[00:00:01]
UM, I'D LIKE TO, UH,[1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL]
CALL THE OCTOBER 12TH, UH, MEETING OF THE MERCED SUB-BASIN, UH, TO ORDER.UM, WE'LL HAVE ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBER GALLO HERE.
COULD YOU ASK FOR PERETI? I MISSED HIM.
HE WANTED TO YELL ACROSS THE ROOM, SO I WAS TRYING TO HELP HIM OUT.
BUT MR. CHAIR, YOU DO HAVE A QUORUM.
UM, AT THIS TIME, WE WILL ADJOURN INTO CLOSED SESSION.
[2. CLOSED SESSIONS]
THANKS FOR TROTTING UP HERE.UM, I'D LIKE TO, UH, RECONVENE THE, UM, OCTOBER 12TH MEETING OF THE MERCED SUB-BASE IN G S A.
UH, WE HAD A CLOSED SESSION, AND, UH, THERE IS NO REPORTABLE ACTION AT THIS TIME.
UH, I WOULD, UH, LIKE TO DO THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, AND I WAS WONDERING IF, UH, GINA WOULD LEAD US.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, LIBERTY, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
[4. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD]
WE'LL MOVE TO, UM, ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT.UH, THIS IS THE PUBLIC'S OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ANY MATTER OF PUBLIC INTEREST WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION THAT IS NOT ON THE AGENDA.
IS THERE ANYONE ON ZOOM? NONE ON ZOOM.
BRAD IS IN THE HOUSE, AND IT JUST HAPPENS THAT IT'S A BIG BURDEN ON ME.
SO I WANTED SOME CLARIFICATION.
THE GOT AN EMAIL RE REQUESTING ALL SURFACE WATER DELIVERIES FOR LIKE, BASICALLY ALL THE MEMBER AGENCIES, AND THAT'S A BIG TASK.
AND MY FIRM MANAGES MOST OF THEM, AND THEY'RE ALL UNIQUE IN HOW THEY RECEIVE SURFACE WATER.
MANY HAVE LANDOWNERS THAT HAVE VERY UNIQUE SITUATIONS, AND THERE'S A CRITICAL, THERE'S A NOTE IN THERE THAT IT MUST, THAT IT'S CRITICAL TO GET THIS INFORMATION RIGHT IN ORDER TO GET THE ALLOCATIONS RIGHT AND WITH A DUE DATE OF OCTOBER 27TH.
AND I JUST WANNA SAY THAT IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE, PRETTY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ALL THAT INFORMATION TO YOU GUYS.
AND THERE'S REALLY ALSO NO EXPLANATION OF WHAT IT'S GONNA BE USED FOR, AND THAT'S WHAT ALL THE LANDOWNERS ARE GONNA WANT ANSWERS TO.
SO, I KNOW IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT MAYBE IT CAN BE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING OR HOWEVER YOU GUYS WANT.
ANY OTHER, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY.
WE'LL, UH, CLOSE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT AND WE'LL MOVE ON
[5. CONSENT CALENDAR]
TO OUR CONSENT CALENDAR.DID ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR? NOPE.
IF NOT, I'LL OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE? THERE IS NONE ONLINE.
UM, I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CALENDAR? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR SWENSON, A SECOND BY DIRECTOR GALLO.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? NAYYY? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
UH, WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM SIX, WHICH
[6. MARIPOSA CREEK TEMPORARY PERMIT AND LEGISATION UPDATE]
IS THE, UH, MARIPOSA CREEK, UH, TEMPORARY PERMIT AND LEGISLATION UPDATE.AND, UH, SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO HASHAM.
SO, SHAEL SEGREGATION DISTRICT, AND I HAVE ALSO, UH, MIKE JENSEN WILL ALSO BE FILLING IN ON, ON AS THE EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE AS FAR AS LEGISLATION GOES.
BUT I THOUGHT THERE'S ONLY ONE SLIDE I'M GONNA GO OVER BECAUSE THIS WAY I COULD EXPLAIN TO YOU THE WHOLE PROCESS OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO FOR THE BASIN AND HOW DOES IT GO.
[00:05:01]
ARE THE, THE PATHS FOR WHAT THEY CALL FLOOD MAR, WHICH IS FLOOD MANAGEMENT AQUIFER RECHARGE.SO THESE ARE THE WAYS WHERE YOU CAN WORK WITH CERTAIN AGENCIES TO GET SURFACE WATER DURING THE WINTER TIME, UM, WHICH IS CONSIDERED FLOOD WATER.
SO, UH, THE, AND EACH ONE WE HAVE, UM, WORK WITH AND, AND TRY TO KIND OF GET THINGS MOVING.
SO THE FIRST ONE TO THE LEFT, THERE ARE TWO SECTIONS.
ONE, ONE ROUTE IS THROUGH THE WATER, RIGHT, UH, PROCESS.
SO YOU'RE WORKING WITH THE STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD.
IT'S A, IT'S A TRULY A WATER RIGHT, THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACQUIRE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S FOR A SHORT, UH, PERIOD.
THE OTHER ONE IS THROUGH A FLOOD FIGHTING.
SO THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A ACTUAL FLOODING, THERE'S WAYS TO ALSO GET WATER.
UM, SO I'LL TALK ABOUT BOTH AND WHERE WE ARE ON THAT.
SO THE FIRST ONE AS, UH, AS YOU KNOW, THE, UH, BACK IN 2019, IN THE AUGUST OF AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, 2019, THERE WERE VIABLE DISCUSSIONS OF SOME INTEREST.
SOME PARTIES ON THE WEST SIDE INTERESTED IN APPLYING FOR FLOOD WATER ON THE, ON THE SIERRAS.
UM, AND THE, A MIGHTY BOARD MADE DECISION TO MOVE FAST AND, AND KIND OF TAKE A POSITION IN LINE AND, UM, SENIORITY WISE AND APPLY FOR ALL FLOOD WATER THAT IMPACTS THE MERCED GROUNDWATER BASIN.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE MERCED RIVER AND ALL THE CREEKS, CANAL CREEK, UH, BLACK RA CREEK, BEAR CREEK, MEOSA CREEK, OWENS CREEK, MILES CREEK, ALL THE CREEKS.
AND, UH, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH MERCED BASIN, G S A, AND SEPARATE ENTITIES TO KINDA MAKE SURE THAT THAT WATER, AT LEAST ALL THE CREEKS GO TO THE, TO THE, UH, AREAS OUTSIDE.
M I D AND M I D WOULD, WOULD TAKE ANY WATER THAT COMES OUTTA THE MERCED RIVER.
SO THAT IS A PROCESS THAT WHILE IT IS OUT THERE, UM, UH, WE, THE APPLICATION IS THERE.
THE APPLICA APPLICATION HASN'T BEEN ACCEPTED BECAUSE OF THE, OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
USUALLY THE STATE WATER SOURCE CONTROL BOARD IS MORE COMFORTABLE WITH ONE STREAM, ONE PROJECT, AND THEN WATCHING HOW WITH THE, THE, THE RECURRENCE OF THE WATER AND AVAILABILITY OF WATER AND SO ON BEFORE THEY MAKE A DECISION.
THIS IS A FLASHY, UH, AREAS WHERE THEY HAVE, YOU HAVE WATER COMING FROM ONE STREAM BUT NOT THE OTHER.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO KIND OF CAPTURE ALL THAT WATER AND PASS IT AROUND, WHICH WE THINK IS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE.
SO FROM THE STATE WATER, UH, BOARD, UM, THEY, THEY THINK THAT WE ARE ON THE STREAMLINED FOR THE G S A, THE ONE I DON'T HAVE A ARROW ON, BUT EVERYTHING THEY'RE DOING IS NOTHING DIFFERENT THAN A STANDARD AS FAR AS FAR AS MY EXPERIENCE WITH THEM.
THERE'S NO, I'M NOT SEEING THE DIFFERENCE.
SO, AND MIKE WILL TALK ABOUT OUR ATTEMPTS TO PUT SOME LEGISLATION TO AT LEAST ACCEPT THAT APPLICATION IN WHICH WE HAVE WORKED WITH YOU.
WE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THAT BEFORE.
UH, THE OTHER ONE IS, UM, UH, THE TEMPORARY, UH, PERMIT.
AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN KAY JOING, UH, UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES FOR A WHILE SAYING THAT YOU HAVE, UH, UH, TALKING TO THEM AND SAY, HEY, UH, YOU KEEP TALKING ABOUT FLOOD MORE.
AND, AND THERE'S SUPPOSEDLY THIS TEMPORARY SHORT-TERM PERMIT, BUT THERE'S NOT EVEN ONE EXAMPLE.
SO, UH, APPARENTLY THERE WAS DIRECTION FROM THE GOVERNOR TO, UH, DIRECTING D W R TO, UH, FIND A PARTNER AND ACTUALLY GO THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS WITH THE STATE WATER SOURCES CONTROL BOARD.
THEY CHOSE MER SEGREGATION DISTRICT TO WORK WITH 'EM ON THAT.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED WORKING ON THE 2022 AMER POSA CREEK, UM, UH, FLOOD TEMPORARY, UH, UH, PYRAMID, WHICH IS, GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF MARCH, GOES FROM DECEMBER TO MARCH.
AND, UM, THAT WAS PRETTY INTERESTING BECAUSE WE HAD LIKE 15 PAGES OF CONDITIONS THAT CAME FROM C D F W THAT WERE NOT DOABLE.
AND, UM, AND, AND GIVEN HOW LITTLE WATER YOU MAY NOT OR MAY NOT HAVE ON A CREEK THAT SHOWS UP, IT'S THE, THE, THE THRESHOLD WAS SO HIGH.
HOWEVER, THE, SINCE WE'RE NOT PAYING FOR THE APPLICATION OR THE, OR THE, OR THE STUDIES, D W R WAS PAYING FOR IT.
WE WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING, AND D W R WANTED TO KNOW WHAT ARE THE MINUSES? SO THEY, UH, SO THE, THIS TEMPORARY SHORT TERM AGREEMENT, UH, PERMIT REQUIRES WHAT THEY CALL THE 90 20, UH, RULE, WHICH IS THEY LOOK AT, UH, 35 YEARS OF, UH, 30 YEARS, I THINK 30
[00:10:01]
YEARS OF HISTORY OF A CERTAIN, UH, RECORDER ON A CERTAIN STREAM.THEY LOOK, THEY LOOK AT THE HIGHEST, UH, THE 90, THE 90TH PERCENTILE FOR EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH, OF THESE MONTH BETWEEN DECEMBER AND, AND MARCH.
AND IF, IF THEY EXCEEDED THAT AMOUNT, YOU COULD TAKE, YOU TAKE, YOU COULD TAKE WATER, BUT NOT MORE THAN 20% OF THE, THE, THE VOLUME.
SO EVEN IN A YEAR, LIKE, AND, AND IN THE CASE OF OUR PLACE, OUR AREA, WHICH IS CONSIDERED IN THE BAY DELTA SOLUTION AREA, UM, THE DELTA HAS TO BE IN EXCESS, WHICH IS A HIGH THRESHOLD.
SO IN 20 22, 20 23, WHEN WE WERE, WHEN WATER WAS COMING OUT OF OUR EARS, WE ONLY QUALIFIED TAKE WATER FOR THREE DAYS UNDER THAT.
SO, UH, THE PO THE, THE POINT WAS WE WANT, WE WANT TO SHOW THAT IT DOESN'T WORK.
SO, AND BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET ENOUGH, WE'RE GOING ON BEAR CREEK FOR BEAR CREEK THIS YEAR.
SO WE'LL DO ANOTHER PYRAMID ON BEAR CREEK, WHICH WILL ALSO TURN OUT TO BE, UH, UM, NOT DOABLE, BUT WE'LL SEE.
UM, I THINK CONDITIONS WOULD HAVE CHANGED, WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT IF THE, IF YOU HAD A TWO WET YEARS BACK TO BACK, BECAUSE THEN THE CHANCES OF THE DELTA TO BE IN EXCESS, WHEN WE SAY THE DELTA BE IN EXCESS, THAT MEANS THERE'S ENOUGH WATER GOING INTO THE DELTA BEFORE YOU TAKE ANY WATER.
SO IF WE HAD TO, 2022 WAS A DRY SECOND DRY YEAR, SO, UM, THE, ALL THE RESERVOIRS WERE EMPTY, AND AS IT WAS RAINING, THE RESERVOIRS WERE STILL ABSORBING THE WATER.
