Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority

MINUTES MONTEREY PENINSULA REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY (MPRWA) Director's Meeting 7:00 PM, Thursday, August 10, 2017 COUNCIL CHAMBERS 580 PACIFIC STREET, MONTEREY MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Directors Present: Director Carbone, Director Dallas, Director Edelen, President Roberson, Director Rubio, President Kampe Directors Absent: None Staff Present: Executive Director Cullem, Legal Counsel Freeman, Clerk Romero CALL TO ORDER President Kampe called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. ROLL CALL All directors were present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE REPORTS FROM BOARD DIRECTORS AND STAFF President Kampe announced that item #3 will be pulled from consent for discussion. A member of the public requested to pull item #6 from consent. PUBLIC COMMENTS  Will Caruthers, public, recommended a book called "Water Fighting Over" to the MPRWA Directors. CONSENT AGENDA On a motion by Director Edelen, seconded by Director Rubio, and carried by the following vote, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority approved the Consent Agenda, with the exeption of items #3 and #6: AYES: 6 DIRECTORS: Carbone, Dallas, Edelen, Roberson, Rubio, Kampe NOES: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSENT: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSTAIN: 0 DIRECTORS: None RECUSED: 0 DIRECTORS: None 1. Approval of Minutes from June 8, 2017 Action: Approved 2. Approve and File Authority Checks Through July 31, 2017 Action: Approved  MPRWA Minutes Thursday, August 10, 2017 3. Receive Report and Approve a Joint Meeting in September or October with the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) Action: Removed from consent; discussed; approved a joint meeting in September with MPWMD PUBLIC COMMENT:  Dave Stoldt, MPWMD, said the policy committee hasn't met in 4 years, and would like to start having annual meetings with WMD and MPRWA to discuss topics that effect both parties, such as the water supply project and the CDO, and is not a discussion about public ownership of water.  Tom Rowley, Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association (MPTA), said that Director Edelen mentioned that the Authority's mission is to secure a water supply. He said that MPWMD is not functioning to secure a water supply, which is why the MPRWA exists. He added that MPTA believes there is a lack of representation on the WMD board and that needs to change.  Mr. Caruthers, said he agrees with Don that the MPRWA must stay on track with the mission of the authority.  Catherine Stedman, Cal Am, said that if the MPRWA meets to discuss public ownership it may give the public the impression that the Authority is supportive of public ownership. She said that Cal Am will be fighting the ballot measure regarding public ownership, and that a past ballot measure did not pass. She said that if MPWMD and MPRWA meet and decide to do a feasibility study on public ownership, it will be saving PWN the money and time and effort to do it themselves and possibly win the ballot measure. She said that this could end up in the courts and be very costly.  Dan Presser, asked everyone in the room to raise their hand if they receive water bills from Cal Am, and then raise their hand if their water bill has gone up. He said that the public is outraged that their water bills have more than doubled, due to the inefficiency of Cal Am and this should be brought to attention.  Mr. Wilson, resident, he said that costly water bills are an emotional subject for people. He expressed appreciation for the Authority for sticking to their mission and not taking sides on the public ownership issue.  Michael Baer, resident, said that the Peninsula has the highest water bills in the country and they will continue to go up. He said that Cal Am's project has signs that says "your water bill at work" but is a misleading sign because the water bill rate increases haven’t begun to pay for the construction cost yet.  Pat Benza, resident, said that water should be sold for profit. She said she has heard that the slant wells will not work, and that Cal Am will profit regardless. She said she Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, August 10, 2017 2 MPRWA Minutes Thursday, August 10, 2017 believes public ownership would be best for the public.  Charles Check, Public Water Now (PWN) advocate, said that the CPUC and Cal Am control water costs and that government agencies are causing the problems.  Marlene Fisher, Public Water Now, said that PWN has distributed information to the board regarding reasons why public ownership should be discussed at the joint meeting with the MPWMD.  Phil Rowman, resident, said that 3 years ago the Mayors influenced the outcome of the last ballot measure regarding public water ownership due to the Authority's support of Cal Am. He said that the role that the Authority plays in the next ballot measure will greatly influence the outcome again.  Melody Grislock, PWN, said she would like a feasibility study of public ownership discussed at the joint meeting. She said she does not know why the MPRWA is so supportive of Cal Am who is for profit and has shareholders.  Doug Wilhelm, resident, he said that CDO was issued in the 90's for Cal Am to come up with an alternate water supply and in over 20 years Cal Am has not come up with an alternate water supply. He said that the only thing that Cal Am has done has started a desal project that is a long way from completion and said he would like the joint meeting to discuss other sources of water.  Amy Anderson, resident, said she does not think Cal Am is capable of building a desal plant because of where they placed the test slant well. She said that ratepayers are already paying for Cal Ams mistakes and would like the joint meeting to discuss the MPWSP and the fact that there are no slant well projects operating anywhere in the world.  Nancy Selfridge, resident, she said that the Authority's goal when formed was to find a new water supply, and the joint meeting should discuss public ownership of water.  Jan Shriner, resident, she said the joint meeting with MPRWA and MPWMD is a great idea to talk about PWM and all the various water projects, not just Cal Am.  