FOX CANYON GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AGENCY A STAn OF CALIFORNIA WATER AGENCY

Transcription

1 FOX CANYON GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AGENCY A STAn OF CALIFORNIA WATER AGENCY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lynn E. Maulhardt, Chair, Director, United Water Conservation District David Borchard, Farmer, Agricultural Representative Charlotte Craven, Vice Chair, Councilperson, City of Camarillo Steve Bennett, Supervisor, County of Ventura Dr. Michael Kelley, Director, Zone Mutual Water Company EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jeff Pratt, P.E. MINUTES Minutes of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency's (FCGMA) regular Board meeting held Wednesday, in the Board of Supervisors' Hearing Room at the Ventura County Government Center, Hall of Administration, 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura California. A. Call to Order Chair Maulhardt called the meeting to order at 1 :32 p.m. B. Pledge of Allegiance Director Bennett led the Pledge of Allegiance. C. Roll Call Chair Lynn Maulhardt Director Charlotte Craven Director Steve Bennett Director Michael Kelley Director David Borchard Alternate Directors Dan Naumann and David Schwabauer were in the audience. Staff Members Present Jeff Pratt, Executive Officer Alberto Boada, Agency Counsel Gerhardt Hubner, WPD, Deputy Director, Water & Environmental Services Gerard Kapuscik, WPD, Special Projects Manager Rick Viergutz, Groundwater Manager David Panaro, Agency Staff Geologist Bryan Bondy, UWCD-FCGMA, Associate Hydrogeologist Miranda Nobriga, Clerk of the Board 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, CA (805) or FAX: (805) or Websites: or Item 1 - Page 1 of 8

2 Page 2 of 8 D. Agenda Review Mr. Jeff Pratt, Executive Officer, stated there were signatures on the original copies of Item 2, Page 2 of 3, and Item 7, Page 3 of 3. However, the signatures are missing in the agenda packet due to the graphics included in the Board letters. Mr. Pratt addressed some changes to the agenda as well. Item 6, Page 4 of 6, first paragraph, the $ dollar amount should read $150.00, and the information in parenthesis, capped at $725.00, should be stricken. Additionally, Item 7, Page 3 of 3, the $25,000 dollar amount referred to in the second and third paragraphs includes all of FCGMA's administrative support and is not only for facilitator funding. E. Public Comments Mr. Henry Graumlich, Calleguas Municipal Water District, referred to Emergency Ordinance 0, the moratorium in the Las Posas basin, and the issuance of a water well permit to Placco, LLC. Mr. Graumlich stated it is a matter of concern to try to develop a basin plan in a groundwater basin that is over drafted to see any new groundwater well that is irrigating acreage that was previously not irrigated. Mr. Graumlich stated when Calleguas found out about the permit, their Board requested that the FCGMA Executive Officer and Agency Counsel come and address their Board. Mr. Graumlich thanked them for doing a good job explaining their reasoning for issuing the permit, but in terms of the future when there are ministerial actions that so clearly go in a different direction that the FCGMA Board in terms of protecting the resource, it seems there might be policy issues that might bring this to a larger discussion. Mr. Graumlich asked the Board to consider making this a future Board item so that the rest of the FCGMA constituents can have the same benefits of explanations that were provided to Calleguas on this issue. F. Board Member Comments Director Kelley spoke about the issues regarding the basin boundaries within the agency that will be presented today. Director Kelley would like to consider moving the moratorium established for the Las Posas area to the entire agency until those basin boundaries are adequately and properly defined. Director Kelley stated that there needs to be some way any new users of water, both municipal and agricultural, are required to notify the FCGMA Board of any new potential projects that involve new facilities. Director Kelley would like to see this as a Board action item. Chair Maulhardt directed staff to meet with Director Kelley so he could define how he wants the agenda item addressed at a future Board meeting. CONSENT ITEMS: 1. Approval of Minutes Chair Maulhardt directed the Clerk of the Board, Ms. Miranda Nobriga, to revise the May 27, 2009 regular Board meeting minutes to include Alternate Director David Schwabauer as present in Item 1, Page 1 of 6, Section C. Director Craven made the motion to move the approval of minutes with one change, Director Bennett seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously. 2. Work Plan Update Mr. Gerhardt Hubner, WPD, Deputy Director, gave a presentation to update the Board on staff efforts for the Agency's Fiscal Year Work Plan. Mr. Hubner outlined the status of Task Numbers 1-10 and the highlights are as follows: Task 1 - Irrigation Efficiency Program Evaluation - staff telephoned a number of growers who reported efficiencies over 200% and the results of the Item 1 - Page 2 of 8