BUT IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A WHAT YEAR THIS YEAR, I THINK THIS TEMPORARY, UH, WATER RIGHT, WOULD PROBABLY HAVE A LOT BETTER CHANCE, BECAUSE THEN THEY WILL BE RELEASING WATER A LOT SOONER.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE ON THE, WE ARE APPLYING FOR, UH, UM, BEAR CREEK, UH, THIS, THIS YEAR.
AND WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT, IN FACT, UH, STEVEN HO AT THE OFFICE OFFICE WAS OUT, AND WE FOUND, UH, WE, WE ARE GOING TO, UH, USE TWO OLD RECORDERS THAT THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEER HAD ON DEADMAN AND DUTCHMAN.
UM, WE WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE RECORD, THE CORPS STAFF TODAY IS NOT EVEN AWARE OF THEM BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN ABANDONED FOR A WHILE.
BUT THE POINT IS, WE WOULD LIKE TO KIND OF USE ALL THE CREEKS AND MAY AND SHOW THAT IT'S DOABLE.
AND THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE RIVER, OBVIOUSLY.
SO THAT'S ON THE WATER RIGHT SECTION.
SO BASICALLY YOU ARE GETTING A, EITHER EITHER A, A, A LONG TERM, UH, OR A STANDARD WATER, RIGHT, FOR THAT UNAPPROPRIATED WATER, OR YOU'RE GETTING, UH, A TEMPORARY, UH, RIGHT.
THAT ALSO, UM, YOU COULD USE THE WATER AND YOU COULD RECHARGE IT, YOU COULD DO, YOU COULD DO OTHER THINGS WITH IT.
THE OTHER ROUTE IS WHAT WAS CALLED THE FLOOD FIGHTING.
UM, AND WE, SO THE, UH, I'M GONNA JUMP TO THE SECTION TO THE RIGHT, UH, AND THEN I'LL GO BACK TO THE DRAFT.
SO THE, THE FIRST ONE IS WHAT WE CALL THE C D F W, THE ONE, UH, FISH AND WILDLIFE 1610, UH, UH, PROCESS, WHICH IS, UM, UNLIKE THE 1600, IT, IT ALLOWS, UH, FOR PUMPING, TAKING WATER OUT OF A, OF A STREAM IF YOU ARE TRYING TO PREVENT FLOODING.
SO FOR FLOOD, FOR FLOOD PROTECTION, AND IT HAS A LOT LOWER THRESHOLD.
I MEAN, THE, THE WHAT THE, IF YOU GO TO A REGULAR 1600 PERMIT FROM C D F W, YOU HAVE TO GET A BIOLOGIST.
YOU HAVE TO SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE.
YOU HAVE TO, IT'S A, IT'S A WHOLE LONG PROCESS, BUT IF YOU HAVE ACTUAL FLOODING THAT IS TAKING PLACE, HOUSES GETTING FLOODED, STREETS ARE GETTING FLOODED, AND WE, AND IT'S LEGIT, UM, YOU COULD TAKE THAT WATER, BUT YOU CANNOT CLAIM IT FOR RECHARGE.
UM, SO WHAT WE DID IN, UH, AND THIS IS WHERE MIKE IS GONNA COME IN.
UM, SO WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR IS WE STARTED WORKING ON A LEGISLATION WITH, UH, WITH OUR, UH, ASSEMBLY YEAH, ASSEMBLY ASSEMBLYWOMAN, UH, SORIA ON, UH, A, ON AB A, UH, AB A THEORY.
SO WE, WE, WE, WE HAD A WHOLE LIST OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE FIXED, BUT THEN WE KIND OF CONFINED IT TO WHAT WE THINK WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE AND THE, THE ARGUMENT THAT WE HAVE.
AND I THINK, UH, BRAD SAMUELSON HERE WAS ALSO HELPING.
UM, THE, THE, UH, THE, THE DISCUSSION WAS YOU COULD HAVE TWO PUMPS, NEXT, ONE NEXT TO EACH OTHER, ONE IS GOING THROUGH UNDER THE, UH, PYRAMID, AND YOU COULD PUT WATER IN THE GROUND.
AND ONE, YOU DON'T, YOU'RE GOING THROUGH 16, 10, AND YOU CANNOT HAVE ANY WATER DOWN CREDIT.
ONE OF THEM, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE, UH, PROCESS OF WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE ACCEPTABLE TO C D F W UNDER THE TEMPORARY OR, UH, PERMIT VERSUS THE OTHER ONE.
ALL WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IS PUT A LITTLE SCREEN AND, AND YOU START TAKING WATER.
AND IT, IT PASSED THROUGH THE MAY.
[00:15:01]
MAYBE YOU COULD EXPLAIN HOW IT WENT THROUGH THE, THE COMMITTEES.SO, UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
SO WE HAD WORKED WITH, UM, ASSEMBLYWOMAN, SORIA AND HER STAFF ON ASSEMBLY BILL EIGHT 30 THIS YEAR.
AND, UH, IN PARTICULAR, WE HAD TRIED TO, AS ESAN WAS EXPLAINING, I THINK A REALLY SIMPLE ANALOGY THAT HE'S EXPLAINED TO ME ON THIS ISSUE, AS YOU CAN HAVE TWO FARMERS THAT ARE PUMPING FLOOD WATER OUTTA THE SAME CREEK.
ONE IS WORKING THROUGH A TEMPORARY PERMIT AND HAS MULTIPLE CONDITIONS PUT ON THEM FROM DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME, THE FARMER THAT'S JUST FIGHTING FLOOD AND PUMPING WATER AND NOT TRYING TO GET CREDIT FOR IT, THERE'S NO PROBLEM.
BUT IF YOU ARE TRYING TO DO IT FOR CREDIT FOR THE GROUNDWATER BASIN, UM, YOU GET PEGGED WITH CONDITIONS.
AND AGAIN, THAT WAS ABOUT 15 PAGES OF SEAN, IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH.
SO WHAT WE DID IS, UM, AS YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE THERE, C F W 1610, UM, THAT'S A CODE SECTION OF THE FISH AND GAME CODE.
SO WE HAD WORKED WITH ASSEMBLYWOMAN SORIA AND TRIED TO GET AN ADDITIONAL EXEMPTION INTO THAT LANGUAGE THAT WOULD'VE SAID, IF YOU'RE FIGHTING A FLOOD, UM, YOU DON'T NEED ALL THESE CONDITIONS FROM FISH AND GAME, AND YOU CAN GET THE BEN, THE BENEFIT OF GROUNDWATER RECHARGE.
UM, WE WERE SAILING WITH THE BILL, IT WAS DOING GREAT.
WE GOT OUT OF, UM, ASSEMBLY, WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE, WHICH I'M SURE MANY OF YOU KNOW, IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT COMMITTEES IN SACRAMENTO.
UH, IT GOT OUT WITH UNANIMOUS CONSENT FROM EVERYONE, UH, BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE WERE PLEASED WITH THE BILL.
UM, SAME THING ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
WE GOT THROUGH APPROPRIATIONS, THROUGH THE ASSEMBLY FLOOR, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE A SINGLE VOTE AGAINST THE BILL.
WE GOT TO THE SENATE, UH, POLICY COMMITTEE, SAME THING AS WE GOT TO SENATE APPROPRIATIONS ABOUT THAT SAME TIME, THERE WAS A TRAILER BILL FROM, UM, THE ADMINISTRATION THAT CAME OUT THAT WAS SB 1 22.
AND IT ACTUALLY TACKLED A LOT OF THESE ISSUES, AND THERE'S A LOT OF LANGUAGE THAT'S REALLY BENEFICIAL TO US.
UM, THERE WAS A COMPONENT OF THAT THAT SAID, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THIS WATER FOR FLOOD FIGHTING AND GROUNDWATER RECHARGE, YOU MUST HAVE A FLOOD CONTROL PLANT IN PLACE.
AND I, I, WE SHARED THIS WITH YOU, I THINK LACEY SECTION 82 0 1 OF THE WATER CODE, THE HANDOUT.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, SECTION 82 0 1 THAT I BELIEVE IS IN FRONT OF YOU AT THIS POINT, UM, THIS IS WHAT'S REQUIRED OF A FLOOD PLAN.
AND THIS IS WHAT'S REFERENCED IN THE TRAILER BILL LANGUAGE THAT WAS ATTEMPTING TO TRY AND HELP WITH THIS ISSUE.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S QUITE A FEW REQUIREMENTS ON, UM, THAT SECTION THAT IT REFERS TO, WHICH CREATES A DIFFICULT POSITION.
SO WHAT ULTIMATELY HAPPENED THIS YEAR IS PEOPLE WERE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT OUR BILL WITH ASSEMBLYWOMAN SOA AB EIGHT 30.
AND WHEN THIS TRAILER BILL LANGUAGE PASSED, EVERYBODY THOUGHT, GREAT, WE'VE GOT THIS THING IN PLACE THAT'S GONNA TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING.
THE PROBLEM IS NOT EVERYBODY'S GOT A FLOOD PLAN IN PLACE.
UM, BEST GUESS IS IT MIGHT BE A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS.
THE OTHER COMPONENT OF THAT TRAILER BILL LANGUAGE SAYS THAT THAT LAW WILL SUNSET IN JANUARY OF 2029.
SO YOU MIGHT GO THROUGH ALL THE WORK OF DOING THIS.
AND THEN THE LAW SUNSETS IN 2029.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY.
WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK TOWARDS NEXT YEAR.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT POSSIBLY BRINGING BACK AB EIGHT 30.
I THINK THERE'S A WILLINGNESS TO DO SO FROM ASSEMBLYWOMAN, SORIA.
UM, WE'RE ALSO TALKING TO OUR ASSOCIATIONS IN SACRAMENTO, WHICH WOULD BE, UM, ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA WATER AGENCIES AND CALIFORNIA MUNICIPAL UTILITIES ASSOCIATION.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT AS THEY LOOK AT THEIR LEGISLATIVE PACKAGES FOR NEXT YEAR, THAT THEY MIGHT CARRY SOME LANGUAGE THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO US.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT AS OF TODAY.
WHAT, UM, ARE YOU FINDING SUPPORT AROUND THE STATE FOR YOUR BILLS, OR, YEAH, WE HAD A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SUPPORT FROM IT.
UM, THIS, THIS PAST YEAR, WE HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION, UH, CHAMBER, I BELIEVE WAS BEHIND US.
WE HAD QUITE A BIT OF SUPPORT FOR IT.
AND, AND THERE AGAIN, THERE WAS, UH, I DON'T BELIEVE AT ANY TIME WE HAD ANY REGISTERED OPPOSITION AS THE BILL WAS MOVING THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE.
UM, I THINK THERE WAS ONE ABSENTEE VOTE, UH, BUT NO, NO OPPOSITION, NO FORMAL, NO VOTES AT ANY TIME.
MY QUESTION WAS THAT BILLED JUST SPECIFIC TO MARIPOSA CREEK, OR WAS THAT FOR THE ENTIRE FLOOD MARKET? IT WOULD'VE APPLIED TO THE ENTIRE STATE.
UM, MIKE, MAYBE YOU WANT TO GO OVER, OVER, UH, NEXT STEP ON THE, ON THE APPLICATION? UH, OH, FOR THE TEMPORARY PERMITS? NO, FOR THE, UH, FOR THE APPLICATION THAT WE ALREADY OH.
SO YEAH, SO WE, WE'VE GOT THIS APPLICATION PENDING OUT THERE, AND THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE WE'RE TAKING UP WITH OUR ASSOCIATIONS IN SACRAMENTO THIS YEAR.
UM, THERE WAS, UM, A FAIRLY LARGE WATER PACKAGE THAT WAS PROPOSED BY AQUA, WHICH, AGAIN, ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA WATER AGENCIES.
THEY HAD A VERY LARGE BILL ADDRESSING A LOT OF THESE ISSUES.
UM, OUR OWN SENATOR ERO, AS MATTER OF FACT, WAS THE, UM, LEGISLATOR CARRYING THE BILL FOR THEM.
UM, IT ADDRESSED SOME OF THESE PERMIT PERMITTING ISSUES.
