ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARING
13.	CONSIDER SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 150 AMENDING RULE 21-A -- NOTICING REQUIREMENTS FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WELL CAPACITY TESTING
Meeting Date:			April 16, 2012	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:	N/A
Prepared By:			Henrietta Stern, Project Manager	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: approved 4/2/2012
Committee Recommendation: N/A for second reading
CEQA Compliance: N/A Not a “project”

SUMMARY: The Board will consider adoption at second reading of MPWMD Ordinance No. 150 (Exhibit 13-A) that amends rules associated with the Water Distribution System (WDS) Permit application process. The proposed ordinance would amend Rule 21-A (WDS Applications) to require that Neighboring Well owners (as defined in Rule 11) be notified of an impending Well Capacity Test, and have the opportunity to have their wells monitored during the test. A reasonable effort to accommodate neighbors’ schedules must be made, and documentation of notice and responses by neighbors must be received by the District before the well test begins in order for it to be accepted by the District. More detailed information is provided in the “Discussion” section below.

RECOMMENDATION: District staff recommends that the Board adopt Ordinance No. 150, shown as Exhibit 13-A. At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Board directed staff to prepare the “Noticing” component of the Implementation Guidelines, with review by the Rules & Regulations Review Committee, prior to the May 16, 2012 effective date of the Ordinance. District Counsel clarified that the Ordinance only applies to Pre-Applications and Applications received after the May 16, 2012 effective date, and affects well testing beginning in the June-November 2012 testing season. The Board also previously determined that this notification requirement is not considered to be a “project” under CEQA.

BACKGROUND: The agenda materials for the first reading of Ordinance No. 150 provide background information, and are available on the District website at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/boardpacket/2012/20120319/13/item13.htm.

The MPWMD Rules & Regulations are provided on the District website at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/rules/2011/20111222/TOC.htm (click on desired rule).

MPWMD Rule 21 refers to the “Implementation Guidelines” for more detailed information on the application process and requirements. At this juncture, the Implementation Guidelines are disaggregated into a series of technical and procedural documents and memos that may be found on the District website at: http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/pae/wds/wds.htm.

Staff plans to consolidate, update and refine the Implementation Guidelines in 2012. Due to time constraints, the topic of noticing will be the subject of a special memorandum to be prepared by the May 16, 2012 effective date of Ordinance No. 150.

DISCUSSION: The following review of the ordinance is repeated from the March 19, 2012 agenda packet. Additional discussion from March 19 may be reviewed at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/boardpacket/2012/20120319/13/item13.htm.

MPWMD Rule 21-A, Application for Permit to Create/Establish a Water Distribution System, lists materials and information required for a WDS Application. As shown in Exhibit 13-A, Ordinance No. 150 would reorganize Rule 21-A, and add new Rules 21-A-2, 21-A-3 and 21-A-12 to require noticing of Well Capacity Tests and documentation of Neighboring Well owners’ responses as described in WDS Implementation Guidelines.

Specifically, the following changes would be made to Rule 21-A:

• Old Rule 21-A-1 is amended to remove the last few sentences.
• A new Rule 21-A-2 is added, which states:

2. Documentation regarding notification to Neighboring Well owners. Based on information provided by the District, the Applicant shall provide notice to Neighboring Well owners regarding the opportunity to monitor Wells as specified in the Implementation Guidelines. Applicant shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate the Neighboring Well owners’ schedules. Applicant shall provide documentation of the Neighboring Well owners’ responses, if any, to the District prior to the commencement of Well Capacity (Aquifer Pumping) Tests, as specified in the Implementation Guidelines.

• New Rule 21-A-3 adds back the sentences that were removed from Rule 21-A-1.
• Paragraphs are renumbered with no change to text.
• New Rule 21-A-12 is added, which states:

12. Documentation of notice to, and responses by, Neighboring Well owners regarding the opportunity to monitor Wells during Well Capacity (Aquifer Pumping) Tests as referenced in Rule 21-A-2.

The ordinance would also add the definition of “Neighboring Well” to Rule 11, Definitions:

NEIGHBORING WELL – “Neighboring Well” means a Well within 1,000 feet of a Well owned by the Applicant for a Water Distribution System Permit if the Applicant’s Well is located outside of the Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer, or within 300 feet of the Applicant’s Well if located within the Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer.

Of note is the fact that some Pre-Applicants performed their well testing in summer and fall 2011, and have yet to submit their formal applications. As noted in the “Recommendations” section above, these applicants are not subject to the new rules.

Based on the Board’s action on first reading on March 19, 2012, District staff contacted several applicant consultants about the pending ordinance and provided the March 19, 2012 agenda materials.

IMPACT TO DISTRICT RESOURCES: Ordinance No. 150 will entail additional time by District staff for each Pre-Application and Application, as more oversight is involved than at present. Thus, the Pre-Application and/or WDS Application fees should be increased via Rule 60 to cover these additional MPWMD staff tasks. The actual amount can be based on a few months experience with the notification process later this year. District staff and other direct costs will be captured at the end of the WDS Permit process, so this is not essential. However, the goal is to set the initial WDS fees to match the expected District costs as accurately as possible in order to minimize unexpected final fees at the end of the process.

EXHIBIT

13-A Draft Ordinance No. 150 for second reading and adoption

U:\staff\Boardpacket\2012\20120416\PubHrng\13\item13.docx