MPWMD RULES AND REGULATIONS REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING--JUNE 11, 2012--ITEM 3--CONSIDER IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES FOR ORDINANCE NO. 150 -- NOTICING REQUIREMENTS FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WELL CAPACITY TESTING

RULES AND REGULATIONS REVIEW COMMITTEE

ITEM:		ACTION ITEM

3.	CONSIDER IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES FOR ORDINANCE NO. 150 -- NOTICING REQUIREMENTS FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WELL CAPACITY TESTING

Meeting Date:			June 11, 2012

From:			David J. Stoldt,
			General Manager

Prepared By:			Henrietta Stern, Project Manager

General Counsel Review: not reviewed
Committee Recommendation: The District Board at its May 21, 2012 Meeting, referred oversight of the Implementation Guidelines to the Rules and Regulations Review Committee; no Board recommendation is needed.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: At its May 21, 2012 meeting, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 150, An Ordinance of the Board of Directors of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Amending Its Regulation of Water Distribution System Permit Applications – Noticing of Well Capacity Tests (Rule 21-A). Ordinance No. 150 amends rules associated with the Water Distribution System (WDS) Permit application process. Specifically, it amends Rule 21-A (WDS Applications) to require that Neighboring Well owners be notified of an impending Well Capacity Test, and have the opportunity to have their Wells monitored during the test. A reasonable effort to accommodate neighbors’ schedules must be made, and documentation of notice to and responses (if any) by, neighbors must be received by the District before the Well test begins in order for it to be accepted by the District. Also the permit application package must include this documentation. Note that capitalized terms are defined in MPWMD Rule 11. The May 21, 2012 agenda materials are provided at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/boardpacket/2012/20120521/13/item13.htm.

MPWMD Rule 21 refers to the “Implementation Guidelines” for more detailed information on the application process and requirements. At this juncture, the Implementation Guidelines are disaggregated into a series of technical and procedural documents and memoranda that may be found on the District website “Wells Page” at: http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/pae/wds/wds.htm.

The guidance for notifying Neighboring Well owners, as prescribed by Ordinance No. 150, needs to be completed by the effective date of June 20, 2012. Thus, the Rules and Regulations Review Committee (RRRCom) was charged with providing oversight on the specific memorandum that implements Ordinance No. 150. “WDS Memorandum #7,” shown as Exhibit 3-A, includes a six-page overview and six internal exhibits as follows:

1. MPWMD Ordinance No. 150 adopted May 21, 2012;

2. Notice form to Neighboring Well owners re: receipt of WDS Pre-Application;

3. Documentation form for Applicant/consultant re: communications with Neighboring Well owners;

4. Notice form to Applicant/consultant confirming adequate documentation;

5. Notice form to Neighboring Well owners re: receipt of WDS application and future steps;

6. Notice form to Neighboring Well owners re: permit issuance approval or denial.

Once approved by the RRRCom, Memorandum #7 in its entirety will be placed on the District website on the Wells Page. District staff and consultants, along with consultants to applicants, will be advised of the new protocol.

RECOMMENDATION: District staff suggests that the Committee approve the Ordinance No. 150 Implementation Guidelines as provided in draft Memorandum #7 (Exhibit 3-A) and offer suggestions for text clarity as needed. These guidelines are based on previous discussion by the RRRCom, especially the January 18, 2012 meeting, and direction by the Board at its April and May 2012 meetings. The January 18, 2012 agenda materials are on the District website at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/committees/rulesregscomm/2012/20120118/0118agenda.htm.

BACKGROUND:

The RRRCom previously discussed noticing concepts for Well tests at its meetings of October 19, 2011, January 18, 2012 and March 7, 2012. The RRRCom suggested an ordinance to formalize the requirement to notify Neighboring Well owners of an impending test. Ordinance No. 150 was adopted by the Board on May 21, 2012 and becomes effective on June 20, 2012.

As noted previously, District staff plans to consolidate, update and refine the Implementation Guidelines in late 2012. Due to time constraints, the topic of noticing related to Ordinance No. 150 is the subject of special Memorandum #7 (Exhibit 3-A).

The MPWMD Rules & Regulations are provided on the District website at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/rules/2011/20111222/TOC.htm (click on desired rule).

DISCUSSION: Ordinance No. 150 and Memorandum #7 are part of a series of improvements to the WDS Permit process to meet the following goals:

inform Neighboring Well owners of a potential new Well and monitoring opportunities early in the WDS process;
document noticing efforts by Applicant and neighbors’ responses;
inform neighbors of results of MPWMD staff review in a timely manner; and
minimize adverse effects on staff resources and workload.

EXHIBIT

3-A Draft Memorandum #7 dated June 4, 2012, including six internal exhibits

U:\staff\Board_Committees\RulesRegs\2012\20120611\03\item3.docx

June 11, 2012