MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Transcription

1 IMPERIAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 BOARD OF DIRECTORS William R. Condit Auditorium Division 1 Matthew Dessert 1285 Broadway Ave. Division 2 Bruce Kuhn El Centro, CA Division 3 James C. Hanks Division 4 Stephen W. Benson, President Kevin E. Kelley, General Manager Division 5 Norma Sierra Galindo, Vice President MEETING CALLED TO ORDER 8:14 a.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS Roberto Cossio, president of Quadrant II de Baja California, spoke to the board about a project that would provide water to the Salton Sea once the fallowing program ends in He has been working with the Cocopah Tribe in Mexico on a proposal to bring water from the Gulf of California through the Laguna Salada and up to the Salton Sea. He has done a lot of research and is looking to collaborate with IID on this project that would benefit both the Tribe and the district. He is also working on a 50-MW energy project. The board seemed interested in discussing this proposal further and will have Mr. Cossio make a presentation at a future meeting, or will meet with him individually. CONVENE CLOSED SESSION 1. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL ANTICIPATED LITIGATION (Cal. Gov. Code sec (d)(2) & (e)(1)): Executive Dept. (1 case) 2. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL EXISTING LITIGATION (Cal. Gov. Code sec (d)(1)): In the matter of Imperial Irrigation District, etc., SWRCB Order CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL ANTICIPATED LITIGATION (Cal. Gov. Code sec (d)(2) & (e)(1)): Water Dept. (1 case) 4. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR (Cal. Gov. Code sec ): 74 E. Keystone Road, Brawley, CA IID Negotiator: K. Kelley Negotiating Party: California Ethanol & Power, LLC Under Negotiation: To be determined 5. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL EXISTING LITIGATION (Cal. Gov. Code sec (d)(1)): U.S. EPA v. IID, EPA Identification No. CAC

2 IID Board Minutes Page 2 of 11 September 1, CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL ANTICIPATED LITIGATION (Cal. Gov. Code sec (d)(2)) & (e)(1)): Energy Dept. (2 cases) RECONVENE OPEN SESSION 1:10 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. REPORT OF ACTION(S) TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION None. Item No. 15 Storm Update Angela Evans, manager, Distribution Services & Maintenance Operations, provided an update on restoration efforts to the IID system ravaged by a thunderstorm on August 6, Staff estimates a financial impact of up to $18 million. PRESENTATIONS Of the 168 employees who responded to the August 6, 2015 storm in the La Quinta area, a representative group was selected to be recognized as the Team of the Month for September 2015: Bill Damelio Mario Pimentel Enrique De Leon Paul Rodriguez Matt Smelser Ralph Mesa Marion Champion Line crews Troubleshooters Engineering SOC Engineering SOC Operations Emergency Management Media Communications APPROVAL OF AGENDA President Benson asked that item No. 15 be moved to the top of the agenda and Director Hanks placed item 1(c) on the action agenda. Moved by Director Galindo, seconded by Director Hanks, that the agenda be approved with the changes noted. Motion carried 4-0, with Director Dessert absent. Director Dessert arrived at 1:16 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS Ralph Strahm stated that he started his planting program and, as he was running water, the canal dropped (South Alamo Canal, Gate 86). He said it is important, during planting season, to have a reliable supply of water and encouraged the board to look into modernizing the system. Director Galindo asked the water manager if there have been similar incidents and he responded that there haven t been.

3 IID Board Minutes Page 3 of 11 September 1, 2015 COMMENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS Director Galindo related that schools are back in session. And even though the air conditioning units have been serviced, some will eventually end up going out. She has asked the general manager to meet with Todd Finnell, superintendent of schools, to see if it would be possible to arrange the school year to begin closer to September when the weather starts to cool. COMMENTS BY GENERAL MANAGER None. CONSENT No. 1 Minutes No. 2 Directors expenses No. 3 Cash audit report No. 4 Corvina Estates No. 5 Designated representatives No. 6 Salton Sea Species project board approve the minutes of the July 28, regular, and August 7, 2015, special meetings of the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors. Motion carried 5-0. board acknowledge receipt of the directors expense reports for the period ending July 27, Motion carried 5-0. board acknowledge receipt of an Internal Auditing Section report on unannounced cash audits at all the Imperial Irrigation District customer service centers between June 9 and June 16, Motion carried 5-0. board authorize staff to issue a sole-source contract to Elms Equipment Rental for the demolition, trash removal and grading work at the Corvina Estates Mobile Home Park at a cost of $212,000. Motion carried 5-0. board adopt Resolution No , naming Michael J. Taylor and Christopher Beltran as designated representatives for the El Centro Generation Station in compliance with the Acid Rain Program of the Clean Air Act. Motion carried 5-0. board adopt Resolution No , naming Michael J. Taylor and Baltazar A. Aguilera as designated representatives for the Niland gas turbine plant in compliance with the Acid Rain Program of the Clean Air Act. Motion carried 5-0.

