Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission - Lake Michigan Room 6100 Southport Rd. Portage, IN 46368
Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance 9:00
Introductions 9:05
Approval of June 1, 2017 EMPC Meeting Minutes 9:10
Presentations
NIPSCO LED light changeout program 9:15
Bob Kramer, Purdue Northwest
Dark Sky Program at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore 9:55
Larry Silvestri, International Dark Sky Association
Public Comment 10:00
Announcements 10:10
Adjourn 10:15
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Requests for alternative formats may be made 48 hours in advance by contacting Mary Thorne at 219-763-6060, ext. 131 or email to mthorne@nirpc.org.
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, parental status, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program.
NIRPC- Lake Michigan Room June 1, 2017
Members/Guests: Geof Benson, Deb Backhus, Jennifer Gadzala, Will Farrellbegg, Michael Kuss, Richard Morrisroe, Natalie Johnson, Michelle Caldwell, Mary Tanis, Lauri Keagle, Dorreen Carey, Maggie Byrne, Michael Spinar, Brenda Scott-Henry, Mike Molnar, Collin Simek, Sherryl Doerr, Tom Davenport, Kaitlyn McClain, George Malis
NIRPC Staff: Kathy Luther, Joe Exl, Meredith Stilwell
Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
Chairman Benson called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance and self-introductions.
Approval of May 4, 2017 EMPC Minutes
On motion by Will Farrellbegg and second by Mary Tanis, the May 4, 2017 EMPC meeting minutes were unanimously approved as presented.
a. Grand Calumet River/Indiana Harbor Ship Canal Remedial Action Plan – Michael Spinar, IDEM An Areas of Concern (AOC) Program was established by the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. 43 areas were identified in the Great Lakes Basin as needing high levels of remediation with Remedial Action Plans (RAPS) required to be established for restoring the beneficial uses of these areas. The goal of the Remedial Action Plan is to complete management actions that will lead to the removal of the 14 beneficial use impairments (BUI) identified and the areas of concern delisting. Current management actions being performed include sediment remediation, habitat restoration and management, beach restoration, and aesthetics monitoring. Next steps include finalizing management actions for the remaining 11 beneficial use impairments by 2020, completing habitat management actions by 2020 and monitoring restoration progress.
Chairman Benson informed the Committee that the report involving federal budget cuts compiled during the EMPC meetings resulted in a letter developed by Kathy Luther being sent to the Legislative Committee. The budget proposed keeps changing, but the priorities have been forwarded to the Legislative Committee and are being considered.
Kathy announced the Chairman Benson is up for election for the President Elect of the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC).
Kay Nelson announced that Legacy Foundation has collected information from stakeholders regarding budgetary impacts and has been posted to a website.
Announcements for upcoming events and meetings will be forwarded to the EMPC Committee email list.
The meeting adjourned at 10:12 a.m.
A Digital MP3 of this meeting is filed. Contact Mary Thorne at 219-763-6060 or mthorne@nirpc.org should you wish to receive a copy of it.