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ITEM: |
PUBLIC
HEARINGS |
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16. |
Consider Second |
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Meeting
Date: |
May 21, 2009 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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Program/ |
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General
Manager |
Line Item No.: |
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Prepared
By: |
Stephanie
Pintar |
Cost Estimate: |
N/A |
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General Counsel Approval: Approved |
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Committee Recommendation: This ordinance was reviewed by the Rules and Regulations Committee on March 20, 2009, and the Water Demand Committee on April 13, 2009. Both committees recommended approval. |
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CEQA
Compliance: N/A |
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SUMMARY: The joint MPWMD/California American Water
(CAW) rebate program is funded by CAW ratepayers through approval of the
California Public Utility Commission’s (CPUC). Ordinance No. 139 (Exhibit 16-A)
proposes two amendments to address concerns about funding the rebate
program with ratepayer dollars when an applicant could potentially receive both
a rebate and a water credit that could be used to offset additional water
demand. These amendments were
contemplated in the conservation budget settlement agreement between MPWMD, CAW
and the CPUC Division of Ratepayer Advocates.
The first amendment to Rule 141 disqualifies from the
rebate water fixtures used as a credit on a Water Permit. The second amendment to Rule 25.5
involves Water Permit applications that utilize a credit for
a fixture that previously received a rebate. The amendment to Rule
25.5 adds a requirement to repay the rebate as a fee on a Water
Permit. As proposed, an applicant could
receive a rebate and still use the credit from the Qualifying Device(s) in the
future to add water fixtures, but the amount of the previous rebate would be
collected as a Water Permit fee surcharge that would be directed to the rebate
fund and the water savings resulting from the rebate program would be
reduced. This would achieve the goal of
using rebate monies for voluntary conservation only.
The Rules and Regulations Committee and the Water Demand
Committee both recommend approval of the ordinance. The Technical Advisory Committee met on April
7, 2009 to review the ordinance, and although there was a very brief discussion
on the matter, no action was taken due to lack of a quorum. The ordinance was also provided to the
Government Affairs Director of the Monterey County Association of Realtors for
review.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board approve the
second reading and adopt Ordinance No. 139.
The ordinance is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2009. All rebate and Water Permit applications
received after that date would be subject to the new rules.
This ordinance is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
BACKGROUND: In the January 15, 2009 settlement agreement for the conservation budget for CAW’s Monterey District, MPWMD agreed to track and report on the amount of rebate savings reinvested as Water Credits during years 2009-2011. If in any year the savings exceed 0.5 acre-feet, MPWMD agreed to revise its Regulation so that Water Users utilizing a Water Credit would refund the money received through the rebate program before a Water Permit was issued. This agreement was made as a condition to future CPUC authorization for funding for the rebate program. District staff routinely tracks the amount of water savings anticipated through the rebate program.
Prior to making this agreement, staff reviewed the number of Water Permits that had been issued between June 1 and December 31, 2008 that both received a rebate and a water credit for the same fixture. Between June and December 2008, 162 Water Permits were issued that involved a water credit, and 16 permits also received a rebate for the same fixture(s). Although these rebates amounted to less than two percent of the total rebates issued during that time, 0.247 acre-feet per year of savings were reused during those six months. This trend continued during the first quarter of 2009. Therefore, MPWMD would likely be required to take action this year.
16-A Draft Ordinance No. 139
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