ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARING
17.	CONSIDER FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 159 -- AN URGENCY ORDINANCE AMENDING RULE 141, WATER CONSERVATION REBATES, AND REGULATION XV, EXPANDED WATER CONSERVATION AND STANDBY RATIONING PLAN
Meeting Date:			April 21, 2014	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Stephanie Locke	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: Completed
Committee Recommendation: The Water Demand Committee supports
CEQA Compliance: N/S

SUMMARY: Ordinance No. 159 is an urgency ordinance to amend Rule 141 (Water Conservation Rebates) and to clean up several outdated areas of the Expanded Water Conservation and Standby Rationing Plan. Urgency exists to make these changes because (1) the rebate program requires immediate amendments as the program will be winding down during the summer and there were extraordinary circumstances that prevented certain Non-Residential water users from completing retrofits before the end of 2013; (2) the Rebate account is the appropriate fund for providing financial incentives to remove large irrigated public lawns from the California American Water system to reduce demand during the statewide drought and during the Cease and Desist Order; (3) the Board reviews the need for rationing in May and the rules currently contain outdated numbers; (4) the District and California American Water approved new watering days to simplify enforcement and understanding and this change needs to be codified. An urgency ordinance takes effect immediately and expires after one year.

The following points summarize the proposed ordinance:

1. The Rebate Program (Rule 141) is amended to allow more than 20 toilets to be replaced on a publicly-owned Site.

2. Rebates for High Efficiency Clothes Washers (HECW) at Non-Residential Sites will be reinstated until either June 1 or June 30 due to limited availability of Commercial HECW at the end of 2013 when the Non-Residential efficiency requirements were enacted.

3. The maximum Lawn removal Rebate will be increased for permanent removal of irrigated Lawns at public Sites on a case-by-case basis when approved by the Board.

4. Triggers for entering and exiting Stages 4-7 are outdated and no longer applicable. The usable storage numbers in Rules 164, 165, 166 and 167, date back almost ten years and no longer accurately reflect the amount of supply needed by the community. The urgency ordinance will replace the existing target numbers with a table that can be amended annually by resolution of the Board. Use of revised target numbers for determining the need for rationing has been the standard practice during the past ten years.

5. Rule 161-A, Stage 1 Water Conservation, is being amended for consistency with Rule 161-B. The amendment is shown in bold (added language) and strikeout (deleted language).

a. California American Water shall maintain its Water Year (October 1 through September 30) production from the Carmel River System in compliance with regulatory restrictions imposed on the Carmel River basin below 11,285 Acre-Feet (20 percent below historical production as determined in 1995).

6. Rule 172-E, Landscape Irrigation Restrictions, will be updated to reflect the new two-day per week watering schedule of Wednesdays and Saturdays.

This ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, Existing Facilities, for modifications to Rule 141, as these amendments relate to replacement of existing facilities with less water intensive uses. Modifications to Regulation XV are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Water Code §10652 and CEQA Guidelines §15282 (v).

RECOMMENDATION: The Board should receive public comment and adopt the ordinance. Adoption of an urgency ordinance requires approval by at least five (5) members of the Board and takes effect immediately. Urgency ordinances are valid for one year. During that time, staff will amend the rationing program through a comprehensive amendment ordinance to make the rationing triggers contemplated by this ordinance permanent.

The ordinance has been provided to California American Water and the Office of Ratepayer Advocates at the Public Utilities Commission.

EXHIBIT

17-A Draft Urgency Ordinance No. 159

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