Wyoming State Water Plan, Wyoming Water Development Office
Rafting on Snake River Lake Marie, Snowy Mountains Wyoming Wind River Range picture

Platte River Basin Advisory Group
Meeting Record
Cheyenne, WY
October 14, 2003

Welcome

Facilitator Sherri Gregory welcomed the group and the meeting was called to order at 1:02 p.m. Sherri asked the people in attendance to introduce themselves, and she reviewed the meeting agenda (attached). A sign-in sheet was passed around to record attendance.

Planning Team Issues
Briefing Books: Project Manager Jodie Pavlica provided an overview of the information that will be included in briefing notebooks that will be provided to the BAG members at the next BAG meeting. The briefing notebook table of contents, a copy of which is attached to this meeting record, was projected onto a screen and Jodie briefly discussed its contents.

Contact Information/BAG Members: Jodie told the group that sector and contact information for each of them was posted on the walls of the meeting room. The BAG members were asked to review the information and confirm its accuracy sometime before leaving the meeting.

Meeting Locations/Dates: Jodie proposed the following locations and dates, all of which fall on the second Tuesday of the month, for future BAG meetings:

Role of the Basin Advisory Group/Informed Consent Facilitator Sherri Gregory led a discussion on the role of the BAG and the informed consent process that will be followed during BAG meetings. The BAG is an advisory group and is not charged with setting policy. Informed consent is a course of action whereby the BAG members will agree on a process and not an outcome. All members’ opinions are valued and minority opinions are protected. The BAG agrees to work constructively as a group using a reasonable, sensible, and responsible approach. Sherri also reminded the group that members might need to complete some “homework” between meetings in order to effectively serve on the BAG.

Meeting Ground Rules
Sherri reviewed BAG meeting ground rules, which the BAG had adopted at the last meeting. The rules were as follows:

Discussion ensued as to why Robert’s Rules of Order was not included on the list of ground rules. Sherri indicated that, because the BAG was an advisory group and was not charged with setting policy, voting on the issues that will be brought before the BAG would not take place. For this reason and because the group had agreed to follow a process of informed consent, use by the BAG of Robert’s Rules of Order would not be appropriate.

Some members remained concerned that minority opinions would not be addressed during the process. Jodie told the group that the WWDC and their consultant, TriHydro, would respond to all opinions and will address issues that are presented during BAG meetings. She also noted that all BAG meetings will be recorded.

Consultant Update
Joel Farber of TriHydro Corporation provided an overview of consultant activities since the last BAG meeting. Joel introduced his associate, John Galbreath, and told the group that they would see more of John throughout the course of TriHydro’s work on the project.

Joel told the BAG that TriHydro had initiated work on the first three tasks of the project, as follows:

Basin Water Use Profile: The Wyoming Attorney Generals Office and State Engineer had been contacted to request information compiled during Nebraska v Wyoming. It is anticipated that much of the information needed for the basin planning study was generated during the litigation and settlement. Joel cited irrigated acreage mapping, consumptive use estimates, and water rights attribution as the types of information requested.

Available Surface and Groundwater Determination: Joel told the group that work to compile a base map for the educational tool had been undertaken. He requested that BAG members provide suggestions on the type of information they would like to see included in the educational tool. The WWDC and TriHydro envision the educational tool as a web-based application that the public could access to learn about the water resources in the Platte River Basin.

Joel also indicated that work was underway to prepare a spreadsheet model for the Upper Laramie River basin. Preliminary work had been completed to understand how existing spreadsheet models operate and develop an understanding of the hydrography of the basin. The local hydrographer, Dan Spranger, had been contacted to identify stream gages and significant points of diversion. A draft stick diagram of basin hydrography to be included in the model has been developed.

Demand Projections: During discussions with the WWDC TriHydro learned that during one of the previous basin plans, the consulting economist was involved early in the planning process and that approach had worked well. Therefore, TriHydro has made arrangements to have Ed Harvey of Harvey Economics speak to the BAG at its next meeting in Casper. Harvey Economics is a sub-consultant to TriHydro Corporation, the prime consultant for preparation of the Platte River Basin Water Plan.

Basin Advisory Group Membership
Sherri called the role of BAG members that were identified during the BAG formation meeting in September. She also indicated that some additional members had been identified subsequent to the September meeting. Based on the role call, two names were removed from the roster: 1. Mr. Mel Wilkenfeld (Cheyenne, industrial), was identified to have declined to participate on the BAG, and 2. Mr. Brady Vollman (Douglas) could not be reached to accept his nomination. Four new members were added to the roster:
 1. Mr. Gil Engen Laramie Agriculture
 2. Mr. Ed Weglin Goshen County Agriculture
 3. Mr. Larry Baesler Basin-wide Recreation
 4. Mr. Mike Nordeen Basin-wide Industry

Educational Presentations
Sherri requested ideas from the BAG members regarding educational presentations they would like to see during upcoming meetings. Members presented the following ideas:

Basin Advisory Group Mission Statement
Mission statements adopted by BAGs for other river basins were presented to initiate discussion. Sherri requested that a BAG member lead group discussion to develop a Platte River BAG mission statement. During the course of the discussion several BAG members volunteered to record proposed language on a flip chart. Seven paragraphs of proposed language were recorded on paper and the group worked to refine a mission statement that concisely summarized the content of what had been recorded. Ultimately, the BAG adopted the following Mission Statement:
To advise the State of Wyoming in the planning process to inventory the available supply and historical uses; to develop and enhance the use of water in the Platte River Basin for the present and the future.
To recognize the existing water development and protect those rights and opportunities to develop more water to benefit the future needs of the basin.
To insure that Wyoming water is put to beneficial use in Wyoming, to protect the health of the watersheds and preserve the opportunity to utilize those waters by municipalities, agriculture, industry, recreation and wildlife.

The time allotted for the meeting had expired when the Mission Statement was accepted and Sherri told the BAG that the final item on the agenda, Issues Identification, would be considered up at its next meeting. She reminded everyone that the next meeting would be held in Casper on December 9th and, in response, a BAG member suggested that the time of the meeting be changed to 10:00 am to 1:00 pm so that members would be able to drive during daylight hours. The BAG agreed that the new time suggested for the meeting was a good idea and it was adopted.
 
The next Platte River Basin Advisory Group Meeting is scheduled for December 9, 2003 at 10:00 am in Casper

The meeting was adjourned shortly after 4:00 pm.