptions of crowding and
safety on the lakes.
Berger will assemble these various
pieces of information (aerial photos, interviews, and accidents) to determine
whether any of the sections of the lakes are approaching carrying
capacity. Berger will use this carrying
capacity information with land use, erosion, environmental, cultural, and
permitting information to develop planning guidelines for the shoreline of the
lakes.
Berger handed out a description of its
field methodology for this task. A copy
is attached to these meeting notes.
3) Erosion
Berger will perform a survey of the entire shoreline of Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake by boat, and land where necessary, to identify the general conditions associated with any known erosion sites, and to determine if other sites exist. During the survey, Berger will collect site-specific data for each site, including type of erosion by general category, adjacent land use, and vegetative cover. Berger will use general categories of erosion type. At sites where there are multiple types of erosion, Berger will categorize the location as the most extreme condition.
Berger will take digital photos of each site for comparison with any historical data, and to provide a historical reference for any future assessment of the site. Berger will record the position of the limits of each site and the profile end points using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. The GPS data will be exported to a Geographic Information System (GIS) to generate site location maps and measure distances between data points. Berger will record the date and time that the site data was collected so that the data can be correlated to the impoundment water surface elevation as recorded by the station operators. Berger will record any other information that may be relevant to the assessment, including signs of damage caused by humans or animals accessing the lake at that location, evidence of past or present efforts to stabilize or remediate the sites, observance of boat wakes or wind-driven waves, etc. Based on the information gathered, Berger staff will identify the potential mechanisms that caused the bank failures, i.e., slumping, undercutting, groundwater seepage, animal damage, or bird nesting. Berger will also identify associated concerns due to the proximity of homes, structures, or other important features. Once the field data collection is complete, Berger will develop an inventory of each site and locate each site on maps. The maps will also show adjacent land use.
Berger handed out a description of its field methodology for this task. A copy of the methodology is attached to these meeting notes. Brent Wills of the Soil and Water Conservation District expressed interest in assisting with the shoreline erosion data collection.
4)
Environmental and Natural Resources
Berger will classify aquatic habitat types along the shoreline of Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake. The three habitat types Berger will use are the following:
a) Submerged timber and timber-woody debris, which consists of downed trees submerged in coves with at least five trees per 100 linear feet with diameters of 10 inches or greater at the trunk base. This habitat type is generally associated with deep water in a larger portion of a cove,
b) Fringed wetlands areas, which is a diverse assemblage of herbaceous and woody plant (emergent/submerged and scrub/shrub) species in shallow water habitat (less than six feet) of coves and not associated with a tributary stream,
c) Scrub-shrub habitat, which consists of island or peninsula areas associated with the emergent/submerged vegetation areas.
Using GPS technology, Berger will record the position of the limits of habitat types. The GPS data will be exported to a GIS to generate site location maps and measure distances between data points. Berger will also document plant and animal species that are observed at each of the habitat locations at the time they are mapped.
Berger handed out a description of its field methodology for this task. A copy of the methodology is attached to these meeting notes. Tom Wilcox of Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries offered to review the proposed field methodology for this task.
5)
Cultural Resources
Berger has completed its review of the Virginia SHPO files to identify known cultural sites within ¼ mile of the project shoreline. Berger has also developed a relational database and will map the sites.
6)
Permitting
Berger has been collecting planning,
policy, and regulatory information from county, state, and federal
entities. Berger will compile this
information in a matrix which will help show the consistencies and
inconsistencies between entities. The
goal of this task is to aid consensus building on planning, policies, and
regulations between entities that affect shoreline development at the lakes.
C) Future
Steps for Stakeholder Involvement
The
Steering Committee discussed next steps for stakeholder involvement. They
discussed the following items:
1)
August 5, 2002 is the tentative date for a steering
committee dinner meeting followed by an evening public meeting.
2)
The steering committee members are encouraged to convey
information to their constituents.
3)
Ways are needed to include additional entities, such as the
Corps of Engineers, in the planning process.
4)
Ways to better inform individuals and organizations about
pubic meetings are advertising via media, e.g. newspapers, television coverage,
etc.
5)
Ways to reach more people with the public questionnaire are
publishing it in the Smith Mountain Eagle, the Smith Mountain Lake Association
Newsletter, and the Smith Mountain Laker magazine.
