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Other Business Superintendent Reigle introduced Ms. Patricia Davies, who was representing Commissioner Ditmore and the Environmental Quality Board for the meeting. He also introduced Mr. Richard Thompson who was representing Commissioner Rietow and the Metropolitan Council. The Superintendent announced that Ms. Rietow had recently resigned from the Met Council to accept a position with the Office of Waste Management. He stated that the process for appointing a replacement for Ms. Rietow had already been initiated by the Met Council and the Governor's office. ., -_ kM %YM Commissioner Newstrand distributed a report recently produced by the Ports and Waterways Section of the Department of Transportation entitled Environmental Impacts of a Modal Shift. This report summarizes the possible environmental impacts that could result from shifting cargoes from water to land transportation nodes. Mr. Newstrand presented an summary of the findings of his report. In general, the report noted significant environmental impacts that could occur as a result of a shift from water vessels to trucks. Commissioner Dimond remarked that alternative cargo transportation nodes, other than those illustrated in the report, should also be considered in a comprehensive environmental assessment. As an example, Dimond suggested pipelines as an alternative to transporting . petroleum products (in addition to the water and truck alternatives noted in the report). Additional copies of the report are available from Mr. Newstrand's office. Commissioner Castleberry presented a report on the newly formed Mississippi River Heritage Corridor Commission. This Commission, which was established late in the 101st Congress, has been charged with conducting a study to determine the possibilities of designating the entire Mississippi River as a heritage corridor. The formal start of the Heritage Commission's work is on -hold, pending the approval of the Commission's charter and the appointment of its last member. Mr. Castleberry anticipates that the first formal meeting will be held in May. The Commission has two years from the date of the initial meeting to submit a draft study report to Congress. They are then required to produce a final report within one additional year. The Heritage Commission consists of 15 members. Every state that borders the Mississippi River has one representative, whoJs appointed by the Governor of each state. The state representatives were appointed from the each state's membership on the Mississippi River Parkway Commission. Minnesota's representative is Mr. Gene Hollenstein. The Federal government is represented by one member each from the National Park Service (Mr. Castleberry), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Mr. Gritman), the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Commerce. Ms. Young added that this group is different from the Mississippi River Coordinating Commission (MRCC) in that the Heritage Commission is charged with producing only a report, whereas the MRCC will prepare an implementation plan. Ms. Young also noted that the