WE'RE NOT SURE IF THEY'RE GONNA CARRY THEIR BILL FORWARD, BUT WE'RE ALSO TALKING TO, AGAIN,
[00:20:01]
AQUA AND C M U A IN HOPES THAT WHETHER IT'S A STANDALONE BILL OR SOMETHING, THEY MOVE FORWARD, THAT WE CAN DO SOMETHING ON THIS PERMITTING THAT WOULD COMPEL THE STATE WATER BOARD TO NOT NECESSARILY APPROVE, BUT AT LEAST ACCEPT THE APPLICATIONS THAT THEY HAVE PENDING.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DID YOU HAVE MORE ON THE PREVIOUS YEAH, I JUST WANNA SAY WHAT THE OPTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AS MEA BASIN G S A.
UM, SO ON THE, ON THE, UH, ON THE TRAILER BUILD EXEMPTION AND SO ON, THE ONE OPTION IS THAT MAYBE MEA BASIN, G SS A WANNA LOOK AT THESE CONDITIONS AND SEE IF IT'S WORTH IT TO KIND OF PUT SOME BUDGET, WORK SOMETHING OUT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO ESTABLISH IS THAT YOU, DO YOU ACTUALLY HAVE FLOODING AND, AND HOW, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO, TO REDUCE THE FLOODING AND SO ON.
SO WE HAVE DONE, I THINK WE HAVE DONE A, A LOT OF GOOD WORK ON MARIPOSA CREEK, AT LEAST WHERE WE HAVE ESTABLISHED WHAT DOES IT TAKE, UH, WHEN, WHEN DO YOU GET, UH, INTO A FLOODING, UH, UH, SITUATION BETWEEN WHAT'S HAPPENING UP AT THE FLOOD OSA DAM AND HIGHWAY 59? AND YOU COULD, YOU COULD HAVE GEAR ROAD, WE COULD HAVE OTHER THINGS, BUT WE, WE ALREADY HAVE ONE, UH, SCENARIO AND WE WANT TO EXPAND THAT THIS YEAR TO BEAR CREEK.
SO AT LEAST THAT BASIC WORK HAS, WILL BE DONE.
BUT THEN WE STILL HAVE TO HAVE THE PLAN AND THE, THE, THE, THE, THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER ONE OF THE CONDITIONS, IF YOU HAVE READ IT, UH, THAT YOU ALSO HAVE A PLAN OF HOW YOU PUT MONEY TO PREVENT THE FLOODING.
IT'S LIKE, WHY DO I WANT TO PUT MONEY IN PREVENT FLOODING THIS WAY? I CAN'T TAKE THE WATER
SO, BUT ANYWAY, UH, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE ITEMS. SO JUST SOMETHING THAT, THAT MEA BASIN G S A COULD LOOK AT, AND MAYBE WE COULD WORK TOGETHER, SEE HOW WE COULD PUSH FORWARD IT.
IT'S ALL GOOD TO KINDA SEE HOW WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE WATER.
AND IF YOU DON'T WANNA DO ANYTHING
THE, THE, THE ISSUE WITH THE 1610 IS THAT YOU'RE TAKING WATER OUT AND, AND YOU ARE SPREADING IT SOMEWHERE.
WATER DOESN'T DISAPPEAR, SO IT GOES ON THE GROUND.
THE, THE, THE ONLY ISSUE IS, UH, IT'S NOT A WATER, RIGHT? SO WHOEVER IS PUMPING THE WATER AND PUTTING IT ON THEIR GROUND, UH, UNDER, UNDER THESE RULES, THEY CANNOT CLAIM IT.
BUT IT'S A PLUS FOR THE, IT'S A PLUS FOR THE BASIN.
SO IT COULD BE A BASIN-WIDE EFFORT WHERE, UM, THE G S A COULD WORK WITH CERTAIN FARMERS AND PAY 'EM TO HELP PUT WATER ON THE GROUND, EVEN THOUGH THE BENEFIT IS SUPPOSEDLY EVERYBODY, WHEN THE FARMER WOULD KNOW THAT ACTUALLY IT'S COMING NEXT TO MY WELL.
SO THAT WOULD BE AN INCENTIVE OR MAYBE HAVE A, A HAVE, UH, WORK ON HOW YOU COULD, UM, COME OUT WITH A BUDGET FOR CERTAIN AREAS THAT HAVE SEEN MORE WATER.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE G S A HAS TO THINK ABOUT AND FIGURE OUT HOW YOU DO IT, AND STILL KIND OF BE ABLE TO GET THE BENEFIT AND STILL NOT BREAKING THE RULES THERE.
UH, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER.
SO, HAM, YOU GUYS ARE HERE, ARE LIKE, YOU WANT US TO PARTNER WITH YOU GUYS? OR WHAT DO YOU SEE MOVING FORWARD? YEAH, WE, WE ARE, AS, AS WE SAID, WE ARE, UH, WE, OF COURSE, WE'RE GONNA COME FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THE, ON THE, UH, WIDE LEGISLATION WORK.
BUT IF YOU WANNA DO SOMETHING FOR THE G S A, BECAUSE I MEAN, AT LEAST START WITH GETTING THE CREEK WATER AND SO ON.
SO WE, WE COULD HELP, UH, I THINK WITH WHATEVER WE HAPPEN TO KNOW AND WHATEVER INFORMATION WE HAVE, BUT IF THE G SS A WANTS TO KIND OF TAKE AN ACTION, SOMETHING TO, TO LOOK AT, AND THE OTHER ONE, LIKE I SAID, YOU DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING.
BUT, UH, AS FAR AS, UM, GOING THROUGH THE, ANY REG REGULATORY PROCESS, BUT THEN IT'S A DECISION THAT THE G S A HAS TO MAKE THAT MAYBE YOU WANT TO GO AND HELP THE GROWERS TO BUY A PUMP AND THEY PUT IT ON THEIR LAND AND THEY, YOU ACCOUNT FOR THE WATER GOING IN THE GROUND, EVEN THOUGH THAT WAS NOT THE INTENTION, BUT YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF THE WATER.
SOME OF IT WENT HERE SOMEWHERE, WENT THERE, AND THEN GO INTO YOUR BUDGET.
AND I MEAN, I, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
YOU HAVE LEGAL COUNSEL HERE, SHE COULD TELL YOU WHAT, WHAT YOU CANNOT DO, BUT THIS IS HOW, THAT WOULD BE ONE WAY TO GO AROUND IT.
I, I'M THINKING HOW, HOW ABOUT, I ASKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SUPPORT AROUND, BUT HOW ABOUT LIKE, FROM THE IAN DISTRICTS HERE IN THE VALLEY, EVEN FARTHER DOWN SOUTH, WERE THEY SUPPORTIVE AND SENDING LETTERS OR DID YOU NOT ASK FOR THEIR SUPPORT OR HOW THAT YEAH, WE DID.
WE, WE HAVE, UM, UM, YEAH, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH SARAH WOLF AND SHE REPRESENTS, UH, FOLKS IN FRESNO AND, AND, AND, UH, ON THE WEST SIDE, UH, AND THE CASE OF THE, OF THE, OF THE, UH, FLOOD WATER PYRAMID, TURLOCK IS IN THE SAME BOAT.
SO WE, WE COULD WORK WITH THEM AND
[00:25:01]
GET SOME SYNERGY THERE.YOU KNOW, AND, AND SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT IS, UH, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HAVE TWO LOBBYISTS IN SACRAMENTO, WELL, A BUNCH OF LOBBYISTS, BUT ONE IS, UH, R C R C, WHICH IS RURAL COUNTIES REPRESENTING CALIFORNIA.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CONNECT WITH THEM TO ASK FOR HELP, BUT I MEAN, THEY HAVE LOBBIES IN, YOU KNOW, ON THE CAPITOL EVERY DAY.
AND, AND, UH, WATER'S ONE OF THEM.
SO YEAH, I COULD WORK WITH, WITH LACEY, I GUESS, UH, ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I GUESS ONE, ONE QUESTION, HASHEM, SO LEMME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THIS RIGHT.
UM, THE TRAILER BILL IS GOOD, EXCEPT FOR THE FLOOD PLAN, CORRECT? YEAH, YOU COULD, YOU COULD READ, YOU COULD READ THE CONDITIONS, I MEAN, YEAH.
SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE, I IDENTIFY TYPES OF FLOOD HAZARDS, IDENTIFY RISK ASSESSMENT, IDENTIFY CURRENT AND FUTURE FLOOD CORRIDORS, BUT THAT'S A FLOOD PLAN.
AND THEN, SO IF THE, THE BILL THAT FAILED LAST YEAR PASSES THIS YEAR, WHICH THAT AFFECTS THE TEMPORARY OR THE STANDARD? NO, IT'S THE TRAILER BILL.
THE ONE THAT BILL, WE TRIED TO DO, AND IT DIDN'T GO THROUGH BECAUSE OURS WAS A LOT SIMPLER.
LAST TIME WE ASKED FOR CALTRANS, BECAUSE CALTRANS COULD DO THE SAME THING, BUT COULD BE A STREET IN THE COUNTY OR HOUSES IN THE COUNTY.
THAT WAS OUR, SO THAT, THAT'S ON THE RIGHT SIDE UNDER THE FLOOD FIGHTING UNDER THE TRAILER EXEMPTION.
YEAH, UNDER THE FLOOD FIGHTING.
THIS IS WHAT, THIS IS THE, THE AB EIGHT THEORY, BUT THEN THE TRAILER BILL BILL CAME IN AND REPLACED IT, AND IT HAD THESE CONDITIONS.
HOW DO WE FIX THE TEMPORARY AND THE STREAMLINED IMPOSSIBLE.
I SEE YOU'RE SCRATCHING YOUR HEAD.
I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT WE DID.
SO THE, THE THING IS, I I I, I USUALLY DON'T SYMPATHIZE, BUT I SYMPATHIZE THIS TIME WITH THE STATE BOARD BECAUSE FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE WITH, WITH THE, WITH THEM GOING WHAT THEY CALL THE, THE PAPER, UH, RIGHTS.
SO, UM, THE STATE WATER SOURCE CONTROL BOARD, UH, RESPECTS ALL PAPER LICENSES.
SO IF A GUY SAYS, I'M TAKING A HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRE FEET, OR AT THE, OR 200 CCFS, AND THEY'RE ONLY TAKING FIVE C F SS, IT DOESN'T MATTER.
THEY, THEY, THEY, THEY ASSUME THAT THEY'RE TAKING 200 C F SS.
SO WITH ALL THAT WATER THAT IS ON THE BOOKS THAT IS TAKEN OUT, THEY DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE ON THE TEMPORARY TO GO FOR, FOR, UH, ANYTHING LESS THAN 90%.
'CAUSE WE LOOKED AT SAID, CAN YOU DO 75%? CAN YOU DO 70%? THEY DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE.
IT'S JUST LIKE THEY'RE OUT ON THE LIMB.
IN FACT, WITH OUR, UH, LAST MEOSA CREEK, WE WERE, WE WERE CHALLENGED BY, BY LOCAL AGENCY, AND WE HAD TO SHOW 'EM THAT WE'RE NOT INFRINGING ON THEIR RIGHTS.
M I D HAS SENIOR WAR RIGHTS SOMEWHERE, OSA CREEK, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE.
SO IT'S, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE COULD DO ABOUT THAT.
THE, THE ONLY THING THAT I HAVE THAT MAY, THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO PUSH BACK ON IS, UM, AND, AND, AND, AND LEGAL COUNSEL MAYBE COULD, COULD FILL IN, UM, WE BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE, SO THEY, THEY'RE LOOKING AT YOU, YOU COULD TAKE WATER WHEN THE DELTA IS IN EXCESS.
UH, MY POSITION IS THEY WANT THE DELTA TO BE IN EXCESS WHEN THEY ARE EXPORTING WATER.
AND TO ME, THAT SHOULD BE, SHOULD BE DEDUCTED BECAUSE WE ARE, WE ARE THE LOCAL COUNTY AND WE ARE TAKING LOCAL WATER.
WHY SHOULD I WAIT TILL THE EXPORTERS HAVE TAKEN ALL THEIR WATER BEFORE I TAKE MY WATER? BUT THAT'S, UH, HERE, WHAT IS THAT? HERE, HERE, YEAH.
BUT THAT'S MY POSITION IS THAT THEN, THEN THAT'S THE ONLY THING I COULD ARGUE IS THAT, HEY, THAT THRESHOLD IS SO HIGH, WE CANNOT, WE CANNOT MEET IT.
AND THE THRESHOLD IS 90% OF THE DAILY AVERAGE, IS THAT WHAT IT IS? 90% OF THE DAILY AVERAGE MAXIMUM 20% PLUS THE DELTA HAS TO BE IN EXCESS.
