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Friends of Claytor Lake • April 2009 • FOCL enews • Issue 45
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| In This Issue:
Quick Links: Contact Information: •Phone: 540-674-0166 •Fax: 540-980-3540 •Email: darla113@verizon.net We meet at 6pm on the second Thursday of each month (with the exception of July & December) in the Council Chambers of the Dublin Town Hall. All are welcome! |
APCO's FERC License As should be well known by most of the Claytor Lake Community, Appalachian Power Company (APCO) a division of American Electric Power (or AEP) is in the process of re-newing the license to operate the Claytor Dam with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC is the Federal Government's agency that regulates and allows power companies to use something in the public domain (like a river) to generate power. The license is issued to the power company for a given number of years (usually 30 to 50 years). APCO's license is up for renewal in 2011. The relicensing process is a long and difficult one, and has included many meetings held for the public so that Claytor Lake Stakeholders are informed and have a chance to contribute to the relicensing process. In the interest of keeping the Claytor Lake Community informed, in March FOCL sent out a letter to bring to your attention significant changes in the way APCO is proposing to manage the Dam and Lake. As part of the Claytor Lake Community, these changes will affect you. More information regarding the changes can be found at APCO's Relicensing Website at this link: http://claytorhydro.com
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| Re-use of Trees The idea came to Dave Collet, FOCL Boardmember and Claytor Lake State Park Manager and John Copeland FOCL Boardmember and Fisheries Biologist with the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries (VDGIF): Why not keep used Christmas trees out of the landfill and give them a second (or is it third?) life as fish habitat? Turns out the shape and composition of Christmas Trees facilitate fish spawning in the water. So on January 22nd no less than 25 individuals from The Claytor Lake State Park, VDGIF, FOCL, and Rockhouse Marina worked together to place about 150 Christmas trees into the lake. The trees were weighted down with cinder blocks tied to them, then carted out and placed in appropriate areas in the lake where the water level was at least 8 feet deep. The locations of these Christmas Tree Fish Habitat Sites can be found at the DGIF website by clicking on the above link.
THE CREW: From DGIF: John Copeland, Tom Hampton, Bill Kittrell, George Palmer From FOCL: Darla Jennings, Larry Moore, Ronnie Powers, John Toothaker From Rock House Marina: Mike Burchett, Glendon Jones Anglers: Clifford Kirk, BB Porter, Scout Witten, Harold Lambert, Sherman Richardson |
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| Board Meeting Minutes FRIENDS OF CLAYTOR LAKE • Board Meeting Minutes • February 12, 2009 Present: Ron Powers, Darla Jennings, Bill Cunningham, Dave Stevenson, Larry Bandolin, John Copeland, John Toothaker, Mike McLeod, Shep Zedaker, Laura Bullard, Mary Rhoades, Dave Collett, Chris Meade, Phillip Martin, Ranny Akers, Mike Spraker, John Johnson, Jeff Arnold, Shawn Utt Financial Statement for year ending June 30, 2008, was reviewed by Phillip Martin, CPA. He stated “everything looks good” and praised Darla’s work on FOCL’s financial statements. Expense Report was accepted as written. General Fund: $12,676.43. Budget Committee according to Bill has met and recommends FOCL change from its current fiscal year of July 1 to June 30 to a calendar year to make the finances of dealing with clean-up easier. Motion was made and passed to make the change. A second financial statement review and tax return for July 1-Dec 31, 2008 will be done. Environmental Resources Committee: Fish Habitat—Tree Felling: John Toothaker reviewed the Dec 3, 2008 float trip when fourteen potential fish habitat sites were identified. The Committee recommended to the Board and the Board approved that four sites, to be selected by the Committee, be established in March and evaluated into the fall. The Committee is also considering creating fish habitat using existing debris in the lake. Slope: Ronnie distributed soil and slope maps to the Board to demonstrate the information that is available for the lake. These maps will be overlaid with topo maps to further define slope, so that FOCL can ask the County to develop stricter regulations for land disturbance in areas around the lake where soil and slope are susceptible to erosion. Shep recommended that FOCL contact the VT Water Center for information. He also voiced his opinion that FOCL should not be involved to the extent of restricting building at the lake, but that it is appropriate to protect against erosion. Drawdown/Public Forum: Laura informed the Board of AEP’s proposal to discontinue drawdown due to mussel mortality, and presented the Committee’s recommendation that FOCL hold a public forum to inform the public of proposed changes so that stakeholders can comment to FERC if they choose by the May 1, 2009 deadline. Following discussion as to the feasibility and participants in such a forum, the Board approved a motion to email Teresa at AEP to inquire of their plans to announce the discontinuation of drawdown, and to request AEP’s participation in a FOCL sponsored forum. Organizational Development: Dean announced that a letter has been sent to potential exhibitors for the 2009 Contributor Appreciation Day in August. Chris Meade is working on a grant from the Community Foundation. County Comprehensive Plan according to Shawn designates a 50’ “no-build” buffer from the 1850’ contour line around the lake in agricultural and conservation (not residential) areas. A public hearing regarding the Plan will be held in June. Other Business: Laura was given permission to invite a person from Smith Mountain Lake to share their experience with relicensure at the next regular or called meeting of the Board. The Board approved Darla’s request that her attendance at the Environment Virginia, and New River Symposium meetings be paid by FOCL. Larry is following up on a license plate holder he saw saying “I’d rather be at Claytor Lake” as a possible fund raiser for FOCL. Ranny mentioned the possibility of having license plates with the FOCL emblem on them. The meeting was adjourned. |
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Thanks for your support of FOCL and Claytor Lake!
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Preparing the trees at the State Park Ramp.
The Crew after a job well done. Thanks to John Toothaker for the great pictures.