ITEM:            PUBLIC HEARINGS

 

3.         CONSIDER FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 111—AMENDING MPWMD RULES AND REGULATIONS TO CLARIFY DEFINITIONS FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS RELIANT UPON DESALINATION PROCESSES

 

Meeting Date:           October 20, 2003                                Budgeted:       N/A

 

Staff Contact: Henrietta Stern                                  Cost Estimate:  N/A

 

General Counsel Approval:  Counsel prepared draft ordinance

Committee Recommendation:  Water Demand Committee voted ___ to ____ at its meeting of October 10, 2003.

 

SUMMARY:  At its September 15, 2003 meeting, the Board directed staff and Counsel to prepare an ordinance that addresses regulation of desalination projects by the District.  Ordinance No. 111 is provided as Exhibit 3-A for consideration by the Board at first reading.  The intent of Ordinance No. 111 is to further clarify that the District’s regulation of water distribution systems includes regulation of systems that rely on desalination processes for their source of supply.  Various terms are defined and clarified.  Ordinance No. 111 does not add any new powers or authority; it simply clarifies existing Rules and Regulations.  It adds two new terms to Rule 11, Definitions (“non-saline water” and “saline water”) and amends three existing terms relating to source of supply, water distribution systems, and water gathering facilities.

 

It is notable that Ordinance No. 105, adopted on December 16, 2002, included specific language about the need to obtain a written permit from the District to create a water distribution system based on a desalination project.  Ordinance No. 105 added text to MPWMD Rule 20 that states that “desalination, reclamation or importation facilities located within the District are not exempt” from the need to obtain a permit “because the source of supply is considered to be the water emanating from the facility within the District” (MPWMD Rule 20-A, second paragraph).  Thus, for a desalination plant, reclamation project or other facility, either inside or outside the District, the fresh water emanating from the plant is subject to MPWMD regulation as soon as it enters the District boundaries. 

 

Because Ordinance No. 111 simply clarifies existing rules created to protect the environment and natural resources (see CEQA Guidelines 15307 and 15308), and does not add any new powers or authority, it is Categorically Exempt from CEQA.  A draft Notice of Exemption is provided as Exhibit 3-B, which will be signed and transmitted to the County Clerk if the ordinance is adopted at second reading in November 2003.    

 

Exhibit 3-C is a September 22, 2003 request by the City of Sand City to amend MPWMD Rules and regulations so that “any desalination plant that is publicly-owned and has no negative impact on either the public water aquifer or the ocean be exempt from any permitting requirements of

the water district.”  The City is concerned Ordinance No. 111 will deter progress on a City-proposed desalination project or similar projects in the future.

 

RECOMMENDATION:  The Board should take the following actions:

 

Ø      Concur that Ordinance No. 111 is Categorically Exempt from CEQA under Section 15307 and 15308;

Ø      Approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 111, and set second reading for the November 17, 2003 meeting.  Consider request by the City of Sand City (Exhibit 3-C) to amend ordinance language to exempt publicly-owned desalination projects that would not adversely affect the environment.

 

The Water Demand Committee reviewed Ordinance No. 111 at its October 10, 2003 meeting and voted ___ to _______.  

 

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:  Section 363 of the MPWMD Enabling Legislation included broad powers to regulate creation or expansion of any water distribution system.  The permit process to obtain a water distribution system permit includes evaluation of a variety of issues surrounding distribution of potable or subpotable water, and possible impacts on surface water, groundwater or other potable water resources from the proposed water system.  Existing rules and regulations were created, in part, to protect natural resources and the environment within the District, with emphasis on the Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System.  Existing regulations specifically include systems based on desalination as the source of supply. 

 

The most recent refinements to MPWMD Rules and Regulations governing water distribution systems were made via Ordinances No. 96, 105 and 106.   As noted above, Ordinance No. 111 would further clarify the changes made by Ordinance No. 105 in December 2002 that specifically include desalination projects as a regulated water distribution system.

 

Many development projects are constrained by water availability limitations.  A variety of desalination plants proposals have surfaced in recent years, both for private and public projects.  At least one private desalting plant has been built for use at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

 

Specific concern arises relating to each desalination plant, its unique setting, its planned scope, and the technological processes it proposes to use.  At the same time, each site may affect or impede development of alternate desalination opportunities, and the cumulative impact of multiple plants has not been considered or addressed in a comprehensive forum.  Regional impacts of desalination plants may include, but are not limited to, issues pertaining to salt water collection, brine discharge, electrical requirements, on site storage, potable water system inter-tie and back-up service, system failure, and fire flow requirements.  Questions may also arise relating to the duplication of potable system, and rate impacts to existing systems.

 

IMPACT TO RESOURCES:  Staff and consultants currently process permits for water distribution systems.  Ordinance No. 111 is not expected to substantially affect District workload associated with water distribution system permitting.

 

 

U:\Henri\wp\staffnote\2003\ord111stfnot102003.doc

DRAFT prepared Oct 6, 2003 at 11:00 AM