THAT MEANS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IS GETTING ITS WATER, EVERYBODY'S GETTING THEIR WATER, AND THERE'S MORE WATER GOING TO THE OCEAN, AND THEN YOU COULD TAKE YOUR WATER.
IT'S LIKE, WHY DO I NEED TO BE BEHIND THE EXPORTERS? RIGHT.
BUT THAT'S THE ONLY THING I COULD CHANGE ON THAT.
THE OTHER ONE IS A, IS A STANDARD PROCESS.
I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY CALL IT STREAMLINED.
SO HASHAM, YOU GUYS ON THE STANDARD ONE, YOU STILL THINK IT'S WORTH MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT? OR CAN WE ASK FOR THE HALF MILLION BUCKS WE GAVE THE STATE BOARD BACK
I THINK WE HAVE TO HAVE TO MAKE IT WORK.
AND THEN, UH, DO YOU LIKE THE GOVERNOR'S TRAILER BILL? I MEAN, DO YOU THINK THAT WAS DONE COINCIDENTALLY OR PROACTIVELY? NO, IT'S PROACTIVELY,
[00:30:01]
SO YOU WOULD KNOW, UH, THIS HAS BEEN A HEATED DISCUSSION.UM, WE STARTED IN AUGUST, SUPPOSEDLY A TEMPORARY PERMITS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE IN 15 DAYS.
WE WERE IN JANUARY AND WE'RE STILL NOT IN AGREEMENT BECAUSE C D F W HAS ALL ITS REQUIREMENTS AND SO ON.
SO I WAS ON A PHONE, ON A PHONE CALL WITH A BOARD MEMBER, STATE BOARD MEMBER, AND THE HEAD OF C D F W AT THE SAME TIME SAYING, SIGN IT, MAKE IT HAPPEN.
AND I'M SAYING, I CANNOT TAKE IT.
SO, UM, BECAUSE THEY HAVE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE CAN'T MEET, IT'S LIKE, OH, NOBODY'S GONNA GO PUT A PUMP AFTER YOU GET BIOLOGISTS STANDING OUT WAITING FOR THE TERRAIN.
IT IS LIKE, THAT'S, WE CAN'T DO THAT.
SO, UH, SO THEY, AND THAT, AND, AND THE DISCUSSION, I'M NOT GONNA SAY WHO SAID WHAT, BUT, UM, THE DISCUSSION WAS WHAT, PUT A SLAP A SCREEN ON IT, START TAKING WATER, WHO CARES? JUST GET, START, GET GOING.
AND WE, AND I TOLD THEM THAT THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED.
SO THEY KNEW ABOUT IT EARLY ON IN JANUARY WE WERE WORKING ON THE, ON THE, ON THE, UM, ON THE BILL.
AND, AND THE GOVERNOR PUT THE, UH, UM, EXECUTIVE ORDER.
SO THIS IS SORT OF IN LINE WITH THE EXECUTIVE ORDER WITH SOME MORE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT.
WELL, I'D CERTAINLY LIKE TO THANK YOU, UH, HIT SHAMAN MIKE FOR COMING AND, UH, AND KIND OF GETTING US UPDATED AND LETTING US KNOW THE BATTLE YOU'RE FIGHTING AND, ALRIGHT.
[7. PERIODIC UPDATE AND ANNUAL REPORT AMENDMENT TO WOODARD AND CURRAN CONTRACT]
SEVEN, WHICH IS OUR UPDATE ON THE ANNUAL PORT AMENDMENT, UH, TO THE WORD AND CURRENT CONTRACT.AND, UH, I'LL TURN THAT OVER TO, UH, LAKE MCBRIDE.
SO SIGMA REQUIRES THAT EACH G SS P UNDERTAKE A PERIODIC EVALUATION EVERY FIVE YEARS AND PROVIDE A WRITTEN ASSESSMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES.
THE MERCED GSPS WRITTEN ASSESSMENT OF ITS EVALUATION IS DUE IN JANUARY OF 2025.
THE ASSESSMENT MUST DESCRIBE WHETHER THE PLAN'S IMPLEMENTATION, INCLUDING PROJECTS AND MANAGEMENT ACTIONS ARE MEETING THE SUSTAINABILITY GOAL IN THE BASIN.
AND IT MUST INCLUDE A LIST OF UPDATED, UM, A LIST OF UPDATE ELEMENTS THAT ARE DESCRIBED IN THE CODE OF REGULATIONS.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE REGULAR UPDATE ELEMENTS, THE MERCED GSPS UPDATE IS ALSO GOING TO INCLUDE THE NINE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BY D W R IN THEIR DETERMINATION LETTER APPROVING THE G S P.
THESE NINE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS WERE SHARED WITH THE BOARD IN A PREVIOUS MEETING, AND THEY ARE AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW IN DWS LETTER, WHICH IS POSTED ON THE SIGMA PORTAL.
SO THE AMENDMENT HERE PROPOSES, UH, FOR WOODARD AND KERN, THE CONSULTANT THAT THE BASIN HAS BEEN WORKING WITH FOR G S P DEVELOPMENT TO, UM, UPDATE, UH, TO DEVELOP THE UPDATES AND THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR WATER YEAR 2023 AND COMPLETE THE TASKS THAT ARE REQUIRED IN THE CODE OF REGULATIONS AND ADDRESS THE NINE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.
THE SCOPE OF WORK ADDS AN ADDITIONAL SIX TASKS TO THE CONTRACT, ADDRESSING EVERYTHING FROM OUTREACH TO UPDATING THE PLAN, EVALUATING THE GSPS AND THE PROJECTS AND MANAGEMENT ACTIONS INCORPORATED INTO EACH OF THESE TASKS IS THE WORK TO ADDRESS THE NINE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.
THE AMENDMENT ALSO APPROVES WOODARD AND CURRENT TO COMPLETE THE WATER YEAR 2023 ANNUAL REPORT.
THIS IS DUE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES ON APRIL 1ST, 2024.
AND EACH YEAR THE GSAS COMPLETE AN ANNUAL REPORT, WHICH INCLUDES THE KEY SECTIONS OF GENERAL INFORMATION BASIN CONDITIONS, PLAN, IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS AND PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
THE TOTAL COST OF THIS AMENDMENT IS $891,900.
THIS WILL BE SHARED AMONG THE THREE GSAS IN THE BASIN ACCORDING TO THE COORDINATION AGREEMENT.
MERCED SUB BASIN'S SHARE OF THE IN THE COORDINATION AGREEMENT IS 58%, WHICH IS $517,302.
DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE M S G S A DID BUDGET FOR HALF OF THE EXPECTED FIVE YEAR UPDATE COSTS, WHICH AT THE TIME WE WERE ESTIMATING TO BE AROUND $800.
AND IN ADDITION FOR THE ANNUAL REPORT COSTS, SO THE SECOND HALF OF THE FIVE-YEAR UPDATE COSTS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 24 25 BUDGET.
THERE ARE TWO ADDITIONAL OPTIONAL TASKS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE SCOPE BUT ARE NOT INCLUDED FOR APPROVAL TODAY.
THESE ARE FOR ANALYZING THE GROUNDWATER DEPENDENT ECOSYSTEMS, UM, AND INTER BASIN CONDITIONS AND UPDATES AND ENHANCEMENTS TO THE DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
SO SHOULD THE BASIN GSAS, UH, CHOOSE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE OPTIONAL TASKS,
[00:35:01]
THEY WILL BE BROUGHT BACK BEFORE THIS BOARD FOR APPROVAL.SO, UM, AS IS THE NORMAL PROCESS, THE SCOPE WAS BROUGHT BEFORE THE COORDINATION COMMITTEE AT THEIR MEETING IN SEPTEMBER.
THEY DID NOT HAVE A QUORUM, BUT, SO THEY DID NOT TAKE AN ACTION TO RECOMMEND IT LIKE THEY NORMALLY WOULD, BUT THEY ALSO DIDN'T HAVE ANY OPPOSITION TO THIS THAT WAS, UM, SPOKEN IN THE ROOM.
AND SO THE, UH, ACTION FOR TODAY IS TO CONSIDER APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT EIGHT AND AUTHORIZING THE CHAIR TO SIGN THE AMENDMENT.
ANY QUESTIONS OF LACEY? UH, THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN OF THE ORIGINAL G S P, DIDN'T WE GET GRANT FUNDING FOR THAT? IS THERE ANY GRANT FUNDING AVAILABLE THIS TIME OR DOES THE STATE EXPECT US TO COME OFF THE BACK OF WATER USERS? RIGHT, SO FOR THE, THE DEVELOP THE ORIGINAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLAN, WE HAD FIVE $1.5 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDING.
THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL GRANT FUNDING FOR SIGMA, UM, ON THE HORIZON RIGHT NOW.
ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY, IF NOT, I'LL OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
ANYBODY ONLINE NOT SEE, NOT SEEING ANY ONLINE.
WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? WE'RE ALL LOOKING AT YOU, NICK.
HE'S, I THINK HE'S ABOUT TO SAY SOMETHING.
I MOVE THAT, UH, WE APPROVE THE ADDITIONAL, UM, PERCENTAGE FUNDING FOR THE FIVE-YEAR AMENDMENT WITH WOODARD AND KERN.
AND ARE WE APPROVING THE FULL AMOUNT OR JUST WHAT'S IN THE, THIS YEAR'S BUDGET? WE ARE, THIS IS APPROVING THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE AMENDMENT.
NOT COUNTING THE OPTIONAL, NOT COUNTING THE OPTIONAL TASKS, BUT OUR, OUR, OUR PROPORTION OF THAT IS THE $517,302, CORRECT? CORRECT.
SO I MOVE THAT, UH, WE AUTHORIZE EXECUTION OF, UM, OUR PORTION OF THE CONTRACT AMENDMENT.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR SWENSON, A SECOND BY DIRECTOR MARTINI.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? OH, WAS THAT AN AYE? YEAH.
UH, AND THEN INDIA OPPOSED, UH, PLEASE SAY NAY.
MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUS RELEASE.
[8. FEE MODEL MAINTENANCE CONTRACT AMENDMENT]
WILL, UH, MOVE TO, UH, ITEM EIGHT, WHICH IS THE FEE MODEL, UM, MAINTENANCE CONTRACT AMENDMENT.THIS IS, UM, ANOTHER CONTRACT AMENDMENT BACK IN 2019.
PRIOR TO ADOPTION OF THE SIGMA COMPLIANCE LANDOWNER FEE, OUR CONSULTANT, WOODARD AND KERN HAD CREATED A PARCEL MODEL THAT HELPS IDENTIFY THE FEE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH PARCEL BASED ON ACRES AND THE TARGET BUDGET THAT THE G S A PROVIDES EACH YEAR.
WOODARD AND CURRENT UPDATES, THE PARCEL MODEL WITH THE NEW ASSESSOR'S RULE AND G I S PARCEL INFORMATION PRIOR TO RUNNING THE MALL MODEL, WOODARD AND CURRENT IDENTIFIES DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE PRIOR YEAR DATA AND THE NEW DATA.
THEY INSURE PARCELS IN THE DISTRICTS WHO CHOOSE TO PAY THE FEE SEPARATELY RATHER THAN BY THE PROPERTY TAX BILL ARE ACCURATE.
AND THEN THEY RUN THE MODEL AND, UM, SHARE IT WITH THE G S A WOODARD.
AND KERN PROVIDES SUPPORT TO STAFF AS THE FEES ARE DEVELOPED AND THE PROCESS, UM, AND DURING THE PROCESS TO PLACE 'EM ON THE PROPERTY TAX BILL.
AS THAT'S UNDERWAY FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, THIS WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED UNDER A FEE MODEL, MAINTENANCE CONTRACT.
THIS CONTRACT IS ENDING IN DECEMBER OF 2023, AND THE AMENDMENT IS EXPECTED IS TO EXTEND THE FEE MODEL MAINTENANCE FOR FIVE YEARS AT A TOTAL COST OF $28,138.
UM, THAT'S APPROXIMATELY $5,600 A YEAR, AND THIS AMOUNT IS INCLUDED IN THE GSA BUDGET E EACH YEAR FOR MODEL MAINTENANCE.
SO THE ACTION FOR TODAY IS TO CONSIDER APPROVING AMENDMENT ONE TO THE CONTRACT WITH WOODARD AND KERN FOR ANNUAL MAINTENANCE OF THE PARCEL FEE MODEL.