The meeting came to a close at approximately 3:00 PM.
April 11, 2002 Steering Committee Attendees
Name Affiliation
Bonnie Johnson Franklin County
Steve Campbell ALAC
Dave Banta SML Association
Ron Willard II SML Chamber of Commerce/Partnership
Gina Shaw Bedford County Planning Dept.
Bob Clark Virginia Department of Health
Greg Sides Pittsylvania County Planning Dept.
Brent Wills Peaks of Otter Soil & Water Conservation
Tom Wilcox Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Bud LaRoche Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
D.M. McLeod DEQ
Frank Simms AEP
Mike Thacker AEP
Teresa Rogers AEP
Liz Parcell AEP
Gregory Theyel The Louis Berger Group
Bill Perry The Louis Berger Group
Invited, but could not attend
Bill Gillespie Campbell County
Mike Davidson Campbell County
Rick Weeks DEQ WCRO
Kirby Richardson Bedford County
Lily Richards DHR
R. Gibbons DCR
Patrick Lawrence Franklin County
Tim Ward Franklin County
Charlie Sledd Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries
Smith
Mountain Pumped Storage Project
Shoreline
Management Plan
Draft Field
Approaches
April 11, 2002
The Louis Berger Group (Berger) will implement a watercraft carrying capacity study for Smith Mountain and Leesville Lakes. The following is the approach for the study. Berger will collect and analyze aerial photos of the lakes from 10 peak use days between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2002. The photos will be of the entire surfaces of the two lakes. To analyze the number of boats on the lakes, Berger will divide the lakes into small sections that will be used for analysis. Berger will use the boat counts to develop average boat densities for all of the sections of the lakes.
In addition to the aerial photographs, Berger will conduct surveys of boaters during the peak use times. The surveys will include questions regarding individual perceptions of crowding and safety on the lakes. Berger will correlate the survey data with the boat densities to establish the relationship between people’s perceptions and use levels.
Berger will also gather available information on watercraft accidents on the lakes. Berger will map the available accident locations and correlate this information with boat densities and people’s perceptions of crowding and safety on the lakes.
Berger will assemble these various pieces of information (aerial photos, interviews, and accidents) to determine whether any of the sections of the lakes are approaching carrying capacity. Berger will use this carrying capacity information with land use, erosion, environmental, cultural, and permitting information to develop planning guidelines for the shoreline of the lakes.
Draft Shoreline Erosion Data Collection Approach
Berger will perform a survey of the entire shoreline of Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake by boat, and land where necessary, to identify the general conditions associated with any known erosion sites, and to determine if other sites exist. During the survey, Berger will collect site-specific data for each site, including type of erosion by general category, adjacent land use, and vegetative cover.
Berger will take digital photos of each site for comparison with any historical data, and to provide a historical reference for any future assessment of the site. Berger will record the position of the limits of each site and the profile end points using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. The GPS data will be exported to a Geographic Information System (GIS) to generate site location maps and measure distances between data points. Berger will record the date and time that the site data was collected so that the data can be correlated to the impoundment water surface elevation as recorded by the station operators. Berger will record any other information that may be relevant to the assessment, including signs of damage caused by humans or animals accessing the lake at that location, evidence of past or present efforts to stabilize or remediate the sites, observance of boat wakes or wind-driven waves, etc. Based on the information gathered, Berger will develop an inventory of each site and locate each site on maps. The maps will also show adjacent land use.
Draft Shoreline Environmental
Data Collection Approach
Berger will classify aquatic habitat types along the shoreline of Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake. The initial habitat types Berger will use are the following:
1) Submerged timber and timber-woody debris, which consists of downed trees submerged in coves with at least five trees per 100 linear feet with diameters of 10 inches or greater at the trunk base. This habitat type is generally associated with deep water in a larger portion of a cove,
2) Fringed wetlands areas, which is a diverse assemblage of herbaceous and woody plant (emergent/submerged and scrub/shrub) species in shallow water habitat (less than six feet) of coves and not associated with a tributary stream,
3) Scrub-shrub habitat, which consists of island or peninsula areas associated with the emergent/submerged vegetation areas.
Using GPS technology, Berger will record the position of the limits of habitat types. The GPS data will be exported to a GIS to generate site location maps and measure distances between data points. Berger will also document plant and animal species that are observed at each of the habitat locations at the time they are mapped.