4 IID Board Minutes Page 4 of 11 September 1, 2015 No. 7 Date Drain No. 8 Cash warrants/wires board approve Major Work Authorization No in the amount of $224,102 to replace about 90 feet of the Date Drain at Wake Avenue to accommodate the city of El Centro s plan to expand its water/sewer crossing pipelines, with the city paying 100 percent of the costs. Motion carried 5-0. board acknowledge receipt of the accounts payable checks/wires report for July 2015, as presented by the chief financial officer. Motion carried 5-0. CONSENT ITEMS ADDED TO ACTION AGENDA No. 1(c) Moved by Director Dessert, seconded by Director Galindo, that the Minutes board approve the minutes of the August 11, 2015 regular meeting of the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors. Motion carried 4-0, with Director Hanks abstaining as he was absent from this meeting. ACTION No. 9 Ormat Moved by Director Hanks, seconded by Director Dessert, that the board authorize the general manager to execute the Amended and Restated Water Supply Agreement between Imperial Irrigation District, Heber Geothermal Company, LLC and Heber Field Company for the Heber 1 plant for a term of 30 years and a supply of water of up to 1,800 acre-feet per year at the industrial rate, or at the conserved rate if that amount is exceeded. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Director Hanks, seconded by Director Dessert, that the board approve entering into a Bridge Improvement Agreement between Heber Geothermal Company, LLC, Heber Field Company, Imperial Irrigation District and county of Imperial whereby Heber Geothermal Company will pay up to $4 million for improvements to a bridge over the Central Main Canal at the intersection of Dogwood and Willoughby roads to ensure that adequate capacity is available from the Central Main Canal for the delivery of water to the plant and not be restricted by the height of the bridge. Motion carried 5-0. For the record, President Benson stated that Mike Abatti had submitted a letter asking for the same treatment a 30-year water agreement.

5 IID Board Minutes Page 5 of 11 September 1, 2015 No. 10 EDP 2016 (President Benson stated that legal counsel has told him that this is an issue that affects all the farmers; therefore, he can participate in the discussion.) Staff brought this issue to the board as an informational item on July 28, 2015, asking for board direction. Action is required by October 31 of each year; otherwise, the apportionment methodology defaults to a straight-line method. Director Dessert indicated that the Water Conservation Advisory Board had requested the board look at a water period longer than 10 years. In fact, it recommended 20 years of data. Staff stated that the five-year data is better than 10, but anything past that is not recommended. Director Dessert stated that it is probably better to stay with the 10-year period as staff gets more experience and to transition from fallowing to on-farm conservation. Jack Vessey and Ralph Strahm spoke on the issue, with Mr. Strahm indicating that five years of history works for his farming operation. President Benson indicated that there should be no reserve; however, he would ask the board for a small number, if it s inclined to have one. Director Galindo had concerns with not delivering water because of non-payment or due to a delinquent account. She said that there has to be a good reason for a farmer not to pay his water bill. Mr. Brock indicated that a farmer has other options to secure water from the farm-unit or through the water clearinghouse. Moved by Director Hanks, seconded by Director Dessert, that the board authorize using a hybrid methodology for the 2016 apportionment program, consisting of 50 percent of a field s average historical use (calculated using the year average, excluding the high and low years and capped at 5 acrefeet per acre [50 percent of 10 AF/AC]) and a straight-line component of the balance of the available water supply. The board also placed a reserve of 35,000 acre-feet. Motion carried 5-0.

