ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
5.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 2010-03 IN SUPPORT OF FILING APPLICATIONS TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME FISHERIES RESTORATION GRANT PROGRAM
Meeting Date:		March 9, 2010	Budgeted:	N/A
From:		Darby Fuerst,	Program/	N/A
		General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:		Larry Hampson	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on March 9, 2010 and recommended ________________.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP) is soliciting proposals for projects that restore, enhance, or protect anadromous salmonid habitat in the coastal watersheds of California or projects that lead to restoration, enhancement, or protection of anadromous salmonid habitat. The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD or District) has worked with CDFG staff to identify four projects that may be eligible to receive grant funds from this program. Applications for grant funds are due to CDFG on or before April 8, 2010. Authorization from the District Board is required to enter into a contract with CDFG (see Exhibit 5-A, Resolution 2010-03).

RECOMMENDATION: If this item is approved as part of the Consent Calendar, the Board will adopt Resolution 2010-XX in support of applying for grant funding from the CDFG Fisheries Restoration Grant Program and will authorize the General Manager to enter into a contract with the CDFG to receive grant funds.

BACKGROUND: In 2009, CDFG entered into a Settlement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and California American Water (CAW or Cal-Am) for the purpose of dispersing funds, paid by CAW, through the FRGP. CAW conveyed $3.5 million to CDFG in July 2009 and an annual installment of an additional $1.1 million is due July 1, 2010.

For 2010-11, Project Design (PD) is the focus of a special category for Carmel River projects that are to be funded under the Settlement Agreement. Within this special focus category, only project designs for fish passage at stream crossings and instream barriers in the mainstem of Carmel River downstream of the Los Padres Dam, and water conservation measures in Carmel Lagoon will be funded. In addition to special category project funding, there are several other project types that can be funded from funds collected statewide. However, applications for statewide funds will be judged on a competitive basis.

District staff proposes to apply to the FRGP for two planning projects to be funded from Settlement Agreement funds including: 1) Sleepy Hollow Ford Removal and Bridge Replacement Project and 2) Old Carmel River Dam Modifications. No local funding match is required for these projects; however the value of staff time contributed by MPWMD to project management and contractor oversight will be identified for credit as a local funding match. The FRGP also allows a grantee to be reimbursed for administrative overhead up to 15% of the amount requested. Administrative overhead includes but is not limited to utilities, offices space rental, phone and copying, which is directly related to completion of the proposed project. The amount of funds to be requested in the planning phase of these projects has not yet been determined. However, grant applications developed for these projects in 2009 estimated the total cost for planning and completing construction at approximately $1.3 million ($600,000 for Sleepy Hollow and $700,000 for Old Carmel River Dam modifications). Planning costs are likely to range from 10% to 25% of the estimated construction costs or approximately $130,000 to $325,000.

Two additional applications for statewide funds would include requests to fund: 3) Installation of a Sonic Fish Counting Device in the Lower Carmel River (approximate cost of $90,000 – $180,000) and 4) Spawning Gravel Enhancement Project at Los Padres Dam (approximate cost of $175,000). Local matches are encouraged and rank higher projects that are in the competitive portion of the FRGP. The District would propose a local match consisting of our staff time and resources to manage the project and oversee subcontractors. CDFG intends to award grant contracts for all funded projects in early 2011. Each of the proposed projects is described below.

Sleepy Hollow Ford Removal and Bridge Replacement Project. This proposal includes removal of the 140-foot long Sleepy Hollow ford and seven culverts across the main stem of the Carmel River at River Mile 17.5 (RM, measured from the ocean) and replacement with a 180-foot Bailey bridge across the river. A concrete slab with dimensions 80 ft. long by 10-ft. wide and three feet high would be removed. The remainder of the ford, which is compacted gravel, would be removed. A low flow channel providing enhanced fish passage would be created to allow the natural flow of sediment and debris through the reach. Up to 20 cubic yards of spawning gravel would be injected at the site to improve spawning habitat. Disturbed streambank areas would be replanted with native riparian species. A clear-span Bailey bridge would be installed over the river to provide year-round access to the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility.

