MPWMD BOARD MEETING--JUNE 23, 2014--ITEM 20--CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA, CARMEL BAY AND SOUTH MONTEREY BAY INTEGRATED REGIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE

ITEM:		ACTION ITEM

20.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA, CARMEL BAY AND SOUTH MONTEREY BAY INTEGRATED REGIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE

Meeting Date:			June 23, 2014	Budgeted:	N/A

From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:

Prepared By:			Larry Hampson	Cost Estimate:	N/A

General Counsel Review: No
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: Exempt under CEQA § 15262

SUMMARY: During a public hearing at their May 19, 2014 meeting, the MPWMD Board of Directors received the “Draft Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Bay and South Monterey Bay Integrated Regional Water Management Plan Update” (IRWM Plan) and took pubic comment on the draft plan update. At that meeting, the Board directed staff to incorporate public input into the final draft of the IRWM Plan. Copies of the final IRWM Plan update may be obtained by contacting the District directly or an electronic version is available on the web at:

http://www.mpirwm.org/IRWM%20Library/IRWMPlan%20Final_whole.pdf.

The IRWM Plan is a comprehensive guide for developing, prioritizing, and implementing coordinated water resource plans and projects. It is a “living document” intended to be amended from time to time to meet the planning Region’s changing needs and priorities, incorporate new developments in water resource management, and to respond to project solicitations from state and federal funding agencies. In order to be eligible for State IRWM grant funds under Propositions 50, 84, and 1E, the IRWM Plan must be adopted by project sponsors and member entities in the Regional Water Management Group, of which MPWMD is a member of.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends that the Board:

1. Make a finding that the IRWM Plan is exempt from further environmental review under Section 15262 of the California Environmental Quality Act.

2. Approve Resolution 2014-11 adopting the IRWM Plan (attached as Exhibit 20-A).

3. Authorize the General Manager to make any minor or non-substantive modifications to the IRWM Plan presented to the Board in order to accommodate clarifications requested by other adopting entities.

4. Authorize the General Manager to amend the list of projects eligible for inclusion in future grant applications by the planning region.

DISCUSSION: Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) is a collaborative effort to manage all aspects of water resources in a region. IRWM crosses jurisdictional, watershed, and political boundaries; involves multiple agencies, stakeholders, individuals, and groups; and attempts to address the issues and differing perspectives of all the entities involved through mutually beneficial solutions. Since 2002, the IRWM grant program has been allocated $1.8 billion from state bonds for planning, implementation, and stormwater flood management throughout California.

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has divided the state into 48 sub-regions for funding purposes. Locally, the Central Coast funding region is comprised of coastal watersheds in the counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. Within this area, there are six IRWM Plans covering the funding region. The Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Bay, and South Monterey Bay planning area was initially established after receiving a Prop 50 planning grant of $500,000 in 2005 to develop an IRWM Plan. Subsequently, the MPWMD Board adopted the IRWM Plan in November 2007. In 2009, DWR formally designated the planning area through its Regional Acceptance Program. The formation of the area was based on watershed and groundwater basin limits, portions of the near-shore environment areas affected by inland area activities, and takes into consideration jurisdictional limits, powers and responsibilities for water resource management.

The planning region is approximately 347 square miles and consists of coastal watershed areas in Carmel Bay and south Monterey Bay between Pt. Lobos on the south and Sand City on the north – a 38.3-mile stretch of the coast that includes three Areas of Special Biological Significance (Pt. Lobos, Carmel Bay, and Pacific Grove), several Marine Protected Areas, and a portion of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The area encompasses the six Monterey Peninsula Cities of Carmel-by-the Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Pacific Grove, Monterey, Sand City, Seaside, and extends into portions of the unincorporated area of Monterey County at the former Fort Ord, in the Carmel Highlands, Pebble Beach, the inland areas of Carmel Valley and the Laguna Seca area.

Since Proposition 84 was passed in 2006, DWR has issued several updates to its IRWM Program Guidelines (Guidelines). The Guidelines establish how to develop an IRWM Plan and what needs to be included. The IRWM Plan adopted by MPWMD in November 2007 met Proposition 50 IRWM standards, but needed to be updated to Prop. 84 standards in order for the planning region to be eligible to apply for Prop. 84 implementation funds.

In 2011, MPWMD entered into an agreement with DWR for $995,000 in IRWM planning grant funds to carry out nine planning projects and an update of the IRWM Plan to Prop 84 standards. The IRWM Plan update is led by the Regional Water Management Group (RWMG), which represents the diverse interests of the IRWM Plan region (Region) and meets the definition of CWC section 10539. For the IRWM Plan first adopted in 2007, the RWMG was comprised of representatives from the Big Sur Land Trust (BSLT), the City of Monterey, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA), the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency (MRWPCA), and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD). For this IRWM Plan Update, Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) and the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County (RCDMC) are proposed to be added to the RWMG. A revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning the make-up of the group and implementation of the IRWM Plan has been circulated and signed by MPWMD, the RCDMC, and the City of Monterey. The other entities in the RWMG are in the process of approving the revised MOU.

The IRWMP is not a detailed plan for solving water management issues and implementing projects. Rather, the IRWMP provides a framework for agencies, non-profit groups, for-profit corporations and other stakeholders with missions and responsibilities to work together on common water management strategies, objectives, goals and projects. As such, the IRWM Plan takes into consideration the many plans and policies currently being implemented for water resource management, analyzes how these are interrelated and shows how projects and programs can have multiple benefits when grouped together. The focus of the IRWM Plan is to improve management of local water resources by proposing to implement and monitor a suite of projects that taken as a whole:

· incorporate water management strategies required under State IRWM guidelines;

· meet objectives and goals set by stakeholders;

· accomplish regional priorities;

· are technically and financially feasible; and

· assist in meeting Statewide priorities.