6 IID Board Minutes Page 6 of 11 September 1, 2015 No. 11 Rancho Elegante Park No. 12 CVEP No. 13 Power content disclosure No. 14 CREBS allocation INFORMATION No. 15 Storm update No. 16 Infrastructure readiness No. 17 Legislation update Moved by Director Kuhn, seconded by Director Dessert, that the board assist the city of Calexico in its effort to provide lighting at the Rancho Elegante Park by having Imperial Irrigation District personnel dig the pole holes, do the electric work from the transformer to the park and make the meter connection. The cost of $15, will be funded by the district. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Director Benson, seconded by Director Dessert, that the board approve a request from the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership for funding in the amount of $50,000, with the expenditure coming from the Energy Department budget. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Director Hanks, seconded by Director Galindo, that the board approve the power content label disclosure for 2014 and the projected information for Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Director Galindo, seconded by Director Hanks, that the board adopt Resolution No , declaring the Imperial Irrigation District s intent to issue taxable clean renewable energy bond obligations for hydroelectric facilities and to allow for the reimbursement of expenditures made prior to the issuance of such CREB obligations. Motion carried 5-0. An update was provided at the beginning of the meeting, before the Team of the Month was recognized. With an El Niño weather pattern forecast for this winter, Director Galindo had requested a briefing on what has or is being done at the IID to be ready for such an event. Energy and Water department managers stated that some improvements have been made to the system, but the district can never be 100-percent ready for weather events. Antonio Ortega, government affairs and communications officer, provided an update on several bills that could be acted upon during the final weeks of the 2015 legislative session.

7 IID Board Minutes Page 7 of 11 September 1, 2015 No. 18 Energy Dept. gen. matters No. 19 Energy/water summit No. 20 Water Dept. gen. matters Carl Stills, energy manager, reported the following: 1. On July 1, 2015, Western Area Power Administration had an outage on a transformer at Parker, caused by a bad-order bushing that reduced the 100 MW at Pinnacle Peak to 23 MW and reduced the 60 MW at Liberty to 14 MW. The 50 MW Palo Verde-Blythe path went to 0 MW. IID was able to acquire some additional transmission through the Oasis. This transformer outage reduced the district s import from the WAPA system from 210 to 37 MW. The unit will be back in service by the end of September. 2. Staff has been studying energy resources to see if the district can get more efficient generation to overcome sunk fixed costs on older inefficient generators and lower IID s costs. The report will be presented to the respective board committee during the next general manager update meetings. 3. Staff is meeting internally with the Auditing Section and PMO do discuss all customer service projects. Afterward, meetings will be held with COLAB representatives to discuss the CSP process and recommend changes to improve the process. A request has been received to fund the 2015 Southern California energy/water summit, which will be held September 30 to October 1 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. It was noted that IID General Manager Kevin Kelley and Tina Shields, manager, Colorado River Resources are speakers. The requested funding level is $10,000 from Energy and $5,000 from Water. Previous years events have recorded about 600 attendees. Mike Pacheco and Tina Shields, water managers, provided the following report: (1) On-Farm Conservation Program Updates (a) As of August 20, 2015, IID has received over 900 proposals for the current on-farm conservation program and over 100 proposals for the next application period. Staff continues to work on baseline development and has nearly 400 field applications ready for contracting once the board authorizes the contract template. Staff continues to work with growers to develop crop-specific baseline averages and alternative program options for board consideration.

8 IID Board Minutes Page 8 of 11 September 1, 2015 No. 20 contd (b) Through August 20, 2015, IID has processed payments totaling nearly $16.2 million to growers for conserved water created from the on-farm efficiency conservation program initiated in (2) Farm-unit fallowing participating acreage summary information has been posted to the IID s website while provisional field data and conservation yields will be posted in September. (3) IID Water Use Updates (a) IID s use-to-date through August 24, 2015, is 1,704,403 AF; USBR s estimate of IID s underrun is at -159,964 AF, which does not include a 2,820 AF anticipated decrease in IID s consumptive use due to a one-time adjustment to the 1988 IID/MWD conservation agreement that has yet to be submitted to Reclamation. (b) In August the agricultural water clearinghouse fulfilled all transfer requests totaling 2,000 AF for 7,465 acres, received nine offers totaling 6,831.9 AF from 14,125 acres and 7,981 AF associated with delinquent accounts, leaving a balance of 14,414 AF in the clearinghouse. The next clearinghouse deadline to submit requests or offers to transfer is September 20, (c) The take-or-pay relief period runs from August 17 through September 1, 2015 and mailings were sent to all farm-unit managers, Water Conservation Advisory Board, Farm Bureau and Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers representatives. (4) IID/Farm Bureau Agricultural Discharge Coalition Last week the Imperial County Farm Bureau mailed out its first notice to agricultural landowners and tenants notifying them of a change in the voluntary total maximum daily load compliance program, from a Regional Water Quality Control Board-issued conditional prohibition to a conditional waiver. The most noticeable change in the new program: a state mandated fee (currently $0.75/acre) that IID has agreed to bill annually (in November) on behalf of the coalition. (5) Division Updates/12-Hour Usage (a) Divisions are reporting an average of hour water orders for 300 cfs. (b) (c) The East Highline Canal is running 2,000 cfs, Central Main Canal 750 cfs and Westside Main Canal 825 cfs. Division canal outages for this week: Eucalyptus, Ebony, Wisteria, Hemlock, Mesquite and Plum.

