* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. HELLO, [00:00:01] AND WELCOME TO THE OCTOBER 8TH, UH, MEETING OF THE MERCED SUBBASE IN GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY AGENCY. UM, I'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. UH, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE BOARD MEMBER PARK HERE? BOARD MEMBER JIM POLLY. HERE. VICE CHAIRMAN MARTINI. HERE. CHAIRMAN PEREIRA. HERE, MR. CHAIR. YOU HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. UM, UH, WE WILL, [2. CLOSED SESSION ] UH, NUMBER TWO IS CLOSED SESSION. WE HAVE CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL, POTENTIAL LITIGATION, TWO CASES. UM, AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT. NO. OKAY. ANY ONLINE? NONE ONLINE. ALRIGHT. I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND, UH, WE WILL ADJOURN, UH, DOWN TO CLOSED SESSION. ALL RIGHT. WELL, WELCOME TO THE, UH, MERC SAID SUB BASIN GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY AGENCY. OCTOBER 8TH MEETING. UH, WE HAD A CLOSED SESSION ALREADY AND STAFF WAS GIVEN DIRECTION. UH, LET'S, OR LET'S, LET'S REDO THE ROLE. WE GOT NEW PEOPLE HERE. BOARD MEMBER GALLO. HERE. BOARD MEMBER PARK HERE. BOARD MEMBER GIAN POLLY. HERE. BOARD MEMBER KELLY? HERE. VICE CHAIRMAN MARTINI. HERE. CHAIRMAN PEREIRA. HERE. MR. CHAIR OF A QUORUM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, WE WILL, UH, MOVE TO ITEM THREE, WHICH IS THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. BIG BOB, WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAD US? I PLEDGE THE, THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL OF LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU. WELL, I'LL MOVE TO ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, AT THIS TIME, UH, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, TESTIMONY IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON, AND THIS IS YOUR CHANCE. ANY ONLINE, NO PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE. OKAY. I'LL, UH, CLOSE PUBLIC [5. CONSENT CALENDAR ] COMMENT. WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM FIVE, OUR CONSENT CALENDAR. UH, WERE THERE ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE MINUTES? OKAY. HEARING NONE. UH, AND ALSO, UH, THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL INVOICES. UH, THEY ARE, UM, UH, NOTED ON YOUR SPREADSHEET. OKAY. WHAT'S THE, UH, PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. I'LL SECOND IT. OKAY. I HAVE A MOTION BY, UH, DIRECTOR MARTINI, A SECOND BY, UH, DIRECTOR KELLY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. [6. MULTIBENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM ] WE'LL MOVE TO, UH, ITEM SIX, WHICH IS OUR MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM. UM, WE WILL HAVE A PRESENTATION BY, UH, KARINA MUD FROM ECO VALLEY, OUR VALLEY ECO. IS SHE ONLINE? OH, THERE SHE IS. HELLO, . HI, . UM, THANKS SO MUCH AND IF THE SLIDES CAN ADVANCE, UM, TO THE NEXT PERFECT. AND THE NEXT, YEAH, WE'LL BE, WE'LL TRY TO BE QUICK TODAY. THERE ARE TWO ACTION ITEMS. UM, I'M GONNA CONTEXTUALIZE THEM BY GIVING AN UPDATE ABOUT THE TIMELINE EXTENSION, UM, THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP A COUPLE OF TIMES. NOW, THIS HAS FORMALLY BEEN ASKED, UM, IN ASSEMBLY BILL ONE 14 AND SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR. SO NOW WHAT WE ARE, UM, THE NEXT STEP WILL BE FOR THE GSA TO HAVE AN AMENDMENT TO THEIR PARENT AGREEMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION. UH, WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THAT MAY TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, A COUPLE OF WEEKS, AND SO, UM, IN ORDER FOR PROJECTS TO BE TEED UP TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT EXTENDED TIMELINE, WE HAVE SOME PROPOSED ACTIONS TODAY THAT WILL HELP TO ACCELERATE THAT PROCESS. SO THAT'S THE BACKGROUND FOR THE TWO ACTION ITEMS. YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH ARE LISTED HERE. SO THE FIRST IS, UH, AN ACTION TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION, UM, THAT WILL AUTHORIZE, UH, THE BOARD CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE THIS AMENDMENT THAT I WAS JUST REFERRING TO BETWEEN THE GSA AND THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION. AS SOON AS THAT AMENDMENT HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO US BY THE DEPARTMENT. UM, AND SO IF THE, SO THAT'S THE, THE FIRST ONE. THE SECOND ONE IS, UM, CONTRACT AMENDMENTS, AND I'LL GET INTO THAT IN A MOMENT. UM, BUT IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON THIS RESOLUTION THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE IN YOUR BOARD PACKET. UM, SO THERE ARE TWO ITEMS THAT THIS BOARD WHO ACTUALLY APPROVED IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS, THE APRIL AND MAY BOARD MEETINGS OF THIS YEAR. UM, THE TIMELINE EXTENSION, WHICH IS THE JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS ADDITIONAL YEAR TO BE ADDED ONTO [00:05:01] THE PROGRAM, IT MEANS IT GOES THROUGH MARCH OF 2028 AS OPPOSED TO 2027. AND THE BOARD DID APPROVE THAT TIMELINE EXTENSION TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT IN APRIL. AND THEN IN MAY, A CORRESPONDING BUDGET AMENDMENT. UM, THIS BUDGET AMENDMENT DID NOT CHANGE THE OVERALL TOTAL OF THE, UM, THE DOLLARS ALLOCATED TO THE GSA THROUGH THIS GRANT. IT'S A REALLOCATION ACROSS SOME TASKS, WHICH HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT WILL, WAS NEEDED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE PROGRAM TO COMPLY ACTUALLY WITH SOME DEPARTMENT REQUESTS AS WELL AS, UM, ACCOUNTING FOR THIS TIMELINE EXTENSION. SO THESE TWO ITEMS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE AMENDMENT. UM, ONCE THE, THE, THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION MAKES THAT AMENDMENT AVAILABLE TO THE GSA, WE DO ANTICIPATE IT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. UM, SO IT WILL JUST BE TO CODIFY THESE TWO THINGS THAT THE BOARD HAS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED FOR THE PROGRAM, AND WE WANT TO, UM, PROVIDE THE BOARD CHAIR WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN THAT DOCUMENT AS SOON AS IT'S AVAILABLE. SO THAT IS THE INTENTION WITH THIS RESOLUTION. I'LL PAUSE AND INVITE, UM, JEANIE OR ANYONE ELSE TO ADD ON HERE. AND I ALSO HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. UH, ANY QUESTIONS FOR KARINA? NO. OKAY. SO WE'LL BRING IT BACK. SO THIS IS ITEM SIX A, WHAT'S PLEASURE OF THE BOARD. I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE THE, THE AMENDMENT. OKAY. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT. ALL RIGHT. I HAVE A, UH, I'LL OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. ANY ONLINE? NO PUBLIC COMMENT. ONLINE. THANK YOU. I HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR PARK, A SECOND BY DIRECTOR MARTINI. UH, THIS REQUIRES A ROLL CALL VOTE. WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL BOARD MEMBER GALLO ABSTAIN FROM THIS VOTE BOARD MEMBER PARK? YES. BOARD MEMBER JIM POLLY. I LIKELY SHOULD ABSTAIN AS WELL. OKAY. MM-HMM . BOARD MEMBER KELLY? I APPROVE VICE CHAIRMAN MARTINI. YES. AND CHAIRMAN PEREIRA. AYE. OKAY. MOTION CARRIES FOUR ZERO WITH TWO ABSTENTIONS, UH, GALLO AND JIM POLLEY. THANK YOU. UH, NOW WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM, UH, SIX B. YES, THANKS VERY MUCH. SO YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WHICH BRINGING IT BACK TO SIX B, THIS IS NUMBER TWO HERE. UM, SO THIS NEXT ACTION IS FOR, THIS IS ALL, ALL OF THE PROJECTS UNDER THE MERCED MLRP. ACTUALLY, ONE IS EXCLUDED FROM THIS LIST, UM, WHICH IS THE NEVADA RANCH PROJECT. AND THE INTENTION IS THAT, UM, WE WILL LIKELY REVISIT THIS EXTENSION, THIS TIMELINE EXTENSION FOR THAT PROJECT IN THE, POTENTIALLY THE NEAR FUTURE. BUT THERE WERE SOME ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THAT PROJECT. SO OTHERWISE, THESE ARE ALL OF BOTH THE IMPLEMENTATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS UNDER THE MERCED MLRP. AND WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR BOARD PACKET IS A CONTRACT AMENDMENT FOR EVERY ONE OF THESE. AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, IT HIGHLIGHTS WHAT IS IN THESE AMENDMENTS. SO ACROSS ALL AMENDMENTS, THE REAL, THE FOCUS IS THIS AMENDMENT TO THE TERM. SO, LIKE I WAS SAY, WAS SAYING BEFORE, THIS EXTENDS THE PROJECTS, UM, ONE YEAR OUT. CURRENTLY THEY END IN JANUARY OF 2027. NOW THEY WILL END IN JANUARY OF 2028. AND THEN THE SECOND KEY PIECE IS, UM, A SMALL EDIT TO THE BUDGET WHERE, UM, INSTEAD OF REQUIRING M-S-G-S-A APPROVAL AT THE SUB-TASK LEVEL, CHANGES OF REALLOCATION IS AT THE TASK LEVEL. AND THIS IS TO AVOID HAVING TO COME TO THE BOARD. UM, AND THE GSA, UH, EVERY TIME THERE IS A SMALL SHIFT ACROSS SUB TASKS. AND THE FINAL SENTENCE THERE IS JUST, UH, ALIGNING THE INVOICE SUBMISSION TIMING WITH THIS EXTENDED GRANT TERM AS WELL. THE LAST ITEM LISTED ON THIS, UM, SLIDE, IT ONLY APPLIES TO THREE OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, AND IT'S JUST A MINOR, UM, EDIT TO THE DELIVERABLES. THE, THE SPECIFIC WORDING OF ENGINEERING DESIGN PLANS COULD HAVE BEEN CLEARER IN THOSE ORIGINAL SCOPES. AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS WE'RE JUST CLARIFYING THEM FOR THESE THREE. ALL THREE, UM, PROJECT PROPONENTS HAD THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS WAS PART OF THE PROJECT AND AGREED THAT THIS, UM, CLARIFICATION WAS ACCEPTABLE. SO THE, APART FROM THOSE THREE, THEY ALL HAVE, UM, THE TOP TWO AND ARE, ARE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME ACROSS ALL OF THESE CONTRACT AMENDMENTS. I WILL PAUSE THERE AND, UM, SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS AND SURE. I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE HAS THAT LIST OF ALL [00:10:01] THE PROJECTS AGAIN, BUT I'M HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. YEAH. BACK ON THE, UM, THE THREE PROJECTS, ENGINEERING DESIGN PLANS AT 30 AND 90, THAT JUST MEANS THAT THEY GET MONEY AT 30% AND MONEY AT 90% OFF OF THEIR GRANT. THE MONEY ISN'T TIED TO THOSE DESIGN STAGES, IT'S JUST CLARIFYING THAT, UM, THE GSA AND OR ITS AGENTS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THOSE DESIGNS AT 30%. OH, IT'S A TOUCH POINT TO MAKE SURE. YEP. AND THEN ALSO AT 90% AND THESE, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, THE DESIGNS SHOULD BE REALLY FULLY COMPLETE AS WELL AS ANY PERMITTING. SO IT'S JUST TO CLARIFY, TO MAKE SURE THOSE ARE FULLY DEVELOPED OUT, BUT THERE'S NOT DOLLARS TIED TO THOSE STAGES, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. GOTCHA. OKAY. THE BUDGET OVERALL BUDGETS DO NOT CHANGE, UM, THROUGH THESE AMENDMENTS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. NOPE. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, SO I'LL LOOK FOR A MOTION, UH, AND SECOND ON ITEM SIX B. I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE THE PROJECT CONTRACT AMENDMENTS. OKAY. I'LL SECOND IT SO I HAVE A MOTION OR IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? ANY LINE? NO PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE. THANK YOU. UM, SO WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE. I HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR PARK, A SECOND BY DIRECTOR KELLY. UM, ALL THOSE IN GONNA FLY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN. YEAH, ME TOO. OKAY, SO THE MOTION CARRIES FOUR ZERO WITH TWO ABSTENTIONS. THAT IS JIM, POLLY AND GALLO. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THAT WAS QUICK AND EASY. UH, WE'LL MOVE. THANKS. I APPRECIATE IT. YEAH, WE'RE ALL SET HERE. YEAH, . SO WE'LL MOVE TO [7. EKI ENVIRONMENT AND WATER CONTRACT AMENDMENT ] ITEM SEVEN. THIS IS THE EKIA ENVIRONMENT AND WATER CONTRACT AMENDMENT. UH, AT LEAST YOU'LL INTRODUCE IT. LACEY, THANK YOU. BEFORE, UM, BEFORE I HAND THIS OVER TO CHRIS HEPNER WITH EKI, UM, I'LL LET HIM SHARE HIS SLIDES. I JUST WANNA GIVE A QUICK INTRODUCTION OF THIS ITEM. UM, EKI HAS BEEN THE GS A'S TECHNICAL CONSULTANT SINCE 2021. THEY'VE PROVIDED TECHNICAL TO SUPPORT ON THE LAND REPURPOSING, PROGRAM ALLOCATION DEVELOPMENT, FILLING DATA GAPS, AND ON AND WORKING ON GROUNDWATER LEVELS. IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR, 2026. THE BOARD EXTENDED THEIR CONTRACTS THROUGH JUNE OF 2028, BUT WE DID NOT AMEND THEIR SCOPE OR THEIR COMPENSATION AT THIS TIME. SO THIS NEW SCOPE OF WORK ALIGNS WITH THAT TWO YEAR EXTENSION. THE SCOPE HAS BEEN REVIEWED BY THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE, AND THE FIRST TASK AND THE DATA GAPS TASK HAS BEEN DISCUSSED WITH THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. AND NOW I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO CHRIS HEPNER AND HE'S GONNA PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED, UM, SCOPE OF WORK UNDER THE CONTRACT AMENDMENT. HELLO, CHRIS. THANK YOU, LACEY. THANKS. CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME AND SEE MY SCREEN? YES. GREAT. SO AS LACEY MENTIONED, I'LL BE, UH, TALKING OVER THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR CONTINUED SIGNAL SIGMA TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES. UH, THIS WAS PREPARED, UM, AT THE REQUEST OF GSA STAFF, UM, COVERS THE, THE SUPPORT ANTICIPATED THROUGH JUNE, 2028. IT INCLUDES FIVE TASKS. THE FIRST THREE TASKS ARE GENERALLY ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO THE, UH, MONITORING WELL NETWORK. AND THAT CONSISTS OF A NETWORK GAP ASSESSMENT WITH RECOMMENDATIONS. AND THEN FOLLOWING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, CONDUCTING SOME PLANNING AND DESIGN WORK FOR UP TO FIVE, MONITORING NEW MONITORING WELLS. AND THEN TASK THREE WOULD BE, UM, ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT DURING THE PROCESS OF, UH, CONSTRUCTING THOSE WELLS. THE FOURTH TASK IS TO CONTINUE OUT THROUGH THE END OF THE LAMB PURCHASING PROGRAM JUST TO CONDUCT THE, UH, NECESSARY MONITORING AND REPORTING FOR THAT. AND TASK FIVE IS A SET OF, UM, STRATEGIC AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT TASKS, UM, THAT WOULD BE CONDUCTED ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS, UH, AS WELL AS ROUTINE PROJECT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. AND SO TODAY I'LL BE, UM, DESCRIBING THE TASK ONE IN SOME DETAIL, AND THEN I'LL PROVIDE JUST A, A LOWER LEVEL OF DETAIL ON THOSE SUBSEQUENT TASKS. SO THE MONITORING NETWORK GAP ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS TASK TASK ONE, UM, CAN REALLY BE THOUGHT OF AS, UH, YOU KNOW, A WAY FOR THE GSA TO IMPROVE ITS MONITORING NETWORK COVERAGE. UM, UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, CRUCIAL NEEDS TO, UH, COLLECT, UH, COLLECT GROUNDWATER LEVEL DATA TO SUPPORT THE, THE GSAS, UM, VARIOUS PROGRAMS INCLUDING ITS ALLOCATION RULE. SO THIS WORK WOULD START WITH A GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS, UM, LOOKING AT THE EXISTING GROUNDWATER LEVEL MONITORING NETWORK, UH, USING THAT ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY [00:15:01] WHERE THERE ARE KEY DATA GAPS, USING THAT INFORMATION TO, UM, LOOK AND SEE IF THERE ARE POTENTIALLY EXISTING WELLS THAT COULD BE INCORPORATED. UM, IF AND WHEN THOSE EXISTING WELLS DO NOT, UH, FULLY MEET THE NEEDS WE WOULD LOCATE POTENTIALLY SUITABLE SITES FOR, FOR NEW WELLS. AND THEN PROVIDING THAT, UH, RECOMMENDATION TO THE GSA WITH A PRIORITIZED LIST OF SITES. UM, JUST A SLIGHTLY DEEPER DIVE ON THOSE FIRST TWO STEPS. THE GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS, UH, AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF DATA GAPS. THE THINGS, TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT, UH, IN THIS ANALYSIS WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE THE EXISTING SITES AND WHAT IS THEIR DENSITY, SPATIAL DENSITY IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WELLS PER SQUARE MILE. UM, AND WHAT TYPE OF COVERAGE IS THERE? UM, WITHIN EACH OF THE GSAS EIGHT SUSTAINABILITY ZONES AND WITHIN THE, UH, DIFFERENT AQUIFER SYSTEMS, WE WOULD ALSO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION RATE AND INTENSITY. UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT, UH, AREAS WITH GREATER LEVELS OF GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION, UM, ARE THE ONES THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, HIGHER PRIORITY FOR, FOR GROUNDWATER LEVEL MONITORING. THEY WOULD ALSO BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, AREAS THAT HAVE HAD, UH, DIFFERENT GROUNDWATER LEVEL TRENDS EITHER UP OR DOWN, AND TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT IN, IN TERMS OF WHERE THE, THE KEY, LIKE THE GAPS ARE, UM, CONSIDERING THE, THE LAND SUBSIDENCE, UM, CURRENTS. AND THEN, UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PREPARING FOR THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ALLOCATION RULE AND THINGS THAT ARE COMING UP IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS FOR THAT. UM, WITH THOSE GAPS IDENTIFIED, WE WOULD AGAIN LOOK FOR, UH, WHERE THERE MIGHT BE EXISTING WELLS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE INCORPORATED INTO THIS NETWORK, UM, TO, TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF, YOU KNOW, SORT OF AN OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE MONITORING. WELL, UM, WE WOULD APPLY CERTAIN CRITERIA, UH, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE, THOSE WELLS. SO WE WOULD NEED TO KNOW THE WELL CONSTRUCTION DETAILS, UM, THE AQUIFER, UH, SCREEN INTERVALS AND, AND WHICH AQUIFER THAT CORRESPONDS TO. UM, OBVIOUSLY IN, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THESE, THESE WELLS WOULD HAVE, UM, WILLING LANDOWNERS THAT WOULD BE WILLING TO ENTER INTO, YOU KNOW, MONITORING AGREEMENTS OVER THE, UM, FORESEEABLE FUTURE. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, TAKING IN ASSESSMENTS OF THE WELL CONDITION AND ACCESSIBILITY, MAKING SURE THAT THE WELLS ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, SUFFICIENTLY MONITORABLE AND ACCESSIBLE, UM, WITH NO, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION, UH, ISSUES THAT WOULD PREVENT MONITORING. UM, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HOPE TO BE ABLE TO FIND EXISTING WELLS, BUT IT IS, UM, ALSO UNDERSTOOD THAT WE WOULD LIKELY NEED TO FIND SITES FOR NEW WELLS. AND IN THIS CASE, UM, CONSIDERATIONS WOULD BE TO, UH, PRIORITIZE PUBLICLY OWNED LANDS, SUCH AS RIGHTS OF WAY OWNED BY THE COUNTY, UM, OR POTENTIALLY OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES. UM, AS THAT, YOU KNOW, TENDS TO MAKE, UM, YOU KNOW, ACCESS AND, AND PERMISSIONS AND CONTROL OF THOSE SITES, UM, A LITTLE BIT EASIER. UM, I WOULD ALSO BE LOOKING FOR, YOU KNOW, SUFFICIENT ACCESSIBILITY, UM, THE ABILITY TO SECURE THE SITE, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, SUFFICIENT SIZE FOR, UM, DRILLING EQUIPMENT TO BE BROUGHT INTO TO INSTALL THOSE WELLS. SO THE DELIVERABLES FROM THIS TASK ONE, UM, WOULD BE A TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM THAT SUMMARIZES ASSESSMENT, UM, DESCRIBING THE METHODS, THE RESULTS, UM, INCLUDING SUPPORTING MAPS, UM, DESCRIBING, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENT, UH, FACTORS THAT WENT INTO THE ANALYSIS. UM, THE MAP THERE, THERE WOULD BE A MAP AND TABLE OF RECOMMENDED WELL SITES, UM, SORT OF RANKED IN, IN THEIR ORDER OF IMPORTANCE OR PRIORITIZATION. UM, AND THEN A ACCOMPANIED BY, YOU KNOW, MORE DETAIL WITHIN APPENDICES, THEY WOULD THEN PRESENT THIS INFORMATION TO, UM, THIS, THIS BODY HERE, UM, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, AT THE DIRECTION OF THE GSA, UM, TO THE AD HOC COMMITTEE OR TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE SUMMARY OF TASK ONE. I'LL MOVE INTO TASKS TWO, THREE, AND FOUR HERE. WE CAN CIRCLE BACK ON ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. UM, TASK TWO IS ONCE THOSE, UH, WELL LOCATIONS FOR NEW, NEW SITES ARE DETERMINED. UM, AND JUST SORT OF BASED ON ANTICIPATED, UH, COSTS AND AND BUDGET AVAILABLE, WE, UH, ARE ARE WORKING UNDER THE UNDERSTANDING THAT UP TO FIVE NEW MONITORING WELLS MAY BE, UM, SELECTED TO INSTALL WITHIN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, THE TERM OF THIS CONTRACT. UM, SO TO DO THAT, WE WOULD, UH, SUPPORT [00:20:01] THAT THROUGH PREPARATION OF WELL DESIGNS AND SPECIFICATIONS, UH, WITH A SINGLE SET OF BID DOCUMENTS COVERING ALL FIVE WELLS. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SITE HEALTH SAFETY PLAN AS KIND OF GETS US READY TO, UH, FOR THE GSA TO GO TO BID, UM, FOR, WITH THE DRILLER TO, TO GET THOSE WELLS CONSTRUCTED. TASK THREE WOULD BE, UM, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT DURING THAT WELL INSTALLATION, SO INCLUDING COORDINATION WITH THE DRILLERS, UM, HAVING EKI STAFF AND GEOLOGISTS ONSITE DURING CERTAIN KEY CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES SUCH AS THE, YOU KNOW, INITIAL DRILLING OF THE BORE HOLES. WE CAN LOOK AT THE PATHOLOGY AND THE GEOLOGY AS, AS THE BOREHOLE GETS INSTALLED. UM, GEOPHYSICAL, UM, LOGGING AND, UH, WELL CONSTRUCTION, UM, WE WOULD PREPARE, UM, YOU KNOW, RECORDS FROM THE THIS WORK, INCLUDING GEOLOGIC LOGS AND ASBUILT DIAGRAMS AND CONDUCT, UM, YOU KNOW, AN INITIAL SET OF, UH, POST AND POST-CONSTRUCTION WATER LEVEL MEASUREMENTS, UM, SURVEYING WITH THE HANDHELD GPS AND THEN TASK FOUR, UM, I MENTIONED BEFORE. THIS IS, UM, THE CONTINUATION OF THE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM, THE PHASE ONE LRP. UM, THIS PROGRAM IS SET TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SUNSET AFTER THE END OF WATER YEAR 2027. SO, UH, IT'S, THIS INVOLVES QUARTERLY AND ANNUAL REPORTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THAT PROGRAM. AND THEN PROVIDING THE CLOSEOUT DOCUMENTATION AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM. AND THEN TASK FIVE, UM, IT INCLUDES AN ARRAY OF, UM, TECHNICAL SUPPORT TASKS, UM, ALL, MOST OF WHICH WOULD BE DONE, YOU KNOW, UNDER THE SPECIFIC DIRECTION OF THE GSA. SO THESE ARE JUST SORT OF, UM, TENTATIVE TASKS. UM, AND WE WOULD WORK WITH THE GSA ON, YOU KNOW, WHICH ONES TO ACTUALLY CONDUCT AND PERFORM. UM, THESE COULD INCLUDE FURTHER WATER BUDGET ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT DEMAND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND DECISIONS ANALYSIS OF GROUNDWATER LEVELS, UM, AS PART OF THE ALLOCATION RULE IMPLEMENTATION, UM, ANALYSIS OF BUMPING IN THE MULTI AQUIFER SYSTEM GRANT SUPPORT FOR SOME UPCOMING, UM, PROPOSITION FOR GRANT PURSUITS THAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE LAST TWO ITEMS HERE ARE, UH, SORT OF REGULAR, UH, ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS AND, UM, ROUTINE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TASKS. SO THAT IS THE CONCLUSION OF MY SLIDES. HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS. ANY QUESTIONS, UH, FROM THE BOARD? YEAH, MIKE? SO I KNOW IT'S, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A BROAD QUESTION, BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA INITIALLY HOW MANY WELLS WE'RE GONNA NEED TO HAVE? UH, I MEAN, I, I SEE YOU'RE DOING FIVE. MY ASSUMPTION IS THERE'S A NEED FOR MORE ALREADY, RIGHT? YEAH. SO THE, THE NUMBER FIVE IS ONE THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF COMES FROM A REASONABLE NUMBER GIVEN THE AVAILABLE, UH, BUDGET THAT THE GSA HAS SET ASIDE FOR MONITORING NETWORK WORK OVER THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS. UM, BUT IT DOESN'T INDICATE THAT THAT IS THE NUMBER THAT, YOU KNOW, WILL ULTIMATELY BE NEEDED. UM, I THINK IT IS LIKELY THAT THERE WOULD BE ADDITIONAL, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW, HOW MANY THAT IS, I COULDN'T SAY. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE GSA, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOULD, SHOULD ANTICIPATE, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL WELLS BEYOND THE FIVE THAT ARE KIND OF INDICATED HERE. UM, WHAT WE DO PLAN TO DO, AND THIS WAS A, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED WHEN WE PRESENTED THIS SCOPE TO, UM, THE AD HOC COMMITTEE, UM, WAS THAT THE DOCUMENT THAT WE PRODUCED, THE TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM SHOULD, YOU KNOW, SORT OF BE LONGER AND, AND MORE FORWARD LOOKING, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SORT OF NOT, UH, NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO BE, UM, QUICKLY SUPERSEDED BECAUSE IT DIDN'T LOOK AT, UH, COMPLETELY ENOUGH. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THE MAP AND THE TABLE OF POTENTIAL WELL SITES THAT IS PRIORITIZED WITH THE TOP FIVE, YOU KNOW, SLATED FOR NEAR TERM ACTION. WE, WE WANT THAT TABLE UNLESS TO BE, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS IT NEEDS TO BE TO REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE THE COVERAGE THAT WE EXPECT. BUT I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE WHAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF WELLS WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE [00:25:01] NEXT FIVE YEARS OR, OR LONGER. UM, BUT IT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE MORE THAN FIVE. SO IT'S GONNA CHANGE ACCORDING TO NEED, OBVIOUSLY. AND, UH, WE DON'T KNOW AT THIS POINT WHERE WE NEED 'EM SPECIFICALLY. RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT. I MEAN, THERE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, DATA GAP, UM, ANALYSIS DONE AS PART OF THE GSP WORK. UM, AND THOSE, YOU KNOW, PROVIDED, UM, YOU KNOW, A STARTING POINT FOR THIS WORK, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA TAKE IT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, UM, LOOKING, AS I MENTIONED, A A NUMBER OF FACTORS INCLUDING GROUND WATER INTENSITY PUMPING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SORT OF DISTANCE BETWEEN WELLS AND THAT KIND OF THING, UH, AND OTHER FACTORS. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL BE BUILDING ON THAT WORK AND WE'LL, UH, YOU KNOW, BUILD THIS SO THAT IT, IT CAN BE A, A PLAN THAT LASTS FOR, YOU KNOW, HOWEVER MANY YEARS NEEDED, YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST SAY FIVE, 10 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE. THIS, THIS DATA GAPS ASSESSMENT SHOULD STILL BE A, A GUIDE POST FOR THE GSA TO MAKE WELL DECISIONS. AND THERE HAVE BEEN SOME EXISTING WELLS INTRODUCED AS POTENTIAL MONITORING WELLS, BUT WEREN'T QUALIFIED BECAUSE OF VARIOUS, WELL, VARIOUS REASONS, RIGHT? UH, YEAH, THERE HAVE BEEN, UM, ROUGHLY, I WANNA SAY SEVEN OR EIGHT, UM, YOU KNOW, PRIVATELY OWNED WELLS THAT THE GSA THROUGH EKI HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, MONITORING RECENTLY. UM, AND THOSE ARE, UH, THINGS THAT WE'LL CONSIDER AS WE, AS WE DEVELOP THIS GAPS ANALYSIS AND THIS PLAN. UM, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER FOR THEM TO BE, UM, OFFICIALLY MADE PART OF THE MONITORING NETWORK, THEY DO HAVE TO MEET SOME, SOME PRETTY, UM, UH, RIGOROUS CRITERIA IN TERMS OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE WOULD, WE WOULD MAKE SURE THAT ANY WELLS PROPOSED FOR INCLUSION ARE GOING TO MEET THOSE, THOSE CRITERIA. SO, SO YOU'LL MAKE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS? YES. YES. OKAY. AND THEN THAT'LL BE THE END OF TASK ONE WILL BE THE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN MOVING INTO TASK TWO WITH, UH, FOR PLANNING, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF NEW WELLS RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE EXISTING WELLS. YEAH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL INCLUDE, UM, WHAT, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW THOSE EXISTING WELLS MAY BE USABLE IN THE FUTURE. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. UH, CHRIS, DON'T WE HAVE A LARGE GROUP OF WELLS THAT ARE ALREADY BEING MONITORED? I MEAN, ISN'T, UH, VIA, UH, THE MERCED, UH, IRRIGATION DISTRICT OR THE, THE M AUGUSTA IS, IS HANDLING THAT? THERE ARE, UM, THERE IS AN EXISTING NETWORK OF WELLS, UM, AS YOU SAID THAT IT IS, YOU KNOW, HIGHLY FOCUSED WITHIN THE, UM, NEGOA COVERAGE AREA, UM, THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF WELLS IN, YOU KNOW, UNDER LAND THAT'S LITERALLY UNDER THE MS GSA JURISDICTIONAL AREAS, BUT IT'S QUITE SMALL. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WHILE SOME AREAS CAN PROBABLY BE, UM, LEFT UNMONITORED, UH, YOU KNOW, OR A RELATIVELY LIGHT MONITORING PRESENCE BECAUSE OF THE, THE RELATIVE LACK OF GROUNDWATER USE, UM, OTHER AREAS WITHIN THE M-S-G-S-A ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCING WATER USE AND, AND SOME OF THESE OTHER FACTORS THAT WE WANNA LOOK AT, UH, WHERE, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD REALLY BE USEFUL TO HAVE NEW WELLS AND NEW, NEW LOCATIONS WITHIN THE M-S-G-S-A, EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE SOME, YOU KNOW, SORT OF UP AGAINST THE BORDERS AND MID, UM, AND SOME OUTSIDE OF THE BASIN. AND, AND WE USE ALL OF THOSE WELLS IN HOW WE LOOK, UM, AT GROUNDWATER LEVELS WITHIN M-S-G-S-A AND ITS SUSTAINABILITY ZONES. BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S STILL, UH, SOME SPARSE COVERAGE IN CERTAIN AREAS THAT WE'D LIKE TO RECTIFY. DO YOU THINK THAT YOU COULD PROVIDE, UH, UH, THE GSA WITH, UH, AREAS THAT YOU ARE STILL IN NEED OF MORE COVERAGE THAT MAYBE WE COULD FIND MORE EXISTING WELLS THAT COULD BE MONITORED, UH, TO MORE QUICKLY GET YOU YOUR DATA AND ALSO SAVE MONEY? YES, FOR SURE. UM, SO AFTER WE KIND OF COMPLETE, I'LL JUST, JUST KIND SKIM BACK HERE. SO HAVING COMPLETED THE SORT OF FIRST TWO STEPS ON THIS, UM, GRAPHIC HERE, [00:30:01] YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BRING US TO A STEP THREE, WHICH IS LOOKING FOR EXISTING WELLS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE INCORPORATED INTO THAT NETWORK. THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, HAVING DONE THE SPATIAL ANALYSIS, FIGURING OUT WHERE THOSE MOST, UH, CRITICAL GAPS ARE. AND YES, WE WOULD, WE WOULD CERTAINLY WORK WITH THE GSA AND GSA STAFF TO, UM, AT THAT POINT TRY AND, YOU KNOW, FIND ANY EXISTING WELLS THAT COULD BE BROUGHT IN. 'CAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT THAT CAN BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE. I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF, UH, RESOURCES THE WEST OF EL NDO AND AND SOUTHWEST OF EL NDO THAT COULD BE BROUGHT IN THAT WOULD, LIKE I SAY, WOULD GIVE MORE COVERAGE THAN WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE. ALTHOUGH WE DO HAVE SOME ALREADY. ANYWAY, MAYBE YOU COULD SHARE THAT WITH, THROUGH LACEY, WE COULD HELP TRY TO FIND YOU SOME . ABSOLUTELY, YES. OKAY. THAT'S DEFINITELY GONNA BE A STEP IN THIS PROCESS. THANK YOU. OKAY, BOB, JUST, JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON WHAT GEORGE WAS SAYING, WE, JUST TO REFRESH MY MEMORY, UH, IN THE, UH, UH, UM, THE OPERATOR THAT IN THE GSP, WE HAVE A MONITORING PROGRAM ONGOING, AND THERE'S SO MANY MONITORING WELLS EVERY, WHATEVER, FIVE SQUARE MILES OR SOMETHING ALONG THE LINE. AND WOODWARD AND KERN. IS, IS THE IN CHARGE OF THAT, OR HOW IS THAT BEING HANDLED? I KNOW IT'S A PART OF OUR GSP, BUT HOW IS IT BEING HANDLED ON MANAGEMENT? I CAN, I CAN PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION HERE. SO IN THE GSP, WE DO HAVE A MONITORING NETWORK. AS CHRIS SAID, THE MAJORITY OF THE WELLS THAT ARE MONITORED ARE WITHIN THE BOUNDARY OF MIA GOA. AND THEN THERE'S A HANDFUL THAT ARE IN M-S-G-S-A. WE ALSO HAVE A DATA GAPS PLAN THAT CHRIS HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT WE PUT TOGETHER BACK IN 2021 THAT'S BASIN WIDE, IDENTIFYING WHERE DATA GAPS ARE AND THAT THIS IS NOT A DUPLICATION OF THAT EFFORT. THIS IS GOING TO TAKE THAT DATA GAPS PLAN. UM, AND BASICALLY, UH, KIND OF TIER OFF OF THAT PLAN, LOOKING A LITTLE BIT AT A LITTLE BIT SMALLER AREA AT JUST THE M-S-G-S-A AND LOOKING AT WHERE MONITORING IS NEEDED WITHIN THE M-S-G-S-A FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPLEMENTING YOUR ALLOCATION RULES AND YOUR, UM, KIND OF RULES AND REGULATIONS AND WHERE WE NEED MONITORING FOR OUR OWN ACTIVITIES. AND SO, YES, WE HAVE A MONITORING NETWORK, YES, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED DATA GAPS, AND WE'RE GONNA DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER ON, NOT JUST AS A BASIN WHERE THE IDENTIFIED DATA GAPS ARE, BUT AS A GSA FOR IMPLEMENTING YOUR ALLOCATION RULE, WHERE DO WE NEED MORE MONITORING? AND, AND, AND IS WOODWARD AND KERN, UM, CHARGE OF THAT, OR WHO'S, WHO'S DOING THAT? SO THOSE, THOSE WELLS ARE MONITORED MONTHLY AND THEY ARE MONITORED BY, UH, A QUALITY WELL DRILLERS THROUGH A AGREEMENT THAT M AUGUSTA HOLDS. AND THEN WE PAY, UM, OUR 58% SHARE OF THE MONTHLY MONITORING COSTS FOR THAT NETWORK. OKAY. THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD. 'CAUSE I, I DIDN'T KNOW, UH, THAT, UH, M AUGUSTA WAS, UH, THE, THE ONE THAT'S DIRECTLY WORKING WITH QUALITY. WELL, DRILLERS ON THE, THE, UH, UH, MONTHLY, UH, UH, UH, UH, MONITORING. YEAH. MONITORING, UH, AND THEN WE, WE PAY OUR PERCENTAGE. RIGHT. OKAY. THANK YOU. EVEN YOU EVEN HAVE A COUPLE OF THOSE INVOICES IN YOUR PACKET, BIG BOB, ANYTHING? NOPE. OKAY. I'LL, UM, UH, I'VE GOT, UH, JUST KIND OF ONE QUESTION. CAN YOU GIVE US, OR DO YOU HAVE IT HANDY, A BREAKDOWN OF THE DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR EACH OF THE FIVE TASKS? UH, I BELIEVE IT'S IN YOUR PACKET, AND IF YOU SEE IF I CAN GET IT ON A SCREEN HERE, UH, I DON'T THINK I HAVE IT. DO I? IT, IT'S, UM, NUMBER, IT, IT'S IN THE PACKET. IT IS IN THE PACKET IN THE, UM, WE HAVE THE ACTUAL AMENDMENT LANGUAGE, AND THEN WE HAVE THE SCOPE, AND IT'S ON SIX OF SEVEN OF THE PAGE, SIX OF SEVEN OF THE SCOPE, WHICH IS PRETTY DEEP IN YOUR, UM, AGENDA PACKET. IF CHRIS DOESN'T HAVE IT, I CAN, I CAN WALK THROUGH THEM, BUT CHRIS MIGHT HAVE THAT FOR YOU. WOULD IT BE FROM WOODARD AND KERN? NO, IT'S, IT'S THE EKI SCOPE. YEAH. I I'M MISSING IT. WELL, YOU'RE MISSING IT. WELL, OR HAVEN'T FOUND IT. OKAY. CHRIS, IS THAT, DO YOU WANT, DID YOU HAVE 'EM? LACEY, CAN YOU JUST GIVE US THE NUMBERS? OH, HERE WE GO. CHRIS IS FOR IT. CHRIS, THERE YOU GO. HAS IT FOR US? SORRY ABOUT THAT. IT'S OKAY. SO YES, THE TASK ONE MONITORING GAP ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS [00:35:01] IS 50,000. PLANNING AND DESIGN WORK FOR NEW MONITORING LAWS IS 40,000 CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT. UM, BECAUSE IT DOES INVOLVE SOME SUBSTANTIAL FIELD WORK FOR THOSE FIVE NEW WELLS, UH, AS 90,000 LRP 15,000 AND TASK FIVE WITH, YOU KNOW, SORT OF AS NEEDED TECHNICAL SUPPORT AGAIN, WHICH WOULD ONLY BE, UM, PERFORMED, UH, WITH, WITH DIRECTION FROM THE GSA TOTALS 63,000. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THAT. ALL RIGHT. AT THIS TIME I'LL OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. ANY ONLINE, NO PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE. ALRIGHT. WELL THANK YOU, UH, UH, CHRIS FOR THE, UM, EXPLANATION OF THE, THE SCOPE AND THE COMPENSATION. YOU'RE WELCOME. OKAY. UH, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM EIGHT, [8. LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM ] LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM. UH, LACEY . OH, WE HAVE TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. YEAH, YEAH. I WAS GONNA THOUGHT, I THOUGHT I WAS THINKING WE HAD APPROVED IT ALREADY AND THIS WAS JUST AN EXPLANATION, BUT YEP. YOU'RE DON'T, OKAY. ALRIGHT. WHAT'S PLEASURE THE BOARD. THAT A MOTION? YEAH, I'LL, I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT WITH EKI. I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. I HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR GALLO, A SECOND BY DIRECTOR MARTINI. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. IN THE OPPOSED MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. ALL RIGHT. NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UH, LAND REPURPOSING, LACEY. GREAT, THANK YOU. SO THIS IS YOUR LOCAL LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM AND LAST MONTH WAS THE END OF THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM. SO LIKE YEARS PAST, WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING THROUGH THE QUARTERLY MONITORING REPORTS THE WATER USE ON THESE FIELDS. AND AGAIN, WE DO SEE AN INDICATION THAT FIVE OF THE 10 LRP AGREEMENTS APPEAR TO BE OUT OF COMPLIANCE BY THE THIRD QUARTER. UM, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THE OTHER AGREEMENTS MAY TIP OUT OF COMPLIANCE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER, SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS YEARS. WE ANTICIPATE THE CAUSE OF THIS IS DUE TO THE TREES REMAINING IN THE GROUND, THE LOW BASELINE WATER USE IN THE MINIMUM USE CALCULATIONS AND CARRY OVER SOIL MOISTURE STORAGE. UM, WE ARE REQUESTING, WE WILL BE REQUESTING ATTESTATIONS FROM ALL OF THE LRP PARTICIPANTS WHERE THE MONITORING IS SHOWING AN EXCEEDANCE OF THE WATER CONSUMPTION, UM, SAYING THAT THEY HAVE NOT APPLIED GROUNDWATER TO THEIR LRP FIELDS. AND WE DID DO A ROUND OF FIELD VISITS THIS YEAR FOR ALL BUT ONE, WE HAVE ONE REMAINING, UM, LRP SITE THAT JUST NEEDS A FIELD VISIT TO CONFIRM, UM, NO GROUNDWATER USE AND NO IRRIGATION ON THAT FIELD, ON THOSE FIELDS. AND SO THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE BOARD'S CONSIDERATION TODAY IS TO WAIVE THE MINIMUM WATER USE VALUE BASED ON THE FIELD VISITS, THE, UH, TRENDS THAT WE SEE IN THE GROUNDWATER MONITORING AND THE PARTICIPANT ATTESTATIONS. SO THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'VE DONE ACTUALLY FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. UM, WITH THIS WAIVER, WE WILL BE ABLE TO END OF THE YEAR WITH THE PAYMENTS MADE ON TIME, WHICH THE DUE DATE FOR THE PAYMENTS IS NOVEMBER 1ST. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. AND WE ALSO HAVE CHRIS HEPNER, WHOM YOU JUST HEARD FROM, WHO'S, UM, WORKING ON THE QUARTERLY AND THE ANNUAL MONITORING REPORTS ON THE LRP AS WELL. ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? ALRIGHT, ARE WE GONNA BE ABLE TO GET TO THAT LAST ONE? YES. YEAH, WE'LL, WE'LL GET TO IT. IT WASN'T ON THE ROUTE, BUT IT IS, UH, NOT FAR OUT OF TOWN. WE CALL THOSE ONE-OFFS. IT IS A ONE-OFF. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHERS? WELL, CAN WE KNOW WHERE THESE AGREEMENTS ARE, WHERE, WHERE THEY ARE? SURE. SO THE ONES THAT ARE CURRENTLY OUT OF COMPLIANCE, UM, THREE OF THEM HAVE TREES IN THE GROUND AND THEY'RE OUT OFF OF BUCHANAN HOLLOW ROAD. UM, THEY'RE THE FIG TREES AND WE HAVE SEEN THIS, THAT THOSE FIG TREES ARE VERY DROUGHT TOLERANT. UM, ONE IS ALSO IN THE LA GRANDE AREA, ALSO HAS ALMOND TREES STILL REMAINING IN THE GROUND AND THAT'S OFF WHITE CRANE ROAD. AND THEN ONE IS IN THE EL NIDO AREA ON WASHINGTON ROAD. AND HAVE WE ASKED THE GROWERS TO REMOVE THE TREES? WE HAVE NOT ASKED THE GROWERS TO REMOVE THE TREES. IT WAS NOT A REQUIREMENT OF THE LRP PROGRAM. [00:40:01] AND SO IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE EVER HAD EVER ASKED THEM TO DO. WE WILL, UM, I I ANTICIPATE THAT, UH, CHRIS HEPNER AND EKI WILL GIVE YOU AN ANNUAL KIND OF REVIEW OF YEAR FOUR LIKE THEY'VE DONE IN THE YEARS PAST. AND WE CAN SHOW YOU SOME OF THE PHOTOS THAT WE TAKE DURING THESE, UH, FIELD VISITS. AND FOR EXAMPLE, THE, UH, FIGS ARE LOOKING VERY POORLY THIS YEAR, SO IT'S TAKEN ABOUT FOUR YEARS FOR THEM TO REALLY SHOW THAT THERE IS CLEARLY NO IRRIGATION ON THOSE AND THEY'RE STARTING TO SHOW IT. RIGHT. BUT WE DID NOT, I'M, IT'S, IT'S A LESSON LEARNED I THINK FOR THE LRP 2020. WELL, AND, AND TO, TO, TO, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS AN ACTION WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE, RIGHT? SO WE COULD HAVE IN YEARS PAST, I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT THEN, BUT MM-HMM . WE SHOULD HAVE ASKED 'EM TO PULL 'EM AND IF THEY SAID NO, WELL THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO APPROVE THEIR WAIVER. YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THIS ACTION, YOU DON'T HAVE TO APPROVE THE WAIVER. BUT I DO THINK THAT THE PARTICIPANTS, UM, FOR ALL OF THESE AGREEMENTS, THEY ARE NOT APPLYING GROUNDWATER. SO THEY ARE DOING WHAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD DO IN THEIR AGREEMENT AND THEY ARE NOT APPLYING GROUNDWATER. UM, AND SO TO, TO CALL THEM OUT OF COMPLIANCE, I THINK IT'S PERHAPS A LITTLE BIT, UH, MISDIRECTED BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT OUT OF COMPLIANCE AND THAT THEY ARE TAKING ACTION TO BE OUT OF COMPLIANCE. THEY ARE OUT OF COMPLIANCE BECAUSE THE MONITORING THAT WE'RE USING AND THE VALUES THAT WE SET EARLY ON, UM, PERHAPS WERE WERE TOO LOW, I THINK, OR, OR, OR COULD BE THAT THEY'RE OUTTA COMPLIANCE BECAUSE THE, IF JUST BECAUSE THEY SAID THEY WEREN'T GONNA USE GROUNDWATER, THERE'S ALSO A, A THRESHOLD THAT THEY'RE NOT MEETING BECAUSE THE TREES ARE STILL IN THE GROUND. SO IT COULD BE SEEN EITHER WAY. YEAH, YEAH. ANYWAYS, WHAT'S PLEASURE TO THE BOARD? ANY OR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, I, I GOT A QUESTION. THE, IF I REMEMBER, THE FIRST ROUND OF THESE CONTRACTS WE DID WAS THE WATER SAVINGS BASED ON CAL CITA, NOT ON, UM, OPEN ET DO YOU, DO YOU RECALL OR IS THAT JUST HOW WE SCORED THEM? I CAN'T, I AM GONNA ASK CHRIS HOEPPNER IF HE COULD TALK ON CAMERA. I REMEMBER THE SECOND ROUND WE ADJUSTED TO OPEN ET AND I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER THAT WAS HOW THEY GOT SCORED, YOU KNOW, BASED ON ALMONDS. CALITA SAID THEY USED 40 INCHES. IT WASN'T FIELD, YOU KNOW, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE. AND YEAH, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE MONITORING, UH, I BELIEVE FOR ALL CONTRACTS FROM, YOU KNOW, STARTING FROM YEAR ONE OF THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN USING OPEN ET UH, AND UH, SORT OF SELF ABUSE OF GROUNDWATER CALCULATION, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS PROGRAM. UM, I BELIEVE YOU'RE CORRECT THAT THE, UH, INITIAL SCORING OF APPLICANTS IN EACH OF THOSE THREE ROUNDS, UM, WAS USING A COMBINATION OF THE CALEMA WATER USE FACTORS, UM, AS WELL AS OT I'D HAVE TO HAVE TO LOOK BACK AT THE PRECISE, UM, SCORING METHODOLOGY. BUT, UM, FOR MONITORING PURPOSES IT'S BEEN USING OT, BUT, BUT WOULD THE, UH, MINIMUM WATER USE REDUCTION BE BASED OFF OF CITA FOR THOSE FIRST CONTRACTS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE? UH, NO, I THINK IT'S, I, I'M, I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S OPEN ET FOR ALL OF THE CONTRACTUAL, CONTRACTUAL, UM, NUMBERS AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, CONSISTENT WITH THE, THE MONITORING, UH, METHODOLOGY AS WELL. I, I THINK, I THINK IT WAS JUST FOR THE SCORING. SURE. OKAY. THANK YOU. I THINK PART OF THE ISSUE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT LAST YEAR WHEN, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS ITEM LAST YEAR WAS THAT SOME OF THESE FIELDS WERE LIKELY ALREADY USING A VERY MINIMAL AMOUNT OF GROUNDWATER WHEN WE SET, UM, KIND OF WHAT THEIR AVERAGE USE WAS. AND THEN WE EXPECTED A DECLINE, BUT THEY WERE ALREADY VERY LOW. AND SO THEN NOT PUTTING ANY WATER ON DID NOT GIVE US, UM, THAT HIGHER AMOUNT OF SAVINGS THAT THAN WE ANTICIPATED BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T USING A HIGH AMOUNT OF WATER TO BEGIN WITH. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE SAW, UM, LAST YEAR. SURE. OKAY. AND, AND THIS IS YEAR FOUR THAT WE'RE, THIS IS YEAR FOUR. THERE'S ONE MORE YEAR. WE'VE GOT A COUPLE, UM, UH, AGREEMENTS ARE ENDING THIS YEAR, AND THEN THE REST OF THEM WILL END NEXT YEAR. THESE COULD BE A, UM, POTENTIAL PIPELINE FOR MLRP PROJECTS IN THE FUTURE, BUT THE LRP PROGRAM DOES NOT CONTINUE AFTER NEXT YEAR. OKAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT, I'LL UP FOR, OH, SORRY MIKE, [00:45:02] I DON'T MEAN TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT I'M, I'M ASKING IS STAFF RECOMMENDING THIS ACTION? I AM RECOMMENDING THIS ACTION BECAUSE I DO BELIEVE THAT THE GROWERS, JUST LIKE THE PAST THREE YEARS, THEY ARE COMPLYING TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY AND WE HAVE NEVER MADE A REQUIREMENT FOR THEM TO TAKE THOSE TREES OUT OF THE GROUND. SO I I I THINK TO PUT THEM IN NON-COMPLIANCE, UM, THEY ARE COMPLYING BY NOT APPLYING ANY GROUNDWATER. SO I AM RECOMMENDING THIS. YEAH, THAT'S FINE. OKAY. YEAH. GOOD. OKAY. UH, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? ANY ONLINE? NO PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE. ALL RIGHT. WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? SO I THINK WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THE, THE FACT THAT WE HAD SOME DEFICIENCIES IN HOW THE PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED AND WE JUST GONNA HAVE TO GET THROUGH THE FINAL, FINALIZE THIS OUT, SO SURE. MOTION. I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE WAIVE THE, I'LL SECOND IT. OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR PARK, A SECOND BY DIRECTOR GALLO. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MOVE ON [9. STAFF REPORT ] TO ITEM NINE. STAFF REPORT. I GOT, I I HAVE TWO ITEMS FOR YOU. ONE, UM, IS NEWS WE JUST RECEIVED THIS MORNING. SO, UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RE RESOURCES RELEASED THE 2026 PERIODIC REVIEW OF THE MERCED SUBBASINS AMENDED GSP WITH AN INCOMPLETE DETERMINATION. SO SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS GSP REVIEWS FOR OUR BASIN, THE BASIN GSAS HAVE 180 DAYS TO ADDRESS THE ONE IDENTIFIED DEFICIENCY AND RESUBMIT THE GSP. AND SO WE, UM, WE ARE WORKING ON THAT. THERE IS THE ONE DEFICIENCY IS RELATED TO SUBSIDENCE. WE ARE SCHEDULING A MEETING WITH THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE IN OCTOBER TO MEET WITH OUR BASIN WIDE CONSULTANTS, WOODARD AND KERN, WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING ON BASIN-WIDE SUBSIDENCE WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING IN RELATION TO THE SUBSIDENCE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND THE MEETING THAT WE HAD WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES ON THE SUBSIDENCE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. AND SO IT'S NOT A COMPLETE SURPRISE THAT, UM, WE RECEIVE THIS RESPONSE FROM DWR, BUT WE ALREADY HAVE SOME, UM, MEETINGS AND ACTION IN PROGRESS. WE HAVE UNTIL APRIL TO RESPOND BACK TO DWR AND WE WILL DO THAT. THE SECOND ITEM IS THE SIGMA GRANT PROGRAM GUIDELINES. SO EARLIER THIS WEEK, DWR RELEASED THE PROP 4 20 26 SIGMA GRANT PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC REVIEW. AND SO WE'LL BE TAKING A LOOK AT THESE. THE COMMENT PERIOD IS OPEN THROUGH DECEMBER 4TH. UPON INITIAL REVIEW, THE GRANT PROGRAM LOOKS SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS VERSIONS WHERE THERE IS ONE APPLICATION PER BASIN. UH, THE PROGRAM WILL PRIORITIZE INCREASED GROUNDWATER STORAGE, AND THERE'S A MAXIMUM LIMIT OF 15 MILLION PER PROPOSAL. AND THE APPLICATIONS CAN BUNDLE MULTIPLE PROJECTS TOGETHER. AND SO WE'LL LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE CLOSELY AT THOSE. IF THERE ARE COMMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE, WE WILL MAKE THOSE COMMENTS BY THE DEADLINE IN DECEMBER. AND THEN WE DO EXPECT, UM, SINCE THIS IS JUST THE PUBLIC REVIEW OF THE GUIDELINES, WE DO EXPECT THE FINAL GUIDELINES TO BE OUT. AND THEN OF COURSE, THE APPLICATION PERIOD IN 2027. AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR YOU. THANK YOU. CAN YOU TAKE THAT DOWN? CAN YOU TAKE DOWN THE, THAT THOSE PEOPLE AREN'T CONFUSED? ALL RIGHTY. UH, [10. BOARD REPORTS ] BOARD REPORT, START TO MY LEFT DOWN HERE, MIKE. UH, TUESDAY WE HAD A CALIFORNIA FOOD AND AG BOARD MEETING, AND WE HEARD FROM THE WATER AGENCIES, UH, AND A COUPLE INTERESTING THINGS CAME UP. UH, ONE IS THAT THEY'RE EXPECTING THE GOVERNOR TO PREEMPTIVELY, UH, DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THE EL NINO. AND, AND IF, IF HE DOES IN FACT DO THAT, THEN HE'S GOING TO ALLOW FOR THAT WATER TO BE USED FOR GROUNDWATER RECHARGE AND TO RECEIVE CREDITS IF THE, IF THE GSA ALLOWS THE PERSON TO RECEIVE CREDITS. OKAY. THAT'S FANTASTIC. SO, SO THAT'S GOOD NEWS IF HE IN FACT, DOES IT. THE OTHER THING THAT GOT BROUGHT UP IS WE, THEY TALKED ABOUT VERY SMALL FARMERS AND, YOU KNOW, ONE ACRE, FIVE ACRE TYPE FARMERS AND, UH, WHAT SIGMA IS DOING TO THEM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN'T AFFORD, UH, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY TO GET PENALTIES. THEY, THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO PUT IN METERS [00:50:01] AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND SO THEY'RE HAVING SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. BUT I, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE AS A BOARD NEED TO THINK ABOUT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, OTHERWISE WE COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF NON-COMPLIANT SMALL FARMERS AND HAVE A, HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THOSE. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT WHETHER WE WANT TO DO ANYTHING BROAD BASED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHETHER A ONE ACRE FARMER OR FIVE ACRE FARMER IS, YOU KNOW, UH, DOESN'T HAVE TO COMPLY. UH, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S DI MINIMUS OR NOT TO OUR GSA, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT I EXPRESS IS THAT WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY THERE ARE OR WHO THEY ARE AND, AND, AND NOBODY ELSE DOES. YOU KNOW, THE STATE DOESN'T EITHER. BUT I MEAN, IT'S JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT BECAUSE I THINK IT COULD BECOME A PROBLEM FOR STAFF TO, YOU KNOW, SORT THROUGH ALL OF THESE WHEN WE START, UH, YOU KNOW, SEEING HOW MUCH WATER THEY'RE USING AND, RIGHT. OKAY. ANYTHING, ANYTHING? NOPE. OKAY. WELL, WITH THAT, [11. FUTURE MEETINGS ] UH, WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM 11. OUR FUTURE MEETING IS NOVEMBER 12TH, 2:00 PM HERE IN THIS, UH, CHAMBERS AND ITEM 12 ADJOURNMENT. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.