WATER SUPPLY PLANNING COMMITTEE
ITEM:		ACTION ITEM
2.	CONSIDER A CONTRACT AMENDMENT WITH PUEBLO WATER RESOURCES TO COMPLETE REPORT PREPERATION TO ENROLL THE CARMEL RIVER AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT IN STATE BOARD ORDER 2012-0010-DWQ
Meeting Date:			April 6, 2020	Budgeted:	No
From:			David J. Stoldt	Program/	Water Supply Projects
			General Manager	Line Item:	1-2-1 2a
Prepared By:			Jonathan Lear	Cost Estimate:	$20,114
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: On 3/12/20, District staff received an email from the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) Central Coast Division. Staff was informed that the RWQCB has recently recognized that it is in the best interest of the State to develop a comprehensive regulatory approach for ASR projects, and in 2012 adopted general waste discharge requirements for ASR projects that inject drinking water into groundwater (Order No. 2012-0010-DWQ or General ASR Order). The General ASR Order provides a consistent statewide regulatory framework for authorizing both pilot ASR testing and permanent ASR projects. Oversight of these regulations is done through the Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) and obtaining coverage under the General ASR Order requires the preparation and submission of a Notice of Intent (NOI) application package to the local RWQCB (in this case, the Central Coast RWQCB).

MPWMD’s ASR Project was developed prior to the General Waiver and has historically been authorized and regulated by the Central Coast RWQCB under the existing General Waiver for Specific Types of Discharges (Resolution R3-2014-0041) and by requiring the submission of annual technical reports for the project pursuant to Section 13267 of the California Water Code.

MPWMD is now required to apply to move ASR operations to the General Waiver and this will require the following technical documentation to be submitted with the application in a report:

1. Project location map

2. Identification and description of target aquifer

3. ASR operational schedule

4. Delineation of the Areas of Hydrologic Influence

5. Identification of all land uses within the delineated Areas of Hydrologic Influence

6. Identification of known areas of contamination within the Areas of Hydrologic Influence

7. Identification of project-specific Constituents of Concern (COCs)

8. CEQA compliance documentation

9. Groundwater Degradation Assessment

District staff have reached out to Pueblo Water Resources, who is currently under contract with the District to provide reporting support for ASR, and received an estimate of $20,114 including a 10% contingency to complete this work. The breakdown of the estimate by task and hours is attached as Exhibit 2-A. The deliverables would include:

1. Transmittal letter

2. NOI application fee (assumed MPWMD provided)

3. Complete Form 200

4. Technical Report

5. US EPA Underground Injection Control (UIC) registration

Reporting under the General Waiver will be different than reporting under the water code. More frequent reports are required, however there is an opportunity to re-evaluate the monitoring network. Changes to the monitoring network will affect the annual operational budget. Staff will keep the Committee appraised as the District transitions from the old regulatory framework to the new.

This reporting requirement was not known when this year’s budget was completed and will require a contract amendment with Pueblo and a budget adjustment to move forward. This work is considered compliance reporting and according to the ASR agreement between CalAm and the District, the contract amendment amount will be reimbursed to the District.

RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the General Manager to amend the Pueblo Water Resources contract for ASR Operational Support for an amount not to exceed $20,114, to complete the technical reporting and submit the application to the RWQCB to enroll the Carmel River ASR Project in the General Waiver.

BACKGROUND: The District has been working on the Seaside Groundwater Basin Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project beginning in 1996. The Project began as a number of pilot testing programs experimenting with injection of water into existing CalAm wells in the Seaside Basin. In 1998 the District drilled the Paso Robles Test Injection well on the Mission Memorial property and performed a number of tests to investigate the feasibility of using the Paso Robles Aquifer as a location to store water. At this time, the RWQCB began to regulate the Districts test programs under section 13267 of the water code requiring submittal of annual technical reports summarizing the operations and monitoring data from the pilot study. It was determined that injection volumes of 250 to 300 gpm could be sustained injecting water into the Paso Robles Aquifer. The study concluded that the number of wells that would be required to inject and store the amount of water available from the Carmel River made using the Paso Robles as the target aquifer infeasible.

Concurrently, CalAm was drilling the Paralta well through the Paso Robles Aquifer into the Santa Margarita Sandstone. It was discovered that the Santa Margarita was much more porous and was a better candidate as an aquifer to use for storage and recovery. In 2001, the District moved across General Jim Moore Blvd. and drilled the Santa Margarita Test Injection well and constructed a backwash basin. The discharge of backwash water was enrolled in the State Boards General Waiver for Specific Types of Discharge and reported these data when reporting under section 13267 of the water code. The District began multiple years of feasibility testing and concluded that with the infrastructure in Carmel Valley and the aquifer properties of the Santa Margarita Sandstone, a 4 well project at full build out was feasible. The District constructed ASR 2 in 2008.

In 2009, the State Board issued the first Cease and Desist Order requiring CalAm to construct a small water project that was capable of 500 AF/year within 2 years. The District worked with CalAm to build the Seaside Middle School Site, the location of ASR 3 and ASR 4. Also in 2009, the Regional Board officially moved the status of the ASR test program to an operating water resource project. The additional wells were added to the same regulatory reporting framework.

EXHIBIT

2-A Estimated Fee Summary

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