AND I'LL ALSO NOTE THE PARCEL FEE MODEL IS USED FOR THE SIGMA COMPLIANCE LANDOWNER FEE, AND IT IS NOW ALSO USED FOR THE PHASE ONE FEE THAT YOU ADOPTED LAST YEAR.
ANY QUESTIONS OF LACEY? WHAT WAS IT ORIGINALLY? I GUESS? WAS IT 5,600 ANNUALLY PRIOR? OH, UM, IT, IT HAS GONE UP BY, YOU'RE REALLY TESTING MY MEMORY.
I BELIEVE IT'S GONE UP BY $2,000 IN TOTAL.
I THINK IT STARTED AS A $26,000 CONTRACT, AND I
[00:40:01]
THINK THIS TIME IT'S 28,000.I'LL MAKE THE, OH, WELL, LET ME GO OUT TO A PUBLIC COMMENT.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? ANY ONLINE? NONE ONLINE.
I'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DAAS.
I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE FEE MODEL MAINTENANCE CONTRACT AMENDMENT SECOND.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY, UH, DIRECTOR JIM POLLY AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR MARTINI.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
UH, ANY OPPOSED? PLEASE SAY NAY.
[9. RULE 1 AMENDMENT]
UM, UH, ITEM NINE, WHICH IS OUR, UH, RULE ONE AMENDMENT.AND I'LL ASK, UH, GREG YOUNG WITH SAN HERRO TO COME UP AND EDUCATE US.
SO, UH, SO RULE ONE AMENDMENT THERE, UH, AS YOU RECALL, YOU CREATED RULE ONE, UH, TO ADDRESS THE GROUNDWATER CONSISTENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW PERMITTING OF WELLS IN THE COUNTY TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE CONSISTENT WITH THE G S P AND A SET UP A SET OF RULES AND PROCESSES FOR THIS G S A OR FOR ANY OF THE LANDOWNERS WITHIN THIS G SS A TO MAKE SURE WE ARE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE G S P.
SO THE RULE HAS A WHOLE BUNCH OF REQUIREMENTS FOR WHEN THERE IS A APPLICATION FOR PERMITTING A NEW WELL, UH, RECENTLY THERE WAS A WELL BROUGHT FORWARD TO US THAT WAS A LIVESTOCK WELL, AND BY DEFINITION IN THE COUNTY, LIVESTOCK STILL COUNTS AS AGRICULTURAL WELL.
UH, AND SO WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE INFORMATION IN HERE ABOUT REQUIREMENTS ON THESE AGRICULTURAL WELLS, WHICH ARE PREDOMINANTLY FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSES AND RECOGNIZING WHAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD.
UM, THE APPLICANT, UH, RAISED THE QUESTION ABOUT THE METERING REQUIREMENTS THAT SEEMED ONEROUS AND EXCESSIVE FOR THE SITUATION WITH THE LIVESTOCK.
WELL, UH, WE DIDN'T AGREE WITH THAT, SO WE WENT AND SUGGESTED SOME AMENDMENTS TO THIS RULE TO ADDRESS THAT SITUATION.
SO, UM, THIS PARTICULAR RULE, UH, APP, UH, AMENDMENT TO THIS RULE IS FOR DISTINGUISHING FOR THE USE OF PRODUCTION AG WELL, THAT IS USED FOR LIVESTOCK ON NON-ED LANDS.
AND TO TRY AND, UH, AMEND TWO SECTIONS OF THAT, AND WE'LL LOOK AT THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IN A MINUTE.
UM, ESSENTIALLY IT SETS FORTH A, A MINIMAL REQUIREMENT IF YOU ARE, UH, EQUIPPING THE WELL WITH A, UH, A PUMP THAT IS LESS THAN 10 GALLONS PER MINUTE.
AND THAT WAS, UH, BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITHIN ONE OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEES THAT THE 10 GALLON PER MINUTE WAS, UH, SEEMED TO BE EASILY, UH, UM, UNDER 10 GALLONS A MINUTE, WAS PREDOMINANTLY USED IN A LOT OF LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS FROM THEIR EXPERIENCES.
AND, AND SO WE WENT WITH THIS 10 GALLON PER MINUTE AS A THRESHOLD.
SO IF YOU'RE UNDER 10 GALLONS A MINUTE, THERE IS, UH, LET'S SEE, WE'LL LOOK AT THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE HERE FOR LIVESTOCK WELLS EQUIPPED WITH, WITH A PUMP, WITH A NOMINAL PRODUCTION RATE OF 10 GALLONS PER MINUTE OR LESS, NO METERING OR REPORTING IS REQUIRED.
SO IT ESSENTIALLY EQUATES IT TO BEING A DE MINIMUS DOMESTIC.
WELL, IF THE LIVESTOCK WELL IS EQUIPPED WITH A PUMP WITH A NOMINAL PRODUCTION RATE OF MORE THAN 10 GALLONS PER MINUTE, THE OWNER SHALL INSTALL A VOLUMETRIC TOTALIZING METER AND MEASURE THE TOTAL USE OF EACH, UH, FOR EACH CALENDAR YEAR AND SUBMIT THAT TO THE G S A BY JANUARY 31ST OF THE YEAR, FOLLOWING THAT COMPLETION OF THAT PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR.
SO ESSENTIALLY 30 DAYS AFTER THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, IF YOU HAVE A PUMP THAT'S IN EXCESS AT 10 GALLONS A MINUTE.
SO THIS IS THE PROPOSED LANGUAGE TO TRY AND ADDRESS THAT SITUATION.
BOTH OF THESE ARE FOR LIVESTOCK WELLS THAT ARE ON NON-IRRIGATED LANDS.
UM, SO IF YOU HAVE A LIVESTOCK, WELL, YOU'RE ALSO USING THE WELL TO IRRIGATE PASTURE OR SOMETHING, THEN IT'S REALLY STILL FALLING UNDER THE, THE REST OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF RULE ONE.
UM, THOSE ARE THERE, THERE WAS ONE OTHER LANGUAGE CHANGE JUST TO SAY IN THE RULE ITSELF THAT UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED IN THIS SECTION, WHICH ALLOWED US TO INTRODUCE THIS NEW SECTION FOR THE LIVESTOCK WELLS ON NON-ED LANDS.
SO ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT? IT WAS STRICTLY ALL VOLUME.
AND THAT'S A NOMINAL RATING OF THE WELL TOO.
SO I MEAN, THEY MAY ONLY PUMP IT AT, WELL, IT, WHEREVER IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT WATER LEVELS.
AND IS THIS FOR, UM, NEW WELLS OR REPLACEMENT NEW WELLS OR FOR ALL WELLS? SO ANYTIME YOU'RE GOING IN FRONT OF THE COUNTY FOR A PERMIT AND YOU'RE MARKING A REPLACEMENT WELL, OR A BACKUP, WELL, YOU HAVE TO COME TO THE G
[00:45:01]
S A ACTUALLY FOR ANY OF THE CONDITIONS.YOU CAN COME TO THE G S A AND SAY, I WANNA DRILL A BRAND NEW WELL FOR SOMETHING.
AND WE HAVE A CONSISTENCY DETERMINATION PROCESS UNDER RULE ONE.
SO IN THIS CASE, THIS IS A REPLACEMENT AGRICULTURAL, WELL FOR LIVESTOCK PURPOSES ON NON-ED LAND.
AND SO THAT WAS THE AREA WE, THAT WAS NOT CLEARLY LAID OUT.
AND SO THIS LANGUAGE IS, IS TO TRY AND ADDRESS THAT SPECIFIC SITUATION.
AND IF SOMEWHERE TO COME WITH A BRAND NEW, WELL FOR LIVESTOCK, SAY ONE TO ADD ONE FOR, SO THE COWS ARE CLOSER TO A WELL, UH, I, WE'D HAVE TO LOOK THROUGH HOW OUR RULE IS HANDLING THAT ON THE EXISTING CONDITION.
BUT I THINK TO YOUR POINT, NICK, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE REASONABLE FOR A NEW WELL, TO APPLY THESE SAME METERING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE NEW, WELL, JUST AS FAR AS METERING GOES, AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, OR LIVESTOCK FOR A NEW LIVESTOCK.
I MEAN THAT, SO I WOULD PROPOSE IF IT'S NOT ALREADY EXPLICIT THAT THAT LANGUAGE BE ADDED TO WHERE IT WOULD APPLY FOR A NEW APPROVED LIVESTOCK.
WELL, I, THE, THE CHALLENGE THERE, DIRECTOR S SWENSON, IS THAT I, OUR RULE, YOUR RULE RIGHT NOW TALKS ABOUT REPLACEMENT AND BACKUP AND THAT YOU LOOK AT WHAT YOUR CONDITIONS ARE.
YOU'VE BEEN USING WATER, YOU'VE BEEN RUNNING CERTAIN THINGS, YOU'VE BEEN IRRIGATING A CERTAIN AMOUNT, UH, YOU'VE BEEN USING SURFACE WATER, SO YOU NEED A BACKUP.
IT IS NOT ADDRESSING BRAND NEW WELLS BECAUSE THOSE COULD NOT, THOSE WOULD BE DETERMINED TO BE INCONSISTENT WITH THE G S P, WHICH WAS USING A BASELINE CONDITION THAT EXISTED WITHOUT THIS NEW, WELL, THAT'S NOW BEING ASKED FOR.
SO THAT'S THE COUNTY'S PROCESS HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO THROUGH C Q A OR HAVE OTHER APPROACHES THROUGH THE COUNTY.
BUT THAT'S NOT A DETERMINATION THAT WE WOULD SAY UNDER A G S P AS CONS, SORRY, IN OUR GS A'S CONSIDERATION OF CONSISTENCY WITH THE G SS P, YOU WOULD SAY THAT'S INCONSISTENT BECAUSE IT WASN'T CONTEMPLATED AS PART OF THE BASELINE WATER SUPPLIES AND WATER USES OF GROUNDWATER USED TO DETERMINE THE SUSTAINABILITY CONDITION AND WHAT WE NEED TO TRY AND ACHIEVE.
BUT EVEN IF IT'S CONSIDERED DI MINIMUS.
WHICH DO YOU LOOK, DO, DO MINI WELLS ONLY APPLY TO DOMESTIC WELLS? CORRECT? YES.
THE, THE EXEMPTION IN THE MERCED COUNTY CODE IS ONLY TO DE MINIMUS DOMESTIC WELLS AND DOMESTIC WELLS SERVE HOUSEHOLDS OR BUSINESSES, BUILDINGS.
AT ONE POINT WERE LIVESTOCK WELLS CONSIDERED DOMESTIC WELLS? NO, NEVER HAVE BEEN.
NO, IT'S, IT'S IN THE MERCED COUNTY CODE THAT IT SPECIFICALLY SAYS AN AGRICULTURAL WELL INCLUDES USES FOR LIVESTOCK.
SO THERE MAYBE A LITTLE CONCERNS ON THE MONITORING.
THE NEW ONE WILL OR WON'T HAVE A METER.
I MEAN, EXCUSE ME, THE, THE REPLACEMENT.
WELL, RIGHT NOW, IF IT'S LESS THAN 10 GALLONS A MINUTE, THERE'S NO NEED TO DO ANY METERING REQUIREMENTS OR REPORTING.
AND SO YOU DON'T NEED TO PUT A METER ON IF IT'S GREATER THAN 10 GALLONS A MINUTE.
AND ONCE A YEAR YOU GIVE US THE NUMBER FROM THE PRIOR YEAR.
AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM THE GS A'S PERSPECTIVE, SOMEBODY SAYS, YES, I WANT A NEW REPLACEMENT.
WELL, AND I'M DOING IT FOR LIVESTOCK, BUT I ALSO PLANTED A WHOLE BUNCH OF CROP LAND AND I'M, YOU KNOW, IRRIGATING A LOT.
WE, THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE'RE PUTTING THESE RULES IN IS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IT STAYS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE G S P WAS IDENTIFYING IN THE BASELINE CONDITIONS THAT WERE USED IN ALL OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY.
NOW GOING FORWARD, THIS BOARD IS GONNA BE CONSIDERING ALLOCATION PROCESSES AND THOSE ALLOCATIONS ARE GONNA CHANGE SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATION OF THIS BECAUSE IT WILL ESSENTIALLY SAY YOU HAVE CERTAIN QUANTITIES, YOU'RE LIMITED TO DRILL AS MANY WELLS AS YOU WANT, AS LONG AS YOU STAY UNDER THAT QUANTITY.
