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MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION 
c/o Rosenstiel School
4600 Rickenbacker Cswy,
Miami, Fl. 33149
305-361-4850
Fax: 305-361-4755
  e-mail: mrc@rsmas.miami.edu

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The Miami River Commission Dredging Working Group meeting was called to order at 10 am in the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office, 100 McArthur Blvd., 2^nd floor Administration Bldg., Miami, FL.  The attendee list is enclosed

Status of Property Acquisition/Leasing: Dick Bunnell opened the meeting and the minutes of the October meeting were approved. 
       Dick then initiated the discussion concerning the property and a review of the Resolution passed by the County Commissioners on October 3, 2000.  A copy of the resolution was provided to all attendees.  Dick pointed out Section 2 of the resolution that before the County Commissioners approves a Project Cooperation Agreement “it will conduct an advertised Public Hearing at which the Board will consider plan details to be submitted by the County Manager and others pertaining to traffic, odor, a mitigation plan for the neighborhood, employment of community residents, the ultimate location for disposition of project material, and other appropriate issues.”  Discussion ensued.  Roger Hernstadt advised the group that several Commissioners had various and wide-ranging concerns about the project. 

Roger also reported that the Corps has received a right-of-entry to the property and Jerry Scarborough responded that the Corps’ contractor has already been on the property and has completed necessary core borings and other field investigations.  Jerry also stated that the County has been responsive to all Corps requests and at this time the Corps has all required information to proceed with design and water quality certification.  Jerry and Eddie Carter specifically thanked Tim McIntosh of DERM for his prompt and complete response to all Corps requests.   Dick asked if the Corps found any major problems concerning utilities that may be located under the site.  Jerry stated there are a lot of utilities in the area, but it is too early to determine if any utilities will have to be removed.   Jerry emphatically stated that any moving of utilities is not the controlling time factor for starting the project.  The controlling factor is the time necessary to get the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) water quality certification (WQC).  Jerry said that in his experience it takes 6-12 months after submission of the application for a routine WQC and that the Miami River dredging project is not routine.  It was stated that there have been personnel changes at FDEP permitting and this factor may add to the length of time to obtain the WQC. 

Roger Hernstadt advised the group that a lease agreement for a river site is in progress and a contract is very near completion.  This site will have 400 feet of riverside dockage and also 200 x 100 feet of corresponding land adjacent to the dockage area.   Roger advised the Corps that the riverside property could be made available to the Corps at any time, as the property owner is cooperative. 

The group discussed the County Resolution and the various conditions and details that need to be provided to satisfy the Commissioners’ concerns.     Detailed discussion about each specific issue revealed there are good and acceptable answers to all Commissioner concerns.  It was noted that the Corps would provide some of the responses, but the County Manager would be responsible for county related questions.   It was agreed that when we went before the County Commission, the Corps, county staff and the MRC would be completely prepared for any question.

Water Quality Certification:  The next item discussed in detail was the Water Quality Certification application.  This is the responsibility of the Corps and Jerry Scarborough stated they would have the application into FDEP in December.   The application is not difficult or time consuming, but during the FDEP review process many questions arise that can cause significant time delays.  Delays are currently occurring, as FDEP does not have many experienced WQC application reviewers.

Status of Corps Surveys:   Jerry Scarborough stated that all Corps surveys are complete and provided the County and MRC with a copy of the river sediment and mapping survey.  This is the survey that shows river soundings and reveals the amount of sediment in the navigation channel.   Additionally, the Corps has completed the field geotechnical surveys of the sediment, however, a report is not ready at this time.  This survey will determine the consistency of the sediments and help determine how long it will take for the sediments to dry.  If there is a high level of sandy material it will dry fast.  If there is a high level of organic silt it will dry at a slower rate.

Develop a Worklist of Items: It was determined that this item was unnecessary because of the excellent cooperation that is occurring between the county and the Corps.  The Corps has received all items they have asked for from the county. 

New Business: Dredging areas outside the navigation channel were discussed.  Jim Gardiner asked about dredging the tributaries to the river.  Jerry Scarborough stated that the Miami River dredging project is for the navigable channel and any other dredging areas could be added to the project, however, it would be have to be fully funded by whatever entity wanted the dredging and that entity would have to get the necessary WQC permit. 
    There being no new business, the next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday January 10, 2001 at 10 AM at the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office, 100 McArthur Blvd., Administration Bldg., 2^nd floor, and the meeting was adjourned.

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