3 Page 3 of 8 calls are contained in the chart on Page 3 of 3 of Item 2; Task 2 - Unpaid Pump Charge Account Collections - staff telephoned eight operators whose accounts reflect surcharges due to inform them they wi" be receiving a bill; Task 3 - Unregistered Wells - staff mailed 71 certified returnreceipt letters to property owners within the FCGMA with suspected unregistered wells; Task 4 - Meter Calibration - staff mailed 86 certified return-receipt requested letters to non-compliant owners/operators; and Task 7 - Credit Issues Analysis and Evaluation - Bryan Bondy is working diligently on this task. Director Bennett requested staff schedule a meeting with him to discuss irrigation efficiency. 3. Las Posas Basin-Specific Groundwater Management Plan Status Mr. Bryan Bondy, FCGMA-UWCD Associate Hydrogeologist, gave a presentation regarding the Las Posas Basin-Specific Groundwater Management Plan status. Mr. Bondy discussed the highlights from the Users Group meetings held on May 2ih and the morning of June 24th. Mr. Bondy distributed a Tentative Schedule for Plan Development, Technical Analysis, and Strategic Recommendations. The following task updates were presented: Project Management Plan; Basin Plan Table of Contents; Technical Updates; Stakeholder Outreach; Users Group Attendance Tracking; and Basin Boundaries. 4. Adoption, Adjustment, and Recordation of Maps of Agency and Groundwater Basin Boundaries Mr. Bryan Bondy, FCGMA-UWCD Associate Hydrogeologist, gave a presentation regarding Adoption, Adjustment, and Recordation of Maps depicting Agency and Groundwater Basin Boundaries. Mr. Bondy noted that his presentation contains two separate items, the Agency's outer boundary as we" as the boundaries of the groundwater basins that lie within the Agency boundary. Mr. Bondy outlined the history and current state of Agency and groundwater basin boundaries, boundary-related concerns, and possible solutions. Chair Maulhardt asked why there are shaded areas outside of the Agency boundary on a map presented. Mr. Bondy responded that the groundwater basins extend beyond FCGMA's jurisdictional territory. Chair Maulhardt asked if the portions of the groundwater basins that lie outside of the Agency's boundary can impact those portions that lie within. Mr. Bondy said it is a possibility and a concern that wi" be raised later in his presentation. Chair Maulhardt inquired whether or not legislative relief from Sacramento is required for the Agency to change the FCGMA boundary. Mr. Bondy responded yes and no. No if the Agency extends the boundary to include areas that we now understand to have Fox Canyon aquifer under laying it. Yes if the Agency expands the area where Fox Canyon aquifer is not present. Chair Maulhardt asked if it's a fair statement to say that from an administrative or strategic stand point, to manage our area of responsibility to define the basins and put boundaries on the basins, we have the authority to do that since it's a management process. Mr. Bondy answered yes, in terms of the groundwater basins, nothing was found in the Agency's enacting legislation that prohibits that. Mr. Bondy stated he believed it is fully in the Agency's purview to do the technical analysis required to define the boundaries between individual basins. Director Ke"ey stated that the LAFCO representative gave strong indication that she had full authority on this issue and asked if that was true or not true. Mr. Bondy responded that he has been working with Ms. Kim Uhlich, the LAFCO Executive Officer, regarding this issue and she confirmed that from LAFCO's perspective, it is fully within the Agency's authority to define the Item 1 - Page 3 of 8