YEAH, I GUESS I GOT A LITTLE CONCERN ON THE MONITORING.
IT WASN'T IN THE GRAND SERVICE DISTRICT WHERE YOU PUT IN FOR DOMESTIC WELL, AND THEN WE'RE WATERING 15 ACRES OF ALMONDS WITH IT AND THE HUMIDITY, BUT THAT WAS THEIR FAULT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, I'LL GO OUT FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR OR ASK THE QUESTION, MOST OF OUR WELLS OUT IN OUR AREA ARE DOMESTIC AND LIVESTOCK.
SO WHAT ARE WE, WHERE ARE WE ON THAT? WELL, THEY'RE JOINT, JOINT WELLS, JOINT USE WELLS.
UM, YEAH, CAN ANSWER, CAN I ASK A FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO THAT?
[00:50:01]
SO WHEN YOU SAY DOMESTIC, IT MEANS IT'S FEEDING YOUR HOUSE OR A HOUSE, A DWELLING WHERE PEOPLE ARE LIVING? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN YOU SAY DOMESTIC? NO, AND, AND LIKE, WELL, WHEN YOU SAY MOST, I MEAN, IS IT, IT CAN'T BE MOST, I MEAN THERE'S LOTS OF ACRES OF FOOTHILLS.SO JUST SO IS IT IN THE WHITE AREAS? YEAH.
I MEAN EVERY HOUSE HAS A DOMESTIC WELL AND A LIVESTOCK.
THINK ABOUT EVERY HOUSE WITH A SET OF CORRALS HAS A WELL THAT'S DOING IT.
EVEN ON THE VALET FLOOR IN OUR AIR, YOU KNOW, OUR G S A IF YOU GOT LITTLE PASTURE, IT'S COMING OFF THE HOUSE.
WELL, THE WATER TO WATER YOUR ANIMALS TOO.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT IRRIGATION, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIVESTOCK.
I WAS JUST GONNA NOTE, IF IT'S A DOMESTIC DI MINIMIS, WELL THAT'S ALSO, UH, SERVING LIVESTOCK, YOU'RE GONNA BE EXEMPT UNDER THE COUNTY'S ORDINANCE BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA BE EXEMPT.
'CAUSE IT'S A DOMESTIC DI MINIMIS, WHICH IS TWO ACRE FEET OR LESS PER YEAR.
IF IT'S A DOMESTIC, WELL THAT IS NOT DI MINIMIS.
IT'S PUMPING MORE THAN TWO ACRE FEET, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE KICKED OVER TO THE GSA.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE WAY I UNDERSTOOD.
BUT I DIDN'T GET THAT JUST NOW.
SO A LITTLE, SO LACEY, THIS BETTER TO CLARIFY IT NOW THAN AFTERWARDS.
THIS IS A COUNTY, IT WOULD FIRST GO TO THE COUNTY WHEN THEY APPLY, RIGHT? SO BEFORE IT COMES TO THE G S A.
SO YOU WOULD FILL OUT THE, YOU WOULD HAVE TO BRING YOUR G S A CONSISTENCY FORM YEAH.
TO SUBMIT AN OFFICIAL APPLICATION TO THE COUNTY.
BUT IF YOU WENT TO THE COUNTY AND SAID, I WANNA SUBMIT THIS APPLICATION, THEY'RE GONNA SAY, BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION, YOU NEED A G S A CONSISTENT.
BUT WHEN YOU GO TO THE COUNTY, YOU'RE JUST GETTING REDOING YOUR DOMESTIC.
WELL, IF YOU'RE JUST DOING YOUR DOMESTIC WELL, YOU JUST GO TO THE COUNTY, YOU SKIP THE G S A ALTOGETHER.
THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE GONNA SAY, GINA, IT'S OKAY.
SO, UH, THE OUTPUT HAS TO BE LESS THAN 10.
IF IT'S LESS THAN 10 GALLONS A MINUTE, IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE METERED, CORRECT? YES.
ON REPLACEMENT OR, UH, CURRENT WILL CORRECT YES ON THAT.
WHAT DO YOU
I THINK, UM, I KNOW YOU GUYS WORKED HARD ON THAT.
GREG CERTAINLY WORKED HARD ON THAT.
BUT THEN WE GET INTO AN ISSUE LIKE WE GOT HERE WITH A REPLACEMENT, WELL REQUIRING METERING ON A, BUT RICK, THESE, AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, ARE JUST FOR WELLS THAT ARE NOT DOMESTIC, THAT ARE CONSIDERED AGRICULTURE, BUT ARE USED JUST FOR WATERING LIVESTOCK.
OKAY? SO THIS RULE RIGHT HERE, IT DOES NOT COUNT ANYTHING TO DO WITH A DOMESTIC ACTUAL WELL, THAT'S A DI MINIMUS WELL, THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
SO EVEN IF YOU'RE BLACK ANGUS DOGS ARE DRINKING OUT OF A WATER TROUGH, BUT IF THAT WELL IS USED FOR BOTH YOUR DOMESTIC, WELL, OKAY.
UM, AND THEN LIKE A REPLACEMENT, WELL, WHEN, WHEN THE APPLICATION COMES THROUGH AND YOU APPLY FOR BOTH, I MEAN, LIKE FOR ME, MY WELL'S JUST BARELY GETTING GOING THAT I USE DOMESTIC AND LIVESTOCK.
WHEN I NEED A REPLACEMENT, YOU GONNA REQUIRE ME TO METER IT? IT DEPEND OR YOU MEAN, HUH? ON A LIVESTOCK DOMESTIC? WELL, NO, I MEAN, IF IT'S A DOMESTIC, WELL, OKAY, IF YOU'RE STAYING UNDER THE 10 GALLONS YEAH.
STAYING UNDER THE 10 GALLONS, AND IF IT'S A DOMESTIC, WELL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE FINE.
MAKING IT CLEAR BECAUSE, AND UNLESS YOU WITHOUT AN ALLOCATION WE'RE SCREWED.
CAN I TRY? YEAH, GREG? ABSOLUTELY.
SO IN, IN THE, SO THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAS A PERMITTING PROCESS.
YOU GO INTO THE PERMITTING PROCESS, YOU SAY, I NEED A REPLACEMENT DOMESTIC.
IF YOU COME IN AND YOU MARK THE BOX THAT SAYS IT'S AN AG, WELL, WE'RE GONNA SEE IT.
AND NOW WE COME INTO THIS QUESTION, YOUR EXISTING WELLS, WE HAVE NO JURISDICTION OVER RIGHT NOW UNTIL WE END UP WITH AN ALLOCATION.
AND THE ALLOCATION CONVERSATION TO DATE IS ALSO LOOKING TO EXEMPT LIVESTOCK.
UM, AS BEST WE CAN DEVELOP THE TOOLS TO EXEMPT LIVESTOCK FROM ANY OF THAT ALLOCATION CONCERN.
SO IF YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR NEW, YOUR EXISTING WELL THAT YOU IRRIGATE, OR SORRY, YOU, UM, YOU LET YOUR BLACK, BLACK ANGUS DOGS DRINK OUT OF THE TROUGH, UM, THAT'S A DOMESTIC.
WELL, AND EVEN IF IT WASN'T, YOU'RE NOT ASKING FOR A NEW PERMIT FROM THE COUNTY, SO IT WOULD NEVER COME TO THE G S A.
SO WE'D NEVER REQUIRE ANY KIND OF METERING.
[00:55:01]
AN AG WELL, RIGHT NOW, NOT ASKING FOR, YOU KNOW, PRODUCING, GROWING THE, YOU KNOW, IRRIGATING A THOUSAND ACRES OF PISTACHIOS, THERE IS NO METERING REQUIREMENT ON THAT EXISTING.WELL, IT'S ONLY WHEN YOU COME TO ASK FOR A NEW, WELL, A REPLACEMENT NEW HOLE DRILLED INTO THE GROUND, DO WE NOW TRIGGER THIS RULE? OKAY.
SO DOES THAT HELP SOME ELISE? YEAH.
SO WE'RE IN A, WE'RE IN A LITTLE BIT OF AN IN-BETWEEN PERIOD ALSO AS PART OF HOW THIS IS GOING UNTIL WE GET THE ALLOCATIONS AND YOUR CONSIDERATIONS ARE, ARE KEY IN THIS BOARD.
AND THE AD HOC COMMITTEES HAVE TALKED ABOUT HOW TO ADDRESS THE LIVESTOCK CONCERNS SO WE DON'T END UP WITH A JEOPARDY SITUATION, IF THAT HELPS.
FOR RIGHT NOW,
ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? ALRIGHT, I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT.
JACK, I'LL MAKE THE, YOU READY TO, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, RULE THE RULE ONE AMENDMENT AS WRITTEN.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR RETTI AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR GALLO.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
UH, ANY OPPOSED? PLEASE SAY NAYYY.
[10. SUSTAINABILITY ZONE PARCEL BOUNDARY MODIFICATION PROCESS]
ITEM 10, WHICH IS OUR, UH, SUSTAINABILITY ZONE, PARCEL BOUNDARY MODIFICATION PROCESS.AND GREG, JUST STAY RIGHT THERE.
UH, AS YOU RECALL LAST MONTH, YOU ADOPTED A NEW SUSTAINABILITY ZONE MAP.
THAT MAP WAS, UH, WORKED ON BY E K I AND ONE OF THE THINGS THEY PAID, THEY TRIED TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WAS DRAWING THE BOUNDARIES TO FOLLOW PARCELS IN OWNERSHIP.
WELL, WE PROBABLY MISSED A COUPLE OF SPOTS WHERE YOU MIGHT BE IN TWO DIFFERENT ZONES WITH YOUR FARMING OPERATION OR MAYBE YOU HAVE LEASE LAND OR MAYBE IT'S BEING RUN BY AN AG MANAGEMENT SERVICE WHERE IT'S A COUPLE OF CONTIGUOUS PARCELS THAT ARE IN, UM, TWO DIFFERENT ZONES.
SO THE AD HOC COMMITTEE DISCUSSED AND DEVELOPED A, UH, LANGUAGE FOR A PROCESS TO MODIFY THAT BOUNDARY.
AND WE WANT TO TRY AND GET THIS IN PLACE AND GET PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MODIFY A BOUNDARY, UH, BEFORE WE START COMING OUT WITH THE INITIAL ALLOCATIONS IN NEXT YEAR'S PERIOD.
BECAUSE THE SIZE OF THE BOUNDARY AND HOW THE MATH ESSENTIALLY WILL MATTER ABOUT HOW MANY ACRES ARE IN EACH ZONE.
SO IF YOU HAVE MAYBE A HUNDRED ACRES THAT'S IN THE WRONG ZONE AND NEEDS TO GET BROUGHT BACK INTO ANOTHER ONE, WE JUST WANT TO TRY AND GET THAT CLEANED UP AS SOON AS WE CAN, BUT ALSO ALLOW FOR LONGER TERM OPPORTUNITIES TO ADJUST IF NEEDED.
SO THIS LANGUAGE SETS FORTH, UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS.
FIRST, IT SAYS THAT IF YOU ARE A, UH, IF YOU'RE ZO, IF THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONE MAPS, AND WE SHOULD NOTE THAT ONLINE ON THE M S G S A WEBSITE, THERE'S A REALLY COOL INTERACTIVE TOOL AND YOU CAN ZOOM IN AND YOU CAN FIND EXACTLY WHAT ZONE YOU'RE IN FOR EACH PARCEL AND FIELD AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR OPERATION.
SO WE'RE SAYING THAT AN EXISTING EXISTING OPERATION IS BISECTED BY A SUSTAINABILITY ZONE BOUNDARY.
THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET THAT TO BE ADJUSTED.
AND WE'RE SAYING THAT EXISTING ALSO COUNTS BACK TO WHEN YOU ADOPTED YOUR G S P, UH, OR SUBMITTED, I SHOULD SAY.
YOU ADOPTED IT IN, IN 2019 DECEMBER, AND THEN YOU SUBMITTED TO THE STATE BY JANUARY 30TH, 2020.
SO WE KNOW PEOPLE'S OPERATIONS CHANGE, SOME FIELD BOUNDARIES CHANGE, SOME OTHER THINGS ARE ADJUSTING.
WE'RE SAYING EXISTING COULD STILL BE DEMONSTRATABLE AS TO WHAT YOU MAY HAVE DONE A FEW YEARS AGO.
