ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
4.	Consider AUGMENTING Expenditures for Permitting of a New Carmel River Fish Counting Weir (Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15306 and 15378)
Meeting Date:			August 19, 2019	Budgeted:	Yes
From:			Dave Stoldt, General Manager	Program/	Protect Environmental Quality
				Line Item No.:	Program – Aquatic Resources Fisheries
Prepared By:			Kevan Urquhart	Cost Estimate:	$ 10,000
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on August 12, 2019 and recommended approval.
CEQA Compliance: The primary project is Categorically Exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15306, and the remaining actions do not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15378.

SUMMARY: The District needs to complete the permitting process required to install a new fish counting weir that will enumerate the full annual run size of Carmel River steelhead. This process was initiated in fall 2018. The last permit to be applied for is a California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW), 5-Year Lake & Streambed Alteration Agreement (LSAA) permit that staff will prepare in August. We also need to augment and extend the existing agreement between Denise Duffy & Associates (DD&A) and the District to assist in completing the process of acquiring other State and local permits or waivers.

RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the Board of Directors: (1) approve an expenditure of $3,288.75 for the CDFW LSAA five–year permit fee that increased in 2019; (2) authorize the General Manager to augment and extend an existing agreement with DD&A for a not-to-exceed additional amount of $5,000.00 for assistance with remaining permit acquisition; and (3) include a $1,711.25 contingency for a total expenditure of $10,000.00.

BACKGROUND: The District had budgeted for a new fish-counting weir to be built in the winter of 2018-2019 at River Mile ~0.5. It will be placed between the banks of the Carmel River on property owned by the Carmel Area Wastewater District and the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. It will be removed and reinstalled annually for up to a six month monitoring season from December – May. The design is a resistance board weir, attached with sand anchors to the substrate, where the center panels are hinged, allowing them to lay down and flatten out under high flows, so that debris can pass over the structure. The weir includes a trap for adult steelhead on one bank. Regulatory agency permitting requirements being applied to this project, but almost nowhere else in California to other identical projects, have delayed its installation an increased permit preparation costs and application fees.

The District originally maintained a DIDSON hydro-acoustic sound camera upstream of this location on loan from the CDFW for this purpose, but the use of that device in the lower river has been rendered ineffective by the large number of striped bass that now regularly move up and down the river, which cannot be distinguished from steelhead with existing hydro-acoustic technology.

Preliminary consultations with CDFW and National Marine Fisheries Service staff operating these types of weirs from Santa Cruz County to the Oregon border, and in the Sacramento Valley, had suggested that other Counties, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACoE) and the State Coastal Commission (SCC) did not previously exert permit jurisdiction over these kinds of seasonal temporary installations elsewhere, and we might simply have to notify the parties and request a waiver. CDFW’s Central Region has indicated they will require a LSAA not required in other Regions, which also required the District to conduct CEQA compliance through issuing Notice of Exemption last fall. The Monterey County Water Resources Agency requires formal consultation on any structures placed in the Carmel River flood plain, but decided it did not need to exert jurisdiction or undergo permitting for this project. The USACoE decided to exert jurisdiction and require Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), because the area is deemed under tidal influence for at least part of the year. The USACoE staff have completed their review and site visit, but the federal interagency Section 7 consultations remain to be completed, and may incur more consulting support for any responses.

The Board approved an initial $15,000 for this effort in August 20, 2018, which has been exhausted, so that the budget has to be augmented to continue the process.

ACTION #1: The Board should approve an expenditure of $3,288.75 to acquire a CDFW LSAA for the next five years of weir operations.

ACTION #2: The Board should authorize the General Manager to amend and extend an agreement with DD&A for a not-to-exceed augmentation of $5,000 to the existing contract for assistance with permit acquisition. DD&A will be responsible for completing the USACoE permit application process, including ESA Section 7 consultations with the USFWS or NMFS, and assisting with the CDFW LSAA permit application, if necessary. MPWMD would acquire a CDFW LSAA permit for the project; and supervise installation by a specialized biological consulting firm to be selected as a result of a bid process in September 2019.

ACTION #3: The Board should authorize a $1,711.25 contingency for a total expenditure of $10,000.

IMPACT TO STAFF/RESOURCES: Thirty percent of the funds for the permits and to retain the services of DD&A in the FY 2019-2020 Fisheries Program Budget under account 24-04-785851 “2-3-4 Monitoring of Adult Steelhead Counts: A. Resistance Board Weir Construction (Permitting)”, and the remaining 70% will come from the same account under “2-3-4 Monitoring of Adult Steelhead Counts: B. Resistance Board Weir. Staff time will also be needed for the CDFW LSAA application, and to oversee the project.

EXHIBIT

None

U:\staff\Boardpacket\2019\20190819\ConsentCalendar\04\Item-4.docx