ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
8.	RECEIVE FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021 MITIGATION PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT
Meeting Date:			April 18, 2022	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Thomas Christensen	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15378.

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION: The Board should receive and review the Executive Summary for the 2020-2021 Mitigation Program Annual Report. If adopted along with the Consent Calendar, the full report will incorporate any comments if needed and be finalized so it can be distributed to interested agencies and posted to the District’s website for public availability. The Executive Summary provides an overview of the major accomplishments, conclusions and/or recommendations. The Executive Summary for the 2020-2021 Mitigation Program Annual Report is attached as Exhibit 8-A.

The annual report primarily reviews Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD or District) activities that address the effects of community water use on the Carmel River environment in the Fiscal Year (FY), defined as the 12-month period from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. Please note that hydrologic data and well production reporting data are described for Water Year 2021 (October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021). Use of the Water Year format for these data is consistent with reporting required by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and Seaside Basin Watermaster.

This report is the 30th 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 (Water Allocation EIR), in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Copies of the full annual report will be provided to the Board members upon request, and will be provided to the required resource agencies and other interested parties as needed.

BACKGROUND: On November 5, 1990, the Water Allocation 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 (Cal-Am) system. Subsequently, this amount was increased to 17,641 AFY based on new supply provided by the completion of the Paralta Well in Seaside in 1993, and other changes since 1993. On October 20, 2009, the SWRCB issued Order 2009-0060, the “Cease and Desist Order” (CDO) against Cal-Am. The CDO refers to the 1995 SWRCB Order 95-10, noting that compliance with Order 95-10 had not yet been achieved. The CDO institutes a series of cutbacks to Cal-Am production from the Carmel River system and prohibits new or intensified connections in the Cal-Am main system. The CDO reduced the upper limit of diversion from the Carmel River previously set by Order 95-10 at 11,285 AFY to 10,429 AFY beginning in WY 2010, with additional annual reductions thereafter. In 2016, the SWRCB issued State Board Order 2016-0016 changing the production limit on the Carmel River to 8,310 AFY. This was reduced further in WY 2021 to 7,310 AFY.

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 Cal-Am 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 its 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 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 Water Allocation Mitigation Report responds to these requirements.

The 2020-2021 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 that relate to the topic. Monitoring results, where applicable, are then presented. Finally, a summary of conclusions, and/or recommendations are provided, where pertinent.

IMPACT ON STAFF/RESOURCES: Mitigation Program costs for FY 2020-2021 totaled approximately $2.65 million including direct personnel expenses, operating costs, project expenditures, capital equipment, and fixed asset purchases.  The annual cost of mitigation efforts varies because several mitigation measures are weather dependent.  Expenditures in FY 2020-2021 were $0.54 million lower than the prior fiscal year due to decrease in Mitigation Program costs related to projects that were completed in the prior fiscal year.  However, the overall costs have remained constant (average of $2.99 million per year) for last five years.  In the past, expenditures had trended upward due to expenditures for the Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) Project.  ASR Project costs are no longer captured under Mitigation Program Costs.  FY 2018-2019 expenditures were $4.63 million; and FY 2019-2020 expenditures were $3.19 million.

During FY 2020-2021, revenues totaled $3.76 million including user fees, grant receipts, investment income, project reimbursements, and miscellaneous revenues.  The Mitigation Program Fund Balance as of June 30, 2021 was $6.28 million.

EXHIBIT

8-A Executive Summary for 2020-2021 Annual Mitigation Report

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