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ITEM: |
CONSENT CALENDAR |
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11. |
RECEIVE 2007-08 MITIGATION PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT |
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Meeting Date: |
September 21, 2009 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
Darby Fuerst, |
Program/ |
N/A |
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General Manager |
Line Item No.: |
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Prepared By: |
Darby Fuerst |
Cost
Estimate: |
N/A |
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General Counsel Review: N/A |
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Committee Recommendation: N/A |
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CEQA Compliance:
N/A for report |
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SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION:
The Board should receive the 2007-2008 Mitigation Program Annual Report,
and direct staff to distribute copies (paper or CD) to resource agencies, local
libraries, and advise the public of its availability. The Executive Summary provides an overview of
the major accomplishments, observed trends, conclusions and/or recommendations. The Executive Summary for the 2007-08
Mitigation Program Annual Report will be provided under separate cover.
The annual report primarily reviews
District activities that address the effects of community water use on the
Carmel River environment in Fiscal Year 2007-2008 (FY 2008), defined as the 12-month
period from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
Please note that hydrologic data and all well reporting data are
reported using a Water Year (October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008) in
order to be consistent with reporting required by the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB). This annual
report has been delayed because of other work priorities.
This report is the seventeenth annual
report since the Mitigation Program Plan was adopted by the District Board in
November 1990, as part of the certification of the MPWMD Water Allocation
Environmental Impact Report (EIR), in compliance with the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Copies
of the full report will be provided to the Board members upon request, and will
be provided to libraries and resource agencies within two weeks.
BACKGROUND: On November 5, 1990, the MPWMD Water
Allocation Program Final EIR was certified by the MPWMD Board. The Board also adopted findings, and passed a
resolution that set Option V as the new water allocation limit. Option V resulted in a production limit of
16,744 acre-feet per year (AFY) for the California American Water (CAW)
system. This amount was increased to
17,641 AFY based on new supply provided by the Paralta Well in
The Water Allocation EIR determined that
even though Option V is the least damaging alternative of the five options
analyzed, production at this level still may result in significant, adverse,
environmental impacts that must be mitigated.
Thus, the CEQA Findings adopted by the Board in 1990 included a
"Five-Year Mitigation Program for Option V" and several general
mitigation measures. The Five-Year
Mitigation Program formally began in July 1991 with the new fiscal year and was
slated to run until June 30, 1996.
Following public hearings in May 1996 and District Board review of draft
reports through September 1996, the Five-Year Evaluation Report for the
1991-1996 comprehensive program, as well as an Implementation Plan for FY 1997
through FY 2001, were finalized in October 1996. In its July 1995 Order WR 95-10, the SWRCB
ordered CAW to carry out any aspect of the “Five-Year Mitigation Program for
Option V” that the District does not continue after June 1996. To date, as part of the annual budget approval
process, the District Board has voted to continue the program. The Mitigation Program presently accounts for
a significant portion of the District budget in terms of revenue (derived
primarily from the MPWMD user fee on the CAW bill) and expenditures.
For projects or programs that entail
significant adverse impacts, CEQA requires that an annual report be prepared
documenting (1) the actual mitigation activities that were carried out by the
lead agency, and (2) the effectiveness of the mitigation activities as measured
via a monitoring program. The 2007-2008
Water Allocation Mitigation Report responds to these requirements.
The first three annual reports (1991,
1992, and 1993) covered the calendar year January 1 through December 31. Because this time period conflicted with the
District’s budget cycle (July 1-June 30), the fourth annual report covered the
18-month period from January 1994 through June 1995 to bridge the transition
from a calendar year to a fiscal year.
The fifth (and subsequent) annual reports cover the fiscal year, defined
as July 1 through June 30 of the following year. A notable exception is that hydrologic data
are always reported in a water year (October 1-September 30) in order to be
consistent with the accounting period used by the SWRCB. Since 2002, well production data are also
reported in a water year to be consistent with SWRCB reporting requirements.
The 2007-2008 report reviews District
activities relating to water supply and demand, followed by mitigation measures
for specific environmental impacts. It
also provides a summary of costs for the Mitigation Program as well as
references. For each topic, the
mitigation measure adopted as part of the certified Allocation EIR is briefly
described, followed by a summary of activities carried out in FY 2008 that
relate to the topic. Monitoring results,
where applicable, are then presented.
Finally, a summary of observed trends, conclusions, and/or
recommendations are provided, where pertinent.
IMPACT ON STAFF/RESOURCES: It is notable that program
implementation entails a significant portion of the District budget. In FY 2008, total expenses for the July 1,
2007 through June 30, 2007 period were about $3.67 million, including direct
personnel expenses of $1.66 million, operating costs totaling $459,000, project
expenses in the amount of $1.45 million, and $102,000 in capital equipment and
fixed asset purchases. Eight full-time
positions (plus seasonal aides) are devoted primarily to implementation of the
Mitigation Program. Distribution of the
Mitigation Program Annual Report involves the District staff time and cost for
copying and mailing of about 40 reports to agency staff, members of the Carmel
River Advisory Committee, and local libraries.
EXHIBITS
None
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