UM, AND SO THAT IF YOU'RE, YOU CAN BRING SOMETHING TO THIS, THIS BODY HERE AND SUBMIT INFORMATION THAT SHOWS THAT THE PARCELS AND THE FARMING OPERATION IS CONTIGUOUS AND IT IS NOW BISECTED BY TWO SUSTAINABILITY ZONES.
AND, UM, YOU CAN, YOU CAN SET FORTH THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE RECLASSIFIED INTO ONE OF THE ZONES.
AND WE ESSENTIALLY ARE LOOKING AT A PERCENTAGE THAT IF YOU'RE GREATER THAN 50% IN ONE ZONE WITH ONE OF THE PARCEL, THEN WE'LL MOVE THAT OTHER PARCEL INTO THE ZONE.
THAT'S GOT THE GREATER PERCENTAGE OF THAT JOINT OPERATION.
IF YOU'RE 50 50, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE WHICH ZONE YOU WANNA MOVE THAT PARCEL INTO.
UM, WE ARE SETTING A DATE OF DECEMBER 20TH OF THIS YEAR TO TRY AND ALLOW THAT APPLICATION, THAT THAT METHOD, THAT MODIFICATION PROCESS TO GO FORWARD SO THAT WE CAN GET THESE ZONE MAPS REALLY FINALIZED.
SO E K I CAN DO ITS WORK ON THE INITIAL QUANTIFICATIONS OF ALLOCATIONS.
WE DID INCLUDE UNDER ITEM FOUR IN THIS, UM, IN THE LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF YOU, AN OWNER REQUESTING
[01:00:01]
A CHANGE AFTER DECEMBER 20TH MUST SUBMIT A PETITION TO THIS BODY AND CONSIDERATION WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE BOARD'S DISCRETION.SO THERE'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO SAY THAT'S GONNA BE DISCRETIONARY AND NOT AUTOMATIC.
OTHERWISE, UP UNTIL DECEMBER 20TH, YOU CAN COME FORWARD AND WE CAN LOOK TO MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT.
NOW, ANY QUESTIONS? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU MENTIONED THERE'S A MAXIMUM OF 300 ACRES THAT CAN BE MOVED.
ITEM ONE C FOR THOSE OF YOU FOLLOWING ALONG.
AND THAT 300 ACRES IS EVEN FOR THE ONE BEFORE DEC, THE AUTOMATIC ONE, EVEN BEFORE DECEMBER 20TH? CORRECT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
IF NOT, I'LL GO OUT TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
THEREFORE, I'LL, UH, CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT, BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE.
GENTLEMEN, I MOVE THAT WE ADOPT THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONE PARCEL BOUNDARY MODIFICATION PROCESS AS PRESENTED.
ALRIGHT, SO I HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR SWENSON AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR MARTINI.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
UH, ANY OPPOSED? PLEASE SAY NAY.
[11. LAND REPURPOSING AGREEMENT AMENDMENT 1]
WHICH IS OUR, UH, LAND REPURPOSING AGREEMENT AMENDMENT ONE, AND, UH, UH, TURNED IT OVER TO LACEY WITH, UH, CHRIS HEPNER.YEAH, I JUST WANNA MAKE A QUICK INTRODUCTION.
SO WE ARE COMING TO THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE LOCALLY FUNDED LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM.
AND AS STAFF WORKS ON THE FINAL REPORTS TO THE PARTICIPANTS AND GETTING READY TO MAKE THESE PAYMENTS, WE'VE NOTED THAT OUR MONITORING OF THE EVAPOTRANSPIRATION HAS BEEN EFFECTIVELY, HAS BEEN UNEXPECTEDLY HIGH DUE TO THE WET WINTER AND SPRING WE HAD EARLIER THIS YEAR.
WE DO BELIEVE THAT ALL OF THE PARTICIPANTS HAVE BEEN COMPLYING WITH THE L R P AGREEMENTS AS EVIDENCED BY FIELD VISITS, ET COMPARISONS TO SIMILAR IRRIGATED FIELDS AND ATED FIELDS AND OTHER DOCUMENTATION THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED BY THE PARTICIPANTS.
BUT BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT TO PLACE THE PARTICIPANTS IN NON-COMPLIANCE DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES RELATED TO THE MONITORING, WE'RE SUGGESTING AN AMENDMENT THAT WOULD GIVE THE G SS A, THE ABILITY TO WAIVE THE MINIMUM WATER USE VALUE AND UPDATE THE YEAR ONE AGREEMENTS, MINIMUM WATER USE VALUES AS WELL, UM, WITH THIS NEW DATA THAT THIS NEW METHODOLOGY THAT, THAT CHRIS HAS.
SO I'M GONNA ASK CHRIS HEPNER TO, UM, WALK THROUGH THE MONITORING AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN FOR THE YEAR ONE PARTICIPANTS, AND I BELIEVE CHRIS ALSO HAS SOME SLIDES.
THANK YOU LACEY, AND GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD.
UM, LACEY, UH, INTRODUCE THE ISSUE, UH, SUCCINCTLY.
SO I'LL JUST, UH, MOVE RIGHT ALONG.
UM, AS LISA MENTIONED, WE'RE COMING TO THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR, UH, OF THIS PROGRAM GETTING READY TO ISSUE THE FIRST ANNUAL REPORT AND THE FIRST SET OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS THE YEAR ONE PARTICIPANTS.
AND WE ARE ALSO, UM, IN PROCESS OF FINALIZING AGREEMENTS WITH, UH, THE YEAR TWO APPLICANTS WHO ARE APPROVED.
SO, AS LACEY MENTIONED, UM, IN THE COURSE OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING THIS YEAR END WORK COMPLETED, UM, WE'VE SEEN THAT THE CONSUMPTIVE USE OF GROUNDWATER AND HOW THAT'S MONITORED AND CALCULATED, UM, IS SHOWING US SOME UNEXPECTED RESULTS, UM, IN SOME SENSE RELATED TO THE WET WINTER, THE VERY WET WINTER THAT WAS EXPERIENCED THIS YEAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF IN A, IN A NUTSHELL, UM, NO PUN INTENDED, THE UM, ET THAT WE'RE SEEING HAS BEEN OCCURRING, YOU KNOW, IN MONTHS AFTER THE PRECIPITATION HAS FALLEN.
AND, UH, THEREFORE IF YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT IT ON A MONTH-TO-MONTH BASIS AND ASSIGNING ET TO EITHER PRECIPITATION OR APPLIED WATER AND YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SORT OF CARRYOVER OF, OF RAINFALL FROM PREVIOUS MONTHS, THEN THIS CAN ERRONEOUSLY LEAD TO, UM, ASSIGNING THAT ET TO APPLIED WATER.
SO THE SOLUTION IS TO INCORPORATE, UH, CARRYOVER INTO THE CALCULATION CARRY OVER SOIL MOISTURE, UM, SO THAT WE CAN THEN CORRECTLY ATTRIBUTE THE ET THAT OCCURS IN MONTHS AFTER RAINFALL TO, UH, THAT STORED WATER AND NOT TO APPLIED WATER.
SO TO DO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DEVELOPED A METHODOLOGY, UM,
[01:05:01]
SLIGHTLY EXPANDING ON THE, ON THE CALCULATION AS WE SORT OF SEE IN THE SUMMARY EQUATION HERE.UM, AND THE, THE ISSUE FOR THE BOARD TODAY IS TO, UM, CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO THE YEAR ONE AGREEMENTS TO, YOU KNOW, BRING THAT NEW PROCESS INTO THE, INTO THE AGREEMENTS.
UM, AND THIS ISSUE WAS DISCUSSED AT THE, UM, DEMAND REDUCTION AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING LAST WEEK.
AND SO THE COMMITTEE HAS, UH, SEEN THIS INFORMATION AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS A RECOMMENDATION TO, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS.
SO JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF A VISUAL ON WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE DO MONITOR USING THE, UH, SATELLITE BASED OPEN ET, UM, ABOUT THE TRANSPIRATION DATA SET.
UM, AND SORT OF IN THE MAP IN THE BACKGROUND, YOU CAN SEE THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST A, A PORTION OF THE T S A AREA SHOWING THE DIFFERENT COLORS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT, UM, AMOUNTS OF EVA TRANSPIRATION IN THIS CASE FOR IRRIGATED LANDS.
UM, I'M POINTING OUT THE RED ARROW AND SHOWING UP IN THE RED OUTLINED CHART AND THE TOP, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ET SIGNATURES IN THE, IN THE REMOTE SENSING DATA, THEY SHOW UP AS, YOU KNOW, DARK BLUE COLORS THAT'S INDICATING HIGH, UM, ANNUAL AMOUNTS OF EVA TRANSPIRATION.
WE TYPICALLY SEE THAT THE, UH, EVA TRANSPIRATION PEAKS IN THE, YOU KNOW, JULY TIMEFRAME, UH, WHICH IS RIGHT, RIGHT ALONGSIDE WHEN THE, UM, THE REFERENCE OF PT ALSO HAS ITS PEAK VALUE.
AND THIS PEAK RATE IS USUALLY ON THE ORDER OF, YOU KNOW, SIX TO EIGHT INCHES PER MONTH FOR THE TYPES OF, UH, YOU KNOW, CROPS THAT ARE, THE TREE CROPS THAT ARE GROWN IN THIS AREA.
UM, ON THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM FOR SORT OF NATIVE LANDS, UM, WE SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ET SIGNATURE SHOWS A PEAK AROUND APRIL IN MOST YEARS, UM, WHICH IS RIGHT TOWARDS THE END OF THE RAINY SEASON AND, AND WELL BEFORE THE E PEAK OF THE REFERENCE OF AFTER TRANSPIRATION OR E T O, BUT THEN DECLINES OVER SEVERAL MONTHS AS THE SOILS, UM, AND VEGETATION DRY OUT.
UM, AND THE PEAK E T RATE, UM, IS A LOT LOWER.
UH, SO THAT'S KIND OF SHOWN IN THE, IN THE GRAPH, UH, WITH THE ORANGE BORDER.
UM, AND ALL THESE GRAPHS I SHOULD MENTION, THE, THE REFERENCE E T IS THE, IS THE PINK CURVE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT SPIKING EVERY SUMMER.
UM, AND THEN THE, UH, THE BLACK CURVE IS THE ACTUAL ET THAT'S MEASURED.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE HOW IT SORT OF TAPERS OFF SHORTLY, SHORTLY AFTER THE, UH, THE SPRING AND WINTER RAIN SEASON.
BUT WE WERE SEEING FOR REPURPOSED LANDS IS, UM, SIMILAR TO THE NATIVE LANDS IN TERMS OF THE TIMING OF THE P E T.
UM, WE SEE THAT P E T, UM, IN, YOU KNOW, MONTH OF APRIL, TYPICALLY THIS, THIS YEAR IS WHEN WE SAW IT.
UM, AND THEN IT STARTS TO DECLINE.
UM, AND THEN AFTERWARD, YEAH, AFTER THE PEAK, IT STARTS TO DECLINE THROUGH THE SUMMER MONTHS, BUT IT IS STILL, YOU KNOW, SORT OF PERSISTING, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER MONTHS INDICATING THAT THERE'S, UM, CARRYOVER OF SOIL MOISTURE.
SO, YOU KNOW, HAVING LOOKED AT THESE DATA AND, UM, OTHER INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN GATHERED BY G S A STAFF, INCLUDING SITE VISITS AND, AND PHOTOGRAPHS, THERE'S A BASIS TO CONCLUDE THAT THE PARTICIPANTS, UM, THE FIRST YEAR PARTICIPANTS, UM, ARE COMPLYING WITH THE, WITH THEIR AGREEMENTS AND THEY'RE NOT APPLYING, THEY'RE NOT APPLYING GROUNDWATER.
UM, SO FOR ONE, THEY, THEY'VE, YOU KNOW, COMMITTED TO DO THIS BY, BY ENTERING INTO THE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM.
AS I MENTIONED, THE OPEN ET DATA SHOWS PATTERNS THAT ARE MORE SIMILAR TO THE NATIVE LANDS IN TERMS OF WHEN THE PEAK TIMING OF ET OCCURS.