George Riley, PWN, said that PWN is supporting the ballot measure for public ownership of the water because their goal is to secure a water supply for future generations. He said that the MPRWA can stay out of the discussion, but the constituents are already talking about it and it isn't going away. He said Cal Am has been irresponsible with spending and charging the ratepayers for their problems. He requested to give a presentation to the Authority at a future meeting. Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, August 10, 2017 3  MPRWA Minutes Thursday, August 10, 2017  Ron Weitzman, MPTA, said that the Authority should discuss with WMD the option of public ownership. He said that MPTA plans to litigate against Cal Am.  Jennifer Heydew, resident, said that there aren't many young people here at the meeting because they're all busy working multiple jobs to pay for the high cost of living in this area. She said that a lot of young people will be voting in favor of public ownership of water.  John Narigi, Coalition of Peninsula Businesses, said that the coalition would like the authority to meet with the WMD to discuss public ownership but not take a side. He said he is concerned about the CDO and not being able to meet the milestones. He said he is not promoting Cal Am, but that there should be a viable project moving forward. He said that public takeover of water in this area will greatly affect the CPUC and the CDO and would be suicide for the community and getting a water supply and the authority should consider that. Receiving no further requests to speak, public comment was closed. President Kampe addressed public comment by saying that the handout from PWN has a lot of inaccuracies. He also said that the Authority will not be involved in any discussion about the cost of water, and that the Authority did not take any sides on the last ballot measure regarding public ownership of water. On a motion by Director Kampe, seconded by Director Rubio, and carried by the following vote, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Approved a Joint Meeting in September with the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) to discuss the topic of water demand, alternate water supply sources, and the CDO condition #2: AYES: 4 DIRECTORS: Carbone, Edelen, Rubio, Kampe NOES: 2 DIRECTORS: Dallas, Roberson ABSENT: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSTAIN: 0 DIRECTORS: None RECUSED: 0 DIRECTORS: None 4. Receive Report on the Statements of Issues Forwarded to the CPUC on June 30, 2017 and Comments Forwarded on July 11, 2017 Action: Received report 5. Receive Status Report Water Authority Efforts to Facilitate a Settlement Agreement between the City of Marina/ Marina Coast Water District and Cal Am on the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP) Action: Received Report 6. Receive Report on a Electrical Resistivity Tomography Survey (AEM/ERT) of Groundwater Salinity Levels along the Marina Portion of the Monterey Bay Coastline Action: Removed from consent; a portion of the MCWD meeting presentation on AEM was distributed to the board for review; discussed PUBLIC COMMENT: Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, August 10, 2017 4  MPRWA Minutes Thursday, August 10, 2017  Michael Baer, Resident, said he believes the return water agreement is infeasible, because in a wet season it will cost too much to return.  Jan Shriner, resident, said that she attended the meeting at the Marina Coast Water District and gave her thoughts on AEM.  Cathy Beala, resident, said that the Marina Coast AEM study was done to evaluate the effects on groundwater.  Luke, resident, said that the Cemex plant may be driving up the salinity level of slant well study, as mentioned in the Weekly article. Receiving no further requests to speak, public comment was closed. No action was taken on this item. ***End of Consent Agenda*** AGENDA ITEMS 7. Receive an Update on the Pure Water Monterey (PWM) / Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) Project Action: Continued this update to a future meeting On a motion by Director Edelen, seconded by Director Dallas, and carried by the following vote, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority continued this item for a future meeting: AYES: 6 DIRECTORS: Carbone, Dallas, Edelen, Roberson, Rubio, Kampe NOES: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSENT: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSTAIN: 0 DIRECTORS: None RECUSED: 0 DIRECTORS: None 8. Receive Report, Provide Staff Direction, and Conduct Conference Call with Authority Special Counsel on Upcoming CPUC Hearings and Activities Involving Special Counsel Action: Received report; discussed; no change in direction for Special Counsel 9. Receive and Discuss the Geosyntec Report on Groundwater and Hydrogeologic Impacts, Including Modeling Issues, Raised by the Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) in its Comments on the MPWSP DEIR/DEIS; Receive Comments from the Technical Advisory Committee on the Report; and Provide Staff Direction Action: Received report; discussed; the Authority will wait for the TAC to give feedback PUBLIC COMMENT:  Michael Baer, resident, asked if the geosyntec report is available to the public.  Tom Rowley, MPTA, expressed gratitude that Executive Director Cullem is available to help interpret the Geosyntec report. Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, August 10, 2017 5  MPRWA Minutes Thursday, August 10, 2017  Jan Shriner, resident, she said she is trying to understand the groundwater model and where the water is being pumped from. She said there is a lot of confusion about the model. Received report. There were not comments available from the TAC. 10. Receive an Update on the Summary Project Schedule for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP) and the Status of Test Slant Well Operations Action: Received update PUBLIC COMMENT :  Tom Rowley, MPTA, said that the Weekly article said that there is a 6 month delay in the CPUC approving the EIR. He said that the CPUC is nuts. He questioned why no one from the County is on the MPRWA board.  A resident expressed concern about the CDO.  Jan Shriner, resident, spoke about the Marina ERT data. She said from a scientific perspective any water from the ground is considered ground water. She mentioned that someone earlier commented that the Cal Am slant well was suppoed to go underneath the bay and she would like to know what happened with that. ADJOURNMENT President Kampe adjourned the meeting at 9:45pm. ATTEST: Nova Romero, Clerk of the Authority MPRWA President Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, August 10, 2017 6