4 Page 4 of 8 basin boundaries within the territory of the Agency. Director Kelley said Ms. Uhlich was in the process of a clean-up project and was hoping those issues would come through her office quickly so they could be carried as a group and asked if that is still true. Mr. Hubner responded LAFCO was going through the Sphere of Influence determination by conferring with Agency staff, and most of it was focused on external boundaries. Mr. Jeff Pratt, Executive Officer, stated that LAFCO isn't concerned with the internal basin boundaries; however, they will exert any influence they have on any external boundary adjustments. Agency Boundary Mr. Bondy continued his presentation with information on the initial Agency boundary completed in January AB-2995, the Agency's enacting legislation, set forth a three-step process for adopting our initial agency boundary. The three steps are noticed public hearing, County BOS adoption, and record adopted map. Agency Boundary Update: The enacting legislation provides procedures for updating the Agency boundary. It states the Board may adjust the boundary by following the same procedures used to adopt the initial boundary. In 1991, the FCGMA Board approved a new boundary. In 1996, the updated boundary was recorded. In 2002, the boundary was re-recorded to show outcrop areas. Agency Boundary - Current State: The FCGMA has been using the 1991 version, and LAFCO recognizes the 1991 version. However, there are some uncertainties. One uncertainty is whether a public hearing and BOS adoption was needed for the 1991 update. Mr. Boada is currently researching this for additional information. Another uncertainty is whether LAFCO has jurisdiction over future updates. Again, this is a legal issue that Mr. Boada is researching. Mr. Bondy stated Agency staff recommends conducting legal review as mentioned previously and modifying Ordinance No. 8.1 so that it refers to a specific recorded map. Another recommendation is to consider performing an update study. Mr. Bondy discussed reasons why an update of the Agency boundary may be warranted. The reasons include: New Data, Groundwater Basin Considerations, Reconcile Agency and Other Boundaries, 2012 Groundwater Management Plan Update, and Five-Year Review of Ordinance NO.8.1. Director Borchard asked Mr. Bondy about adjusting the Agency boundary (the northern part of the boundary southward as well as the southern part of the boundary down) to reflect the basin boundaries. Specifically, Director Borchard asked if these are two different things and if they are in the FCGMA's purview. Mr. Bondy responded that he believed the Agency can go through the process of moving the northern boundary down because it would be re-interpreting the extent of the Fox Canyon aquifer. Mr. Bondy addressed extending the southern boundary down and said it is more likely to be an issue because technically, the way the legislation is written, it would not be allowed. Mr. Alberto Boada, Agency Counsel, added that the Agency's jurisdiction is tied to the physical location of what's referred to as the Fox Canyon aquifer, so in order for the Board to move the boundary 'south, it would have to determine that those lands overly the Fox Canyon aquifer and not an aquifer outside of Fox Canyon. Chair Maulhardt stated he recalled that originally, the Agency took the most common aquifer that was known at the time and called it Fox Canyon. He continued that over time, with USGS and the Agency's own analysis, it was revealed that it's really multiple aquifers layered; some go outside the boundaries of Fox Canyon and some stop inside Fox Canyon. Chair Maulhardt stated the Agency would have to go back to the state and modify the language, and that process would require legislative relief. F:\gma\GMA Shared Stuff\2009\Agenda 7-09\1tem 1 - Minutes doc Item 1 - Page 4 of 8

5 Page 5 of 8 Dr. Steve Bachman reminded the Board that boundary adjustments are included within the current Groundwater Management Plan. Dr. Bachman stated one of the areas outside the boundary is hot on everyone's mind right now because that boundary was drawn between the Santa Paula Basin up against the Forebay. Because of the Santa Paula Basin adjudication, the boundary was moved slightly to the north and it left a "no man's land" in between that wasn't in the FCGMA and wasn't part of the adjudication of the Santa Paula Basin. Dr. Bachman informed the Board that there is an EIR that addressed significantly increased pumping in that "no man's land." Chair Maulhardt stated there are clear problems being developed because the way the boundary was defined doesn't reflect the technical nature of the aquifer. Mr. Henry Graumlich, CalJeguas Municipal Water District, offered to make a number of existing geologic studies available to the FCGMA staff. Groundwater Basin Boundaries Mr. Bondy continued the second part of his presentation regarding groundwater basin boundaries beginning with their current state. He stated there is no official basin boundary map and recorded maps do not depict basin boundaries. Mr. Bondy stated there are multiple versions of basin boundaries that can be found on various resources including the Agency's website, the Annual Report, and the Groundwater Management Plan. Mr. Bondy presented four options regarding Groundwater Basins: (1) Ordinance Change - remove reference to recorded maps; (2) Perform Study and Map Adoption; (3) Record an Existing Map; (4) Combine Option Nos. 2 & 3. Chair Maulhardt stated the Agency should consider a fifth option and that option should be to go through a study (option 2) and come up with a single map that defines the basins, but not to record it, because it is not a recordable event. Chair Maulhardt believed we should have one basin map but it should be a management tool and the Agency should have flexibility to change them. Director Bennett commented that he supports keeping flexibility with sub-basins, but feels we should ensure the FCGMA is on sound legal grounds if a decision is made not to record a basin boundary map. Director Bennett also stated that LAFCO cannot regulate boundaries within a government agency. Chair Maulhardt directed staff to put this item back on a future agenda. Director Bennett made the motion to receive and file, Director Craven seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously. 5. Fiscal Year Draft Annual Work Plan and Preliminary Budget Study Session Presentation Mr. Gerard Kapuscik, WPD, Special Projects Manager, gave a presentation summarizing the highlights of the Fiscal Year Draft Annual Work Plan and Preliminary Requested Budget. Key elements of Mr. Kapuscik's presentation included: 2nd Year of Annual Work Plan Development Process Work Plan Completion Performance Metrics Draft Annual Work Plan o Proposed Work Tasks and Deliverables o Level of Effort (Staff Teams and Hours) o Projected Costs (based on "Blended Cost" of $1 OO/hour) o Section I "Core Tasks": 1028 $452,100 Item 1 - Page 5 of 8