AND WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THIS IS A VERY WET, UH, WATER GEAR WITH ROUGHLY, ROUGHLY THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF RAINFALL THAT WE SAW IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
UM, WE'VE GOT PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE, UM, TO SHOW THAT THE REPURPOSED FIELDS ARE IN AN IDLE OR FOLLOW CONDITION, ALTHOUGH IN SOME CASES, UM, PARTICIPANTS, YOU KNOW, DID LEAVE THEIR TREES TO, UM, LET THEM SORT OF, UH, GATHER NATURAL RAINFALL AS OPPOSED TO IMMEDIATELY REMOVING THEM.
UM, AND IN THOSE CASES, THE TREES ARE IN VARIOUS STATES OF HEALTH.
UM, SOME, SOME ARE, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY ON THE DRYER SIDE AND SOME ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, HEALTHY.
UM, AND SOME PARTICIPANTS HAVE ALSO PROVIDED, UM, EVIDENCE THAT THEIR, THEIR WATER AND IRRIGATION LINES.
UM, SO THESE AREAS HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED.
SO ALL OF THAT, UM, IS SORT OF INFORMATION THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT AND, AND USEFUL TO DETERMINE THAT THESE YEAR ONE PARTICIPANTS ARE IN FACT, UH, MODIFYING GROUNDWATER.
[01:10:03]
UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, THE WET GEAR DOES, YOU KNOW, KIND OF STAND OUT AND, AND SPEAK TO A NEED FOR A REFINEMENT OF THE WATER USE, UM, CALCULATION METHOD.UM, SO TO ADDRESS THIS, WE'VE UPDATED THE METHODOLOGY TO INCLUDE CARRY OVER STORAGE FROM MONTH TO MONTH.
YOU KNOW, SORT OF EXAMPLE GRAPHS, UM, SHOWING HOW THIS LOOKS ON A MONTHLY BASIS UP TOP AND HOW IT LOOKS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
UM, AT THE BOTTOM, UM, JUST RUNNING THROUGH THIS, YOU HAVE, UM, YOU GOT THE TRANSPIRATION KIND OF GOING UP AND DOWN WITH THE, THE SORT OF YELLOW LINE.
IT SORT OF PEAKS IN THE SUMMER.
YOU HAVE RAINFALL SHOWN IN THE, IN THE BLUE LINE, WHICH HAS, YOU KNOW, MONTHLY, MONTHLY PEAKS IN THE, UM, SPRING AND WINTER.
AND THEN THE COLORED BARS, THE BLUE GREEN AND RED BARS, THOSE ARE THE DIFFERENT, UM, SOURCES OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION WATER.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY ALL STACK ON TOP OF EACH OTHER AND ADD UP TO THE TOTAL, UM, EVA TRANSPIRATION SIGNATURE.
UM, IMPORTANTLY HERE WE CAN SEE THAT THE, THE MODEL AND THE CALCULATION, UM, ACCOUNTS FOR RAPID TRANSPIRATION OF, OF RAINFALL, UM, ALSO OF CARRY OVER STORAGE.
AND THEN ONLY AFTER THAT IS EXHAUSTED.
UM, DOES IT, UH, ATTRIBUTE THE, THE REMAINING OF EFFORT TRANSPIRATION TO APPLIED WATER, WHICH IS SHOWN IN THE, IN THE RED BARS.
THEN ON THE BOTTOM, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE AN EXAMPLE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SAME TYPE OF, UM, DATA BEING PRESENTED, BUT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE IN THE FIRST SORT OF FIVE YEARS ON THIS GRAPH, WE HAVE CONSUMPTIVE USE OF APPLIED WATER WITH A RED BAR, UM, YOU KNOW, BEING A PRETTY SIZABLE AMOUNT OF THE TOTAL ABOUT THE TRANSPIRATION.
UM, AND THEN IN THE RIGHT HAND BAR, WHICH IS THIS PAST WATER YEAR UNDER A REPURPOSED CONDITION, YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT CONSUMPTIVE USE OF APPLIED WATER HAS GONE DOWN, YOU KNOW, QUITE A BIT.
UM, NOT, NOT QUITE ZERO, BUT IT HAS GONE DOWN QUITE A LOT.
AND THIS IS A PRETTY TYPICAL PATTERN FOR WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE, IN THE YEAR ONE PARTICIPANTS.
SO THE ISSUE TODAY, OR THE, THE ACTION FOR TODAY, UH, IS TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF, UH, AMENDMENTS TO THE YEAR ONE AGREEMENTS.
IT WOULD ACCOMPLISH TWO THINGS.
FIRST, IT WOULD INCORPORATE THE UPDATED, UM, WATER USE CALCULATION METHODOLOGY, UM, INTO THE WATER USE REDUCTION VALUES.
AND IT WOULD ALSO ADD A, UH, PARAGRAPH THAT OF LANGUAGE THAT ALLOWS THE G SS A TO, UH, YOU KNOW, WAIVE THE WATER USE REDUCTION VALUE IN THE EVENT OF TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH WATER USE MONITORING, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO YEARS OF EXCESS PRECIPITATION.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE G S A, UH, EXERCISES SUCH A WAIVER, THEY CAN CONSIDER ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION, UM, INCLUDING DOCUMENTATION, UM, OF SENSATION OF IRRIGATION SITE VISITS, OTHER TYPES OF EQ MONITORING, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WRITTEN ATTESTATION BY, BY PARTICIPANTS AS DEEMED NECESSARY BY THE G SS A.
SO THAT IS THE, UM, PROPOSED, UH, AMENDMENTS TO THE AGREEMENT.
THIS WOULD BE, UM, DONE FOR THE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE YEAR ONE PARTICIPANTS AND THAT SUMMARIZES THE, UH, THE ISSUE.
DO BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF CHRIS? NOPE.
I'LL, UH, OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME.
IS THERE ANY ONLINE? NONE ONLINE.
UH, WHAT IS THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE CHAIR TO SIGN AMENDMENT ONE TO THE YEAR ONE LAND REPURPOSING AGREEMENTS.
I HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR GALLO AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR, UH, JIM POLLY.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
ANY OPPOSE? ANY OPPOSED, PLEASE SAY NAY.
[12. STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT]
12.WE'LL MOVE TO OUR, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT.
UH, DO ANY OF THE MEMBERS HAVE COMMENT? YES, I DO.
[01:15:01]
THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE SPENT TIME LOOKING AT HOW TO BEST UTILIZE THE SUPPLEMENTAL GROUNDWATER DATA THAT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO BE INCLUDED BY WITH FOR A KEY E K I IN THE GROUNDWATER ALLOCATION PROCESS EVALUATION.DURING THAT, UH, DISCUSSION WITH THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS WE HAD ABOUT SOME OF THE DATA SETS AND E K I WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE SOME SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION AND CATEGORIZATION OF THE DATA, AND THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND, UM, RETURNED TO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE.
SO THE NEXT STEP IS THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE NEEDS TO MEET AGAIN AND FINALIZE A RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT SUPPLEMENTAL DATA WILL BE INCLUDED WITH FOR EKIS ANALYSIS FOR THE GROUNDWATER ALLOCATION.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT, ERIC.
[13. STAFF REPORT]
NUMBER 12, WHICH IS STAFF REPORT.LACEY, I'VE GOT THREE QUICK ITEMS FOR YOU HERE.
UM, THE FIRST IS THE MERCED SUB-BASIN GSAS.
THE BASIN IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR NEW MEMBERS ON THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE AS THE BASIN UNDERTAKES THE FIVE-YEAR PERIODIC UPDATE.
SO, AS A REMINDER, THIS IS A COMMITTEE THAT'S A BASIN-WIDE COMMITTEE, AND THEY'VE BEEN MEETING, UM, QUARTERLY OVER THE PAST, UH, YEAR OR SO.
BUT THEY WERE ENGAGED IN PROVIDING FEEDBACK AND, UM, UH, UH, RESPONSE DURING THE G S P DEVELOPMENT AND THE G S P UPDATES THAT WE WENT TO.
UM, NOW WE'RE EXPECTING THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO MEET A LITTLE BIT MORE OFTEN THAN THE USUAL QUARTERLY MEETINGS DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PERIODIC UPDATE.
UM, THIS PROCESS IS INTENDING TO REPLACE THE STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO ARE EITHER NO LONGER INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING AND TO UPDATE THE MEMBERSHIP LIST TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE BROAD STAKEHOLDER REPRESENTATION.
SO APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED THROUGH A PUBLIC APPLICATION PROCESS AND WILL BE APPROVED BY THE G S A GOVERNING BOARDS.
THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION IS OCTOBER 15TH, AND THE APPLICATIONS CAN BE SUBMITTED TO THE EMAIL CONTACT@MERCEDSIGMA.ORG.
APPLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE MERCED SIGMA.ORG WEBSITE, AND THEY HAVE BEEN SHARED BY EMAIL THROUGH THIS GSA DISTRIBUTION LIST AND THE BASIN WIDE MERCED, UH, SIGMA DISTRIBUTION LIST AS WELL.
AND NUMBER TWO IS THE MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING ANNUAL MEETING.
SO REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE MEA BASIN, G S A AND SEVERAL OF OUR MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING PARTNERS ATTENDED THE ANNUAL MEETING AND KICKOFF OF THE MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM.
AND IF YOU REMEMBER, THIS IS THE $9 MILLION GRANT THAT THE G S A WAS AWARDED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION.
THIS, UH, ANNUAL MEETING WAS HOSTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION'S, M L R P, STATEWIDE SUPPORT ENTITY IN SEPTEMBER.
THE MEETING WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BOTH NETWORK WITH OTHER M L R P AWARDEES AND LEARN FROM THE YEAR ONE M L R P PROGRAMS. SO AS SOON AS WE HAVE AN E EXECUTED GRANT AGREEMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION, WE WILL KICK OFF OUR M L R P IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS WITH OUR PARTNERS.
AND THEN NUMBER THREE IS JUST A HEADS UP THAT, UM, THE WATER ACCOUNTING PLATFORM TEAM IS ORGANIZING A SECOND WORKSHOP FOR OUR SMALL GROUP OF GROWERS TO HELP TEST THE PLATFORM.
UH, THE WORKSHOP IS SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 2ND, AND IT'LL ALLOW OUR GROWER TEST GROUP TO TRY OUT THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE PLATFORM AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK AS THE PLATFORM TEAM GETS READY TO ROLL OUT THE PLATFORM TO THE PUBLIC IN EARLY 2024, WHICH IS THE GS A'S SCHEDULE.
THEY LAST MET IN A WORKSHOP IN JUNE.
THE TEAM, THE PLATFORM TEAM, RECEIVED GOOD COMMENTS FROM THE GROWERS ABOUT WHAT THEY REALLY NEEDED TO CHANGE IN ORDER TO MAKE IT, UH, WORK AND MAKE IT APPLICABLE FOR THE GROWERS.
THEY'VE MADE THOSE CHANGES AND NOW WE'RE GROWING BACK TO THIS TEST GROUP AGAIN.
[14. BOARD REPORTS]
START ON MY LEFT.ARE WE GONNA HAVE, UH, UH, PUBLIC MEETINGS TO GO OVER THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONES THAT WE HAD IN OUR TIMELINE IN THE FALL, OR ARE WE NOT DOING THOSE NOW? YES, THERE ARE.
THE PUBLIC WORKSHOPS, WORKSHOPS, THAT IS CORRECT.
ARE ARE ANTICIPATED TO HAPPEN IN THE FALL? YES.
BEFORE DECEMBER FOR THE, UH, REVISION SUSTAINABILITY ZONES OR WHAT, WHAT'S THE TIMELINE NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT? UM, I DON'T HAVE THOSE SCHEDULED RIGHT NOW.
ARE YOU, I'M SORRY? ARE YOU ASKING IF THE G S A BOARD IS GOING TO NO, THE WORKSHOPS THAT YOU'RE
[01:20:01]
ASKING ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS THEMSELVES? YEAH, THE WORKSHOPS THEMSELVES.I JUST THOUGHT IT'D BE GOOD IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE 'EM TO HAVE, HAVE 'EM BEFORE THAT DECEMBER 20TH TIMELINE.
SO PEOPLE AGREED HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE THAT THEY CAN CHANGE, UH, BOUNDARIES IF THEY FEEL IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR OPERATION AND EVERYTHING ELSE WE'VE BEEN GOING OVER.
WELL, OKAY, UH, WITH THAT, UM,
[15. NEXT MEETING]
OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING WILL BE NOVEMBER 9TH, UH, TWO O'CLOCK HERE IN THIS VENUE, AND THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED.