Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority

MINUTES MONTEREY PENINSULA REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY (MPRWA) Special Meeting 7:00 PM, Monday, October 22, 2012 FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Directors Present: Bachofner, Burnett, Edelen, Garcia, Pendergrass, Della Sala Directors Absent: Staff Present: Acting Executive Director, Clerk of the Authority, Legal Counsel ROLL CALL President Della Sala called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PUBLIC COMMENTS President Della Sala opened public comment for items not on the agenda. David Armanasco representing the Deep Water Desal project stated that the error listed in the CPUC's Notice of Preparation included an incorrect description for the Deep Water Desal project. Mr. Armanasco provided corrected information to the Authority and the public. Nelson Vega spoke requesting any materials discussed during the public meeting be made available to the public. Nina Beattie spoke about smart meters manufactured by Neptune Technology Group indicating they are inaccurate, have unexplained bill increases and cited an article in the Monterey Herald as inaccurate. With no further requests to speak, President Della Sala closed public comment. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Receive and Discuss Recommendations From the Technical Advisory Committee Regarding the Notice of Preparation of the Environmental Impact Report for the Proposed California- American Water Company (Cal Am) Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP) to be heard by the California Public Utilities Commission and Provide Direction in Regards to the Public Scoping Meetings Beginning on October 24, 2012 Action: Discussed and Gave Direction to Staff Chair Stoldt reported about the October 22, 2012 TAC meeting discussing areas which the Authority should address in the response to the Notice of Preparation (NOP) prior to the CPUC Scoping meetings on October 24 and 25, 2012 and encouraged the Authority to request the most comprehensive evaluation to avoid future potential litigation. After giving a brief description of the nine bulleted recommendations from the TAC, he answered questions of the board. Director Pendergrass questioned the small project alternatives in Pacific Grove as a viable alternative. Pacific Grove City Manager Tom Frutchey gave a brief description of the three projects Pacific Grove has proposed to convert the Pacific Grove golf course from potable water to waste water and to free up 125 acre feet per year of water. MPRWA Minutes Monday, October 22, 2012 President Della Sala opened the floor for public comments on this item. Nelson Vega spoke concerning other geographic areas which have not addressed a water solution and requested potentially supplying water to those areas be considered in the decision making process. He also requested emphasis in the size of the project as well as the importance of addressing the cost per acre foot. He then asked the Authority to analyze their liability and he spoke in support of Fred Meurer's strategic suggestions for the Authority. President Della Sala closed public comment and brought the item back to the Authority for discussion. The Authority discussed the previous policy over the rate of replenishment and agreed to agendize it for a future meeting. Edelen discussed scenarios of replacement versus replenishment and requested that a decision of size be based on drought or worst case scenarios. President Della Sala followed up by suggesting that the letter needs to communicate the Authority’s concern about water levels with regard to ASR and GWR impacts during drought years. Vice President Bachofner spoke to Edelen’s comments saying the consideration should not only include drought impacts on aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) but ground water replenishment (GWR) as well and that it is critical to understand that Desal plants are modular in nature and can add modules on line in the future. He emphasized that determining the size of the pipe is important. Mr. Freeman responded that the size of the pipe could be regulated through permitting also. 46:24 On a Motion by Director Burnet and seconded by President Della Sala and carried by the following vote, the MPRWA approve providing direction to staff to draft a letter for the President’s signature which reflects the points made by the Technical Advisory Committee with below four modifications: 1) Include language from Fred Meurer’s memo noting that including the project alternatives at the project level will take additional resources and the MPRWA is willing to advocate for the additional costs given the much larger cost of failure. 2) Reiteration of the Water Authority’s position that the desalination facility should be sized for replacement and replenishment specifying the Authority has not taken a position on time frame for which the Seaside basin should be replenished and noting the impact that both GWR and ASR have with respect to drought and weather variability. 3) Sizing of the pipeline and other parts of the project that are not modular and should be considered in a different way than the size of the desalination project itself. DIRECTED LEGAL COUNSEL TO DRAFT SAFE LANGUAGE FOR ITEM 3 4) Include reference to Pacific Grove small water project alternatives but specify that the MPRWA has not endorsed or taken a position on these projects. AYES: 6 COUNCILMEMBERS: Bachofner, Burnett, Edelen, Garcia, Pendergrass, Della Sala NOES: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None RECUSED: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Special Meeting Minutes - Monday, October 22, 2012 2  MPRWA Minutes Monday, October 22, 2012 President Della Sala invited discussion on the motion. Vice President Bachofner requested stronger language regarding sizing of the pipe as Seaside has a position for growth and not just replenishment. Director Burnett responded that his intention was to be careful so that we are not triggering a CEQA challenge with the language. The Authority agreed to defer to Legal Council to draft safe language. Pacific Grove City Manager Tom Frutchey spoke on behalf of Director Garcia requesting the MPRWA support the Pacific Grove Small Water Projects and suggested the Authority receive an informational presentation. The Authority agreed to change the next regularly scheduled meeting to a special meeting on Thursday October 25, 2012 to add a presentation from the City of Pacific Grove regarding the small water projects cited in the NOP. With no Further Discussion, the Authority agreed unanimously. 2. Appoint an MPRWA Director as Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) as required by the JPA Agreement and Authorize Staff to Accept Applications of Appointment for Additional TAC Member Vacancies President Della Sala indicated that the JPA agreement requires Alternate Committees to be chaired by a Director of the Authority. He also commented that previous TAC Chairs have done an outstanding job, however the Authority must be in compliance with the agreement which was signed by each jurisdiction. He indicated the time commitment to be approximately 10 hours per month. President Della Sala opened public comment and having no requests to speak, closed public comment then made a suggestion that Director Burnett serve as a Chair of the TAC. On a motion by President Della Sala, seconded by Director Pendergrass, and carried by the following vote, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority approved appointment of Director Burnet as Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee as required by the JPA agreement and authorized staff to accept applications for future appointments of additional TAC members. AYES: 6 DIRECTORS: Bachofner, Burnett, Edelen, Garcia, Pendergrass, Della Sala NOES: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSENT: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSTAIN: 0 DIRECTORS: None RECUSED: 0 DIRECTORS: None 3. Approve Sending Letter Endorsing County Counsel Request for Attorney General Opinion Regarding Membership of Monterey County in the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Legal Counsel Freemen discussed a letter delivered to the MPRWA and expressed concern about potential conflicts of interest between two participating agencies with the JPA. He said unless enabling legislation exists there could be an incompatibility of operability. The intent of this item is to get clarification on the matter from the Attorney General from the State of California if there is a conflict of interest with Monterey County participating with the Authority. The County has the ability to request that opinion and asked that the Authority be willing to support and co-sign the attached letter. The Authority agreed unanimously to this request. President Della Sala and opened the floor to public comments on closed session items. Nina Beattie requested that the Authority not consider Sue McCloud as a candidate for the Executive Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Special Meeting Minutes - Monday, October 22, 2012 3 MPRWA Minutes Monday, October 22, 2012 Director position. President Della Sala informed the public that Ms. McCloud has withdrawn her application. With no further business to conduct in open session President Della Sala adjourned to closed session at 8:15 p.m. ***Adjourn to Closed Session*** ADJOURNMENT ATTEST: Lesley Milton, Clerk of the Authority MPRWA President Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Special Meeting Minutes - Monday, October 22, 2012 4