6 Page 6 of 8 o Section II "Additional Work Tasks": 2224 $222,400 Director Kelley stated that it seemed that the rationalization for the larger FY budget numbers was the increased surcharge and penalty funding received during the FY period. Director Kelley added he was under the assumption that increased surcharge and penalty monies were to be put to beneficial use. He believed some of the increased surcharge money should be directed toward finding replacement water. Director Borchard questioned the cost of the proposed Agency database restructuring project. He also stated that due to the cost, he does not support the inclusion of the proposed administrative business practices manual in the FY Annual Work Plan. He further suggested limiting the number of hard copies of the Agency's Annual Report to save printing costs. Mr. Kapuscik advised Director Borchard that Agency staff takes affirmative steps to limit the number of hardcopies of the Annual Report prepared, both for reasons of cost and in conformance with the County's E-Government policies promoting "green, paperless document management solutions." Digital versions are accessible via the Agency's website. Director Borchard also stated he believed the Agency should focus on efforts for new sources of water. Director Kelley referred to Section II, Additional Task No. Three, found on Page 4 of the Draft Annual Work Plan (i.e. Item 5A) where it was stated there are potentially 100 unregistered wells and 25 wells will be selected as test cases. Director Kelley asked what the result of this test case task was. Mr. Viergutz responded that the verbiage appeared to be a typo as 70 letters were mailed to unregistered well owners, and 25 unregistered wells incorrectly referenced in the table were not included and not separated as test cases from the total number of unregistered wells. Chair Maulhardt supported Agency staff's inclusion of all of the Section II Additional Work Tasks in the Annual Work Plan. He believed that fully funding all of those tasks was consistent with what the Board decided a year and a half ago. Chair Maulhardt stated that in the future he believed that the pump charge should be raised by $2.00 to the $6.00 per acre-foot maximum allowed by State law. In this instance, if this were to be done, the estimated 127,000 acre-feet of water pumped and "self-reported" during the next fiscal year times the additional $2.00 would equal $254,000. By itself, that revenue stream would cover the cost of the Section II Additional Work Tasks shown in the Annual Work Plan for FY Chair Maulhardt reiterated that in the future, he would support raising the pump fees to pay for the cost of the Work Plan Tasks and not use penalties and surcharges to pay for these. Director Borchard urged staff to proceed with the Work Plan and Budget without the proposed administrative business practices manual work task included. Director Kelley believed the Agency should designate money in the budget for independent legal service review, outside of Agency Counsel's routine legal services. Director Bennett supported the Work Plan and Budget as presented by Agency staff. Director Craven made the motion to receive and file the Fiscal Year Draft Annual Work Plan (including the proposed administrative business practices manual) and to finalize the Preliminary Requested Budget and schedule final adoption of the Budget during the July 22, 2009 regular Board meeting, Director Bennett seconded the motion, and the motion passed three to two. Roll call was taken: Chair Maulhardt - yes; Director Craven - yes; Director Bennett - yes; Directory Kelly - no; Director Borchard - no. Item 1 - Page 6 of 8

7 Page 7 of 8 ACTION ITEMS: 6. Retroactive Irrigation Efficiency Filing Chair Maulhardt preempted Mr. Viergutz' presentation due to time, and referred to the last page of the Board letter to discuss Agency staff's recommendation. The recommendation was to authorize retroactive filing of applications for irrigation efficiency extraction allocations for the period 2006, 2007, and 2008 and require payment of a $ civil penalty for failure to file the applications in a timely manner and to set surcharges for all owner/operators from 2005 and before to zero. Chair Maulhardt asked the Board what they would like to do regarding the penalty to make sure people comply. Director Bennett stated penalty should continue to increase over time. Agency Counsel, Mr. Alberto Boada, stated what is being proposed is a one-time offer to those operators who did not timely file to file retroactively within the 45-day time limit. Mr. Boada stated after the time period expired, if the operators have not filed their applications, the offer is gone, and they could be subject to surcharges and civil penalties. Director Kelley stated that irrigation efficiency filers, over the years, have not been notified by the FCGMA if they have been filing correctly or not. He also said the forms are confusing for people. Chair Maulhardt stated they needed to be careful about assigning responsibility to the Agency to tell operators they didn't fill out the form correctly as this was one of Houweling's arguments. Mr. Viergutz added the problem isn't only that people aren't completing the form correctly; but some aren't filing the forms at all. Director Bennett suggested the Board proceed with Agency staff's recommendations. Director Bennett made the motion to move forward with staff's recommendations, Director Craven seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously. Roll call was taken: Chair Maulhardtyes; Director Craven - yes; Director Bennett - yes; Director Kelley - yes; Director Borchard - yes. 7. Support for the Oxnard Plain Users Group Sub Basin Planning Effort Chair Maulhardt preempted Mr. Hubner due to time, and gave some background information regarding this item since he asked for it to be on the agenda. He stated that the Agency needed to look at basins from a management stand point; hence, we started the Oxnard Plain Users Group. Chair Maulhardt stated PVCWD and Mr. John Mathews have agreed to act as the facilitator getting this users group started. Chair Maulhardt said there were discussions to make FCGMA and UWCD the lead, and both Agency's needed to support the process. Chair Maulhardt stated it was decided that the FCGMA will provide administrative support, and UWCD will provide technical support. Chair Maulhardt added the Agency may have to retain a meeting facilitator who will act as a neutral party to pull out the facts. Chair Maulhardt stated the FCGMA will pay for some of the costs, and the $25,000 referred to in the Board letter will pay for the facilitator and the meetings. Director Kelley attended the first meeting and stated the meeting ran adequately and is not convinced a facilitator is necessary. Director Borchard asked if the Las Posas Users Group will feel slighted since the FCGMA does not contribute financially to their meetings. Chair Maulhardt asked Mr. Henry Graumlich if they will feel slighted and Mr. Graumlich responded that he is appreciative of the technical support they receive from the GMA, and they are fine with the FCGMA providing financial support to the Oxnard Plain Users Group. Item 1 - Page 7 of 8

8 Page 8 of 8 Chair Maulhardt made the motion to designate FCGMA support to the newly formed Oxnard Plain Users Group, Director Craven seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously. Roll call was taken: Chair Maulhardt - yes; Director Craven - yes; Director Bennett - yes; Director Kelley - yes; Director Borchard - yes. 8. Proposed Resolution No Mr. Gerhardt Hubner, WPD, Deputy Director, gave a presentation regarding Proposed Resolution No , Adoption of Guiding Principles for Enforcement. Mr. Hubner informed the Board the principles presented at the May 27, 2009 Board meeting have been incorporated into proposed Resolution No , and staff recommended the Board adopt Resolution No , Guiding Principles for Enforcement. Director Kelley made the motion to adopt Resolution No , Director Bennett seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously. Roll call was taken: Chair Maulhardt - yes; Director Craven - yes; Director Bennett - yes; Director Kelley - yes; Director Borchard - yes. EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT: 9. Administrative Reports Mr. Jeff Pratt, Executive Officer, informed the Board that he met with the Chairs of SAG and TAG after hearing comments regarding the progress. Mr. Pratt stated the TAG meetings have been temporarily suspended because they are not meeting the Board's intent. The intent is to operate the TAG more efficiently. TAG meetings will be suspended until SAG develops questions of a technical nature for TAG. Director Craven made the motion to receive and file the report, Director Bennett seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously. 10. Adjourn Regular Board Meeting Chair Maulhardt adjourned the Regular Board Meeting at 4: 1 0 p.m. Submitted by: ~A.Y"u..b(lw~ Iranda Nobriga Clerk of the Board Item 1 - Page 8 of 8