Status Report on Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Assessment

January 2006

Background: In September 2004, the MPWMD Board directed staff to initiate preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the District’s ASR project. Contract amendments with Jones & Stokes Associates (JSA) and Padres Associates were approved in October 2004. A Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an EIR was issued on December 13, 2004, and public hearings to receive oral comments on the NOP were held on January 12, 2005. At its February 24, 2005 meeting, the Board received a formal Scoping Report summarizing the NOP comments. At its March 21, 2005 meeting, the Board provided direction to staff on the ASR project description and revised scope of work for the EIR, in light of the NOP comments and several coordination meetings with local agencies and Cal-Am. Please see the Board packet materials for February 24, March 21, and April 18, 2005 for detailed information. This information is also on the District website: www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

The December 2004 NOP originally envisioned environmental review of three phases, with emphasis on a smaller Phase 1 project to be implemented within one year of project approval. Based on public comments and Board direction in March 2005, the current EIR now focuses on Phase 1 (one additional well at existing test site within the next 1-2 years). Future EIRs will address Phases 2 and 3, once more information is known about regional land use plans and infrastructure. Also, the environmental document is now a combined EIR and Environmental Assessment (EA) to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), with the U.S. Army as federal lead agency.

Status of EIR/EA for MPWMD Phase 1 ASR Project: The MPWMD Phase 1 project is focused on better management of existing water resources to help reduce current impacts to the Carmel River and Seaside Basins. The project is viewed as being complementary to other larger, long-term water augmentation projects that are currently being explored by various entities. The project entails a maximum diversion of 2,400 acre-feet per year (AFY) from the Carmel River for injection, a maximum extraction of 2,000 AFY from the ASR wells in the Seaside Basin, and an average yield of about 1,050 AFY. The proposed operation of the Phase 1 ASR Project would result in reduced pumping of the Carmel River in the Summer/Fall and increased storage in the Seaside Basin, which are considered to be environmentally beneficial.

An administrative draft EIR/EA was completed for MPWMD internal review in October 2005. Second version administrative draft EIR/EA was provided to the U.S. Army on November 1, 2005 for its required NEPA review. The Army requested two time extensions for review through December 2, 2005; the Army provided comments to MPWMD on December 6, 2005. In mid-December 2005, District consultants addressed the Army comments, revised and expanded the cumulative impacts section to include other projects known to exist or are planned in the ASR project area, including a temporary pipeline under construction by Cal-Am, and incorporated information provided by the Army regarding hazardous materials and biology.

A concurrent process involving a temporary pipeline to be constructed by Cal-Am has affected the EIR/EA timeline. In Fall 2004, Cal-Am requested District assistance to obtain federal approvals to construct a temporary pipeline along General Jim Moore Boulevard. Since then, District staff has filed for an easement with the U.S. Army on Cal-Am’s behalf and helped Cal-Am obtain an encroachment agreement for the pipeline from the City of Seaside in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Forward progress on the pipeline is important because it will foster operational flexibility to enable water delivery to and extraction of recharged water from the MPWMD test well without affecting other nearby components of the Cal-Am system.

On December 22, 2005, a meeting between the staffs of the U.S. Army, MPWMD and Cal-Am was held to: (1) confirm from the Army that the EIR/EA document for the Phase 1 ASR Project was ready for public review; and (2) clarify and distinguish permit process for Cal-Am temporary pipeline from the Phase 1 ASR Project. At the meeting, the Army staff confirmed that the MPWMD document addressed their comments and was ready for release. However, the Army also indicated that a permit (easement) for the Phase 1 ASR Project could not be issued until an Environmental Assessment (rather than a simple exemption) was prepared for the Cal-Am temporary pipeline pursuant to NEPA. The District’s ASR Project is linked to the Cal-Am pipeline because current operations in the EIR assume its existence. The pipeline was scheduled by Cal-Am for completion in 2005 and certain portions have already been constructed.

The Army position in December 2005 was a significant, substantial change from previous direction to both MPWMD and Cal-Am in consultations conducted in early 2005, and has impacted the EIR/EA timeline. Previously, both MPWMD and Cal-Am staff were advised that the federal permit for the temporary pipeline was imminent based on a completed Biological Assessment prepared by Cal-Am, which resulted in a federal Biological Opinion that addressed the needs of the California Tiger Salamander in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. The Army staff apologized for the inconvenience this new direction may create, and confirmed that additional documentation is needed for the pipeline under NEPA because of the presence of salamander habitat along the pipeline route.

The Army recommended that the Cal-Am temporary pipeline information be incorporated into the chapters of the EIR/EA for the MPWMD Phase 1 ASR Project as the most efficient way to facilitate issuance of two separate permits – one to MPWMD for the ASR Project and one to Cal-Am for the temporary pipeline. The Army pledged its cooperation to fast-track environmental review of the revised document.

In late December 2005, Cal-Am indicated it wished to review the option of preparing a separate Environmental Assessment rather than joining the District’s EIR/EA, and requested until January 13, 2006 to make that determination. In late December 2005 and early January 2006, Cal-Am and the District exchanged information to facilitate forward movement for both projects, and met on January 10, 2006 to discuss further coordination on a variety of ASR-related topics. Upon review of its consultant’s proposal received on January 11, 2006, Cal-Am advised the District on January 12, 2006 that it wishes to integrate the pipeline information into the District’s EIR/EA. With District oversight, Cal-Am will contract separately with Jones & Stokes to add the pipeline information into the District’s EIR; thus, there should be no impact to the District’s contract and budget with Jones & Stokes.

District consultants indicated that the Cal-Am pipeline information could be incorporated into the existing document in two-to-three weeks upon receipt of project information; an initial project description has already been transmitted by Cal-Am to JSA. Based on all the above, the earliest release date for the Draft EIR/EA would be mid-February 2006. An update and more specific timeline, if known, will be provided at the January 25, 2006 ASR workshop.

U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2006\2006boardpackets\20060125\01\item1_exh1c.doc

Revised January 18, 2006