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<br /> <br /> 1 <br />Orange County <br />Commission for the Environment <br /> <br />Meeting Summary <br /> <br />August 10, 2015 <br />Richard Whitted Meeting Facility, Hillsborough <br />________________________________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />PRESENT: Jan Sassaman (Chair), May Becker, Peter Cada, Tom Eisenhart, Lynne <br />Gronback, Loren Hintz, David Neal, Bill Newby, Jeanette O’Connor, Rebecca <br />Ray, Sheila Thomas-Ambat, Lydia Wegman, David Welch <br /> <br />ABSENT: Gary Saunders <br /> <br />STAFF: Tom Davis, Rich Shaw <br /> <br />GUESTS: Elizabeth Zander, Bill Kaiser (Chapel Hill Environmental Stewardship Advisory Board) <br />_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />I. Call to Order – Sassaman called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm. <br /> <br />II. Ad ditions or Changes to Agenda – Hintz asked to discuss his draft news article about <br />invasive species. Sassaman agreed to add that to the Updates and Information items. <br /> <br />III. Minutes – Wegman motioned to approve the June 8 minutes as written; seconded by <br />Eisenhart. Approved unanimously. <br /> <br />IV. Advisory Board Appreciation – Shaw handed out insulated lunch bags-- a gift from the <br />Board of County Commissioners office to members of Orange County advisory boards. <br />Shaw expressed his thanks to CFE members for their volunteer service to the county. <br /> <br />V. Hydrilla in the Eno River Update – Davis provided an update on results from the initial <br />two months of using herbicide to help control the spread of hydrilla in the Eno River east <br />of Hillsborough. He showed maps of the project area, depicting the progress of the <br />herbicide concentrations at different monitoring stations between Lawrence Road (near <br />Hillsborough) and Red Mill Road (near Falls Lake). Davis showed photos of hydrilla in <br />the Eno River before and after the herbicide treatment. <br /> <br />Davis reported the hydrilla has died back considerably from the treatment, but there has <br />been some chlorosis to native water willow and injury to native riffleweed. A two- to <br />three-week pause in treatment was initiated on July 20 during which the management <br />zone will be monitored for response of natives and remnant hydrilla. Depending on <br />these responses, treatment will either be considered complete or be resumed at a lower <br />injection rate to prevent hydrilla recovery but reduce potential stress to riffleweed. <br /> <br />Davis answered questions from CFE members about the cost of the two year study <br />($75K) and what agency has the lead role in determining how to proceed with the project <br />(NC Division of Water Resources). CFE members thanked Davis for his presentation <br />and asked him to keep them apprised as further results become available. <br /> <br />VI. Green Restaurant Challenge – Elizabeth Zander introduced herself as Chair of the <br />Chapel Hill Environmental Stewardship Advisory Board, whose charge is to assist the <br />Chapel Hill Town Council in strengthening environmentally responsible practices that <br />protect, promote, and nurture the community and the natural world through advice and <br />program support. She introduced her colleague and former CFE member, Bill Kaiser.