Old Carmel River Dam Modifications. The Old Carmel River Dam (OCRD) was built in 1883 to supply water to the Del Monte hotel in Monterey. It is constructed of river boulders grouted with cement and is approximately 140 feet long, eight feet wide at the base, four feet wide at the crest, and 32 feet high (most of which has been filled in with river rock and cobble). Looking downstream, the right side of the dam contains an open passageway through the structure approximately four feet wide by 15 feet high that at one time was equipped with a gate and operated as a sluiceway and control to raise water levels for operation of a diversion. Former MPWMD Senior Fisheries Biologist David Dettman modified this opening in 2002 by removing the gate to improve steelhead passage. The dam serves no useful purpose as a water supply facility.

The height and difficulty to fish of migrating past the barrier varies depending on flows, but significant problems with adult upstream fish passage at OCRD have been documented. These include poor attraction flow and rock and debris jams in the fish ladder, causing the majority of fish to bypass the ladder and attempt to jump the dam. The thick dam crest creates an area of local high velocity that often results in fallback of fish that successfully jump the dam.

A project scope to modify this barrier is outlined in the San Clemente Dam Seismic Safety Project EIR. The proposal includes a notch in the east end of the OCRD (right side looking downstream) about nine feet deep and 19 feet wide to improve low flow passage without inducing geomorphic changes to the downstream pool configuration. Extensive engineering and environmental analysis have already been completed for this project. The proposed OCRD dam removal engineering (MWH Engineering, Walnut Creek, CA) is shown in the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement Figures 3.2-10 and 3.2-11.

Installation of a Sonic Fish Counting Device in the Lower Carmel River. Steelhead migrating upstream are currently counted at the San Clemente Dam fish ladder at RM 18.6 and Los Padres Dam at RM 24.8. However, an unknown but potentially significant number of fish (estimated at more than 40% of the annual run) may spawn in the lower river below the ladder and are not counted as part of the annual run. A Dual Frequency Identification Sonar [DIDSON] device would be installed at a location in the lower three to eight miles of the Carmel River to count immigrating adult steelhead and, if possible, also larger emigrating juvenile steelhead in the Lower Carmel River. Either one or two DIDSONs will be needed to properly monitor the width of the Lower Carmel River. This decision will be made as part of pre-project site selection surveys to be made by a consultant experienced with the operation of DIDSONs in California watersheds. This DIDSON installation would allow the District to enumerate the entire Carmel River steelhead run. Doing so can: a) prove whether or not there is a significant amount of spawning occurring below San Clemente Dam, b) whether or not those steelhead are numerous enough to alter the annual trends in abundance currently derived only from San Clemente Dam, c) conclusively document increased utilization of and spawning in the Lower Carmel River that likely resulted from decades of the District’s riparian and stream restoration projects, and d) document progress towards Endangered Species Act Recovery goals.

Spawning Gravel Enhancement Project. The District would purchase 1,500 tons of spawning gravel, stockpile it near Los Padres Dam, and place the material just downstream of the dam’s spillway in an area where high river flows will move the gravel downstream. The initial stockpile would be used to operate the program for fifteen months. Additional gravel replenishment sites will be added to the Project as landowner access permission is developed, and may include smaller amounts of gravel being placed on the downstream side of private bridges or wet crossings, as was done during the previous program conducted from 1993-2003. This effort will not include the use of helicopters to strategically place gravel in inaccessible reaches of the river, as was done previously, due to the high cost of flight time.

IMPACT ON FISCAL AND STAFF RESOURCES: No funds are proposed to be used by MPWMD as a local match in grant applications. However, several District staff would be involved in the development of grant applications and managing grant contracts if the District is successful in obtaining grants and costs for their time will be documented and proposed for credit as the local funding match. In addition, the District may be eligible for reimbursement of up to 15% of the requested amount of grant funding for administrative overhead.

EXHIBITS

5-A MPWMD Board Resolution 2010-03

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