ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
11.	CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MONTEREY PENINSULA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT AND THE CARMEL RIVER STEELHEAD ASSOCIATION FOR LIMITED ACCESS AND USE OF THE SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY
Meeting Date:			June 18, 2007	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David A. Berger,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Kevan Urquhart/	Cost Estimate:	N/A
			Beverly Chaney
General Counsel Approval: Yes
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on June 7, 2007 and recommended approval.
CEQA Compliance: N/A
State and Federal Agency Review: Consistent with the Annual Memorandum of Agreement between California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the District for operations at Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility, the District’s License Agreement with California American Water (CAW), and Section 10 Permit application pending with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

SUMMARY: The Board will consider approval of a proposed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Carmel River Steelhead Association (CRSA) to deliver juvenile steelhead that are rescued from tributaries and the mainstem of the Carmel River to be reared at the District’s Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility (Facility) (Exhibit 11-A). Minor revisions have been made to the previous MOA to clarify access procedures, visitation frequency, and changes to the operations of the Facility. The proposed MOA covers the period from May 2007 through June 2009, and provides limited access and use of the Facility to CRSA. The proposed MOA was sent to the CDFG, NMFS, and CAW for their review.

RECOMMENDATION: District staff recommends approval of the proposed MOA, and authorization for the General Manager to enter into the MOA.

BACKGROUND: In 2000, the CRSA requested that the District accept and rear juvenile steelhead rescued by CRSA, from the Carmel River and its tributaries. In response, staff developed a proposed protocol for this operation, and negotiated a MOA with CRSA representatives, subject to approval by CDFG and NMFS. A one-year MOA between the District and the CRSA was signed in July 2003. The CRSA delivered one batch of fish to the Facility in June 2004. For the 2005-2006 MOA, staff made several minor revisions with the goal of improving security at the Facility and continuing the practice of receiving fish from CRSA rescues.

IMPACT TO STAFF/RESOURCES: Additional staff time will be needed to comply with the proposed 2007-2009 MOA with CRSA. The additional time will depend primarily on the frequency of times that staff will need to pick up fish from CRSA after weekday rescues, or when staff receives fish from CRSA on Saturdays. While the frequency cannot be predicted with certainty, the total additional time should not exceed 30 hours for the fish rescue season, based on an assumption of six weekday rescues at four hours per day, and six Saturday rescues at one hour per day. No additional cost would be incurred for this task, as the staff positions for this activity receive compensatory time-off, instead of overtime payment.

EXHIBITS

11-A Proposed Memorandum of Agreement Between the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and the Carmel River Steelhead Association for Limited Access and Use of Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility

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