As described in the draft IRWM Plan, several stakeholder meetings were held to receive input and guide MPWMD staff and consultants in preparing the update. The IRWM Plan is a comprehensive guide for developing, prioritizing, and implementing coordinated water resource plans and projects. As such, it is a “living document” that is intended to be amended from time to time to meet the planning Region’s continually-evolving water resource management needs and related project priorities. The IRWM Plan update contains planning objectives and identifies potential projects that address the Region’s identified needs in the areas of water supply, water quality, flood protection, water-related environmental enhancement, and other state-mandated and optional planning categories.

The table below shows a partial list of stakeholders in addition to the members of the RWMG.

Other Stakeholders
California American Water	Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (NOAA)
California Coastal Commission	Monterey Coastkeeper
California Coastal Conservancy	Monterey County Hospitality Association
California Department of Fish and Game	Monterey County Public Works
California Department of Water Resources	Monterey County Service Area 50
California Native Plant Society, Monterey County	Monterey County Resource Conservation District
California Department of Parks and Recreation	Monterey County Resource Management Agency
California State Water Resources Control Board	Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
California State University Monterey Bay: Watershed Institute	Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District
Carmel Area Wastewater District	Monterey Regional Waste Management District
Carmel River Steelhead Association	National Marine Fisheries Service
Carmel River Watershed Conservancy	Pebble Beach Community Service District
Carmel Unified School District	Pebble Beach Company
Carmel Valley Association	Planning and Conservation League
Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board	Seaside Basin Watermaster
City of Carmel-by-the-Sea	Surfrider Foundation
City of Del Rey Oaks	The Nature Conservancy
City of Pacific Grove	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
City of Sand City	U.S. Forest Service
City of Seaside	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Seaside County Sanitation District	Ventana Wilderness Society
Coastal Watershed Council
Fort Ord Reuse Authority
Note: These agencies were identified as stakeholders during the 2007 IRWM Plan process or sent email confirmation in May 2012 that they would like to be included in the 2013 Update process.

It should be noted that MPWMD is the lead agency for development of the IRWMP and ensuring its execution. However, the institutional structure of the RWMG allows for agencies to rotate as members of the RWMG and any agency in the RWMG can be a lead agency for a grant application if a specific funding source is identified and the RWMG designates another lead agency.

REGIONAL PRIORITIES: Improving communications and dealing with water supply issues and environmental factors, such as impacts to surface and groundwater water quality and habitat degradation, were identified as the Region’s top priorities. The specific priorities are as follows:

· WS-1. Meet existing water supply replacement needs of the Carmel River system and Seaside Groundwater Basin.

· WS-2. Maximize use of recycled water and other reuse, including gray water systems, and stormwater capture and use.

· WQ-1. Improve ocean water quality, including Areas of Special Biological Significance (ASBS), by minimizing pollutants in stormwater discharges.

· WQ-2. Improve inland surface water quality for environmental resources (e.g. steelhead) and potable water supplies.

· WQ-3. Protect and improve water quality in groundwater basins.

· FP-1. Develop regional projects and plans necessary to protect existing infrastructure and sensitive habitats from flood damage, erosion, and sea level rise, in particular, along the southern Monterey Bay shoreline and Carmel Valley.

· RC-1. Identify cooperative, integrated strategies for protecting both infrastructure and environmental resources.

· RC-2. Foster collaboration among regional entities as an alternative to litigation.

PROJECT PRIORITIZATION: The focus of the IRWMP is to improve management of local water resources by proposing to implement and monitor a suite of projects that taken as a whole:

· incorporate water management strategies required under State IRWM guidelines;

· meet objectives and goals set by stakeholders;

· accomplish regional priorities;

· are technically and financially feasible; and

· assist in meeting Statewide priorities.

These criteria are described in detail in Chapters 4 through 6 in the IRWMP. While most of these criteria were established by the State to foster IRWM planning statewide, regional priorities are specific to each planning Region and IRWM Plan.

During the project solicitation phase, seven detailed project proposals were received and 10 concept proposals were received. Of these, detailed project proposals are eligible to apply for implementation grants while concept proposals must be developed further. Another project solicitation is planned in response to the recently released proposal by DWR for a drought funding IRWM grant round. Details of the project solicitation process are contained in IRWM Plan Chapter 6.

MPWMD-Sponsored Projects

There are currently no MPWMD-sponsored projects listed in the IRWM Plan update; however, MPWMD is considering applying for funds to expand the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project by adding a new well and the District is in discussions with the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency and the Marina Coast Water District to co-sponsor projects in an implementation grant application for the Drought Preparedness round later this summer.

ADOPTION OF IRWM PLAN: In order to be eligible for State IRWM grant funds under the California voter-approved Proposition 84, the IRWM Plan must be adopted by the agencies comprising the RWMG and by agencies that apply for grant funds. Presently, the Central Coast region is eligible to receive about $19 million in future grant awards from Prop. 84. To date, the Monterey Peninsula region has received about 1.5% of the total amount of IRWM funds awarded to the region since 2002 (approximately $106 million).

CEQA COMPLIANCE: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines for Section 15262 “Feasibility and Planning Studies” state as follows:

“A project involving only feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions which the agency, board, or commission has not approved, adopted, or funded does not require the preparation of an EIR or negative declaration but does require consideration of environmental factors.”

MPWMD staff believes the evaluation of environmental factors contained in the IRWM Plan is adequate for this level of planning and that the Plan is exempt from further review under CEQA. But, additional specific environmental review may be required for individual projects. It will be the responsibility of each project sponsor to identify a Lead Agency and to comply with requirements for additional environmental review under CEQA.

EXHIBIT

20-A Resolution No. 2014-11

June 23, 2014

Budgeted:

N/A