WATER SUPPLY PLANNING COMMITTEE
DISCUSSION ITEM
3.	PROPOSED MORATORIUM ON LAGUNA SECA SUBAREA
Meeting Date:		September 10, 2019	Budgeted:	N/A
From:		David J. Stoldt	Program/
		General Manager	Line Item No.:	N/A
Prepared By:		David J. Stoldt	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: Action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15378.

SUMMARY:  On July 2, 2019 California American Water (Cal-Am) filed an application with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for a moratorium on new or expanded water service connections in the Laguna Seca Subarea (LSS) of the Seaside Groundwater Basin (Exhibit 3-A, attached.) The proposed moratorium would apply to the satellite systems of Hidden Hills, Bishop, and Ryan Ranch. The District currently enforces a moratorium in Ryan Ranch due to a lack of reliable supplies.

The primary reason cited is that the Cal-Am LSS operating yield or production right under the Seaside Basin adjudication was reduced to zero in 2018.

Cal-Am issued notice to ratepayers in July (Exhibit 3-B) and the District has since received several phone calls from concerned ratepayers.

Although the District has been supportive of a moratorium in the past, we have never favored a prohibition on expanded service at existing connections. We also feel additional data is required to support the need for a moratorium. The District filed a protest on August 7^th and has raised several concerns or issues that need clarification, including the following:

· There is very little that can be done to enforce a prohibition on “expansions” in service and to do so conflicts with traditional rights of property owners. There are vacant buildings in Ryan Ranch which could be leased, existing businesses may desire to expand, homeowners may wish to remodel, add an auxiliary dwelling unit, or simply expand their families.

· Cal-Am has proposed to build the interconnection of the Main System and Ryan Ranch by mid-2020. They have not done an adequate job of addressing the sufficiency of the interconnection to serve Ryan Ranch and/or Bishop and what impacts, if any, that would have on their ability to serve new connections.

· Cal-Am has not adequately addressed its Carry-Over Credits under the adjudication and whether those can be applied to serve the LSS.

· Cal-Am states that a producer whose allocation has been reduced to zero is not allowed to engage in over-production by paying a replenishment assessment. However, this is exactly what happened in 2018 when Cal-Am paid for exceeding the Natural Safe Yield but did not exceed the Operating Yield, because the replenishment assessments are computed basin-wide, not by subarea. This practice needs to be clarified.

On August 29^th District Counsel attended the CPUC pre-hearing conference on this matter. A schedule was set that includes our testimony to be filed October 31, 2019 and evidentiary hearings January 22^nd and 23^rd, 2020.

EXHIBITS
3-A Application of Cal-Am for Moratorium in Laguna Seca Subarea

3-B Notice to Ratepayers

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