Operations Committee Meeting Summary

(March 22, 2000 - Asheville)

Attending: Jim Joy, John Jansen, Mike Teague, Gene Trisko, Leslie Montgomery, Winston Smith, Alan Klimek, Brock Nicholson, Phil Brantley, Diana Andrews, Pat Brewer, John Bunyak, Bruce Bayle, Steve Gossett, Jan Berry, Tom Elmore, Fred Durham

Air Summit

The group reviewed talking points for the SAMI panel at the Air Summit. No more than four speakers were recommended. The proposed speakers are Justin Wilson, Lewis Shaw, Pat Brewer, and Bill Holman.

Integrated Assessment Clarifications

Regarding the need for state-by-state sensitivity tests by the atmospheric model, it was agreed that information may eventually be needed but the OC approves proceeding for now with the four-quadrant approach recommended by the Technical Committee and Policy Committee. John Jansen suggested taking the issue of state-by-state sensitivity testes to the Policy Committee for discussion.

Strategies Update

Brock Nicholson and Phil Brantley reported on progress the last two days at a joint Technical and Policy Committee meeting. All the "boxes" under Bold and Bold with Constraints are filled in. Steve Gossett raised some remaining concerns about industrial Bold. Brock agreed that further discussions are needed to resolve those issues. Winston Smith requested more generic titles for the strategies.

Department of Energy Grant

Jan Berry with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory presented information on a grant program that solicits State involvement. After informing the OC, Tom Elmore submitted a preapplication on March 17 indicating SAMI interest in pursuing a project jointly with ORNL and perhaps other partners in the Southeast. The highlights of the Policy Committee discussion the prior day were presented to the OC. Consensus was reach to proceed cautiously with the understanding that no SAMI cash outlay would be required and that administrative requirements can be handled primarily by people other than existing SAMI staff to avoid any delays in the Integrated Assessment. Jan will check on the acceptability of the funding that SAMI can offer for matching purposes. The SAMI steering committee composed of Phil Brantley, Brock Nicholson, Holly Sharpless, Steve Smith, and Tom Elmore will meet by call with Jan over the next month to ensure that the final grant application is consistent with SAMI's interests. John Jansen pointed out that the funding for direct costs analyses were insufficient if there is opportunity to work that topic into the grant request.

SEP Update

Tom Elmore reported that EPA and the US Attorney are still discussing approval of the TVA NOx offsets grant.

Staffing Update

The Operations Committee approved the concept of hiring a fourth staff person by consensus.

Contracts Approval

The OC reviewed the following contracts. Two also require GB approval. All were approved by consensus except for the USFS Visibility Contract because of concerns about paying stakeholders to participate. This issue will be discussed further at the committee level.

TOPIC	AMOUNT (not to exceed)	GB Approval Required Also
Diane Ducharme Treasurer Contract	$5000
Mara Bochart Graphic Design (Interim Report)	$5000
DOE PC Support Contract	$13,000	yes
Addition to LOSRC Contract (drafting Interim Report)	$10,000
USFS Phase II Visibility Project Management *	$30,000	yes
Accounting Firm Contract - Treasurer transition and financial services	$10,000

By-laws Amendment on Spending Authority

A proposed amendment to the By-laws was discussed which will delegate spending authority in some cases to committees and staff so as not to require GB approval for nearly all expenses. The draft amendment was conceptually approved pending GB review. A suggested addition is that Committee Chairs must obtain committee consensus in order to expend funds under the chair's authority.

Future Meetings

The OC expressed an interest in quarterly OC meetings with Nashville as a possible site.

Adjournment