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ITEM: |
CONSENT CALENDAR |
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7. |
RECEIVE 2009-2010 MITIGATION PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT
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Meeting Date: |
June 20, 2011 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
Darby Fuerst, |
Program/
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N/A |
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General Manager |
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Prepared By: |
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Cost
Estimate: |
N/A |
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General Counsel Review: N/A |
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Committee Recommendation: N/A |
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CEQA Compliance:
N/A for report |
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SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION:
The Board should receive the 2009-2010 Mitigation Program Annual Report,
and direct staff to distribute copies (paper or CD) to resource agencies, local
libraries, and advise the public of its availability. The Executive Summary provides an overview of
the major accomplishments, observed trends, conclusions and/or recommendations. The Executive Summary for the 2009-10
Mitigation Program Annual Report is attached as Exhibit 7-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 Fiscal Year 2009-2010 (FY 2010), defined as the 12-month period
from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.
Please note that hydrologic data and all well reporting data are
reported using a Water Year (October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010) in
order to be consistent with reporting required by the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB).
This report is the 19th 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 (EIR), in compliance with the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Copies
of the full report will be provided to the Board members upon request, and will
be provided to resource agencies and other interested parties within three
weeks.
BACKGROUND:
On November 5, 1990, the MPWMD
Water Allocation Program Final 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 January 15, 2008, the SWRCB issued a draft
Cease and Desist Order (CDO) against CAW.
The Draft CDO refers to the 1995 SWRCB Order 95-10, and notes that
compliance with Order 95-10 had not been achieved after 12 years. The CDO institutes a series of cutbacks to
CAW production from the
2009. In response to a challenge by SWRCB, the
court ruled on November 23, 2009 that the stay will remain in effect until the
hearing that was held in
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 (derived
primarily from the MPWMD user fee on the Cal-Am bill) 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 2008-2009 Water Allocation
Mitigation Report responds to these requirements.
The first three annual reports
(1991, 1992, and 1993) covered the calendar year January 1 through December
31. Because this time period conflicted
with the District’s budget cycle (July 1-June 30), the fourth annual report
covered the 18-month period from January 1994 through June 1995 to bridge the
transition from a calendar year to a fiscal year. The fifth (and subsequent) annual reports
cover the fiscal year, defined as July 1 through June 30 of the following
year. A notable exception is that currently
all hydrologic data in the report are reported in a water year format (October
1-September 30) in order to be consistent with standard hydrologic data
reporting and the accounting period used by the SWRCB. Since 2002, well production data are also
reported in a water year to be consistent with SWRCB reporting requirements.
The 2009-2010 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 in FY 2010 that
relate to the topic. Monitoring results,
where applicable, are then presented.
Finally, a summary of observed trends, conclusions, and/or
recommendations are provided, where pertinent.
EXHIBITS
7-A Executive
Summary for 2010 Mitigation Report
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2011\20110620\ConsentCal\07\item7.docx