9 IID Board Minutes Page 9 of 11 September 1, 2015 No. 20 contd (d) Ebony concrete lining project is scheduled for this week. It is approximately one-half mile long, from Delivery 9 to Worthington Road. Fudge reservoir sediment removal project is scheduled for Sept. 15. (e) Roselle flume replacement project is scheduled for Oct. 12. Moorhead concrete lining project is scheduled for the week of Nov. 2. (f) Foxglove intertie connection to the WSM is scheduled for (g) Nov. 17. Flax intertie connection to the WSM is scheduled for Nov. 30. (6) Customer Projects: Oakley pipeline project (Sept. 14); Date Drain crossing (Sept. 28) and North Date Canal pipeline (Dec. 27). No. 21 Water supply update Tina Shields, Colorado River Resources manager, and Antonio Ortega, governmental affairs and communications officer, provided an update on the drought situation both on the Colorado River and within California. The imminent shortage for 2016 has been averted, but there s no prediction for 2017 at this time. Mr. Ortega noted the district s efforts in helping the cities with water conservation education in order to meet the governor s executive order for them to meet a 25-percent reduction in potable urban water use to conserve 1.2 million acre-feet by February The IID has begun a communication campaign, Imperial Valley-United for Conservation, as a public outreach effort for local residents. Messages will be up on three billboards throughout Imperial County, on the district s website and promoted via social media. No. 22 MWD ICS Ms. Shields briefed the board on a proposal to amend the California Agreement for the Creation and Delivery of Extraordinary Conservation Intentionally Created Surplus, which would allow an opportunity for IID to store additional surplus water in the Metropolitan Water District system. The salient points are: Increase IID s annual storage capacity within MWD s system by 75,000 AF (from 25,000 AFY to 100,000 AFY) during the timeframe. Increase IID s total storage capacity within MWD s system by 150,000 AF to 200,000 AF. Authorize on-farm and system conservation measures subject to MWD consultation and verification.

10 IID Board Minutes Page 10 of 11 September 1, 2015 No. 22 contd Reduce the 10-percent system loss to 5 percent, but add an annual 3 percent evaporative loss after 2020, to conservation in excess of the original 50,000 AF of storage. The annual reductions will be waived in any year that MWD is implementing a shortage allocation to its member agencies. Requires the delivery of at least 50 percent of conservation stored under the amendment, subject to the existing 50,000 AFY cap, at IID s request even if MWD is implementing a shortage allocation to its member agencies. Provide IID responsibility for Salton Sea impacts, if any, due to this amendment. All parties to the California agreement are required to approve the amendment and MWD did so on August 18, A discussion ensued on the issue. Jack Vessey, as chairman of a newly formed group called IV H 2 0, submitted a letter with today s date, asking several questions for the board to consider before making a decision: (1) Does MWD have the right to use, without consent, the additional stored water that we have conserved? Is there a mechanism to place controls regarding use of the additional stored water? (2) If MWD uses our water without cost, why should the amount of IID stored water be reduced? (3) Can methodologies for conserved water be determined prior to acceptance of this amendment and/or diversion? (4) In light of the drought, why doesn t IID enter into a new, separate, short-term agreement with the United States to store conserved water in Lake Mead? This would help keep Lake Mead s elevation higher, thereby reducing the risk of a shortage declaration. (5) Has IID explored other storage options like Lake Mead, Coachella or San Vicente and what is the cost of those options versus MWD? The issue will be brought to the board at a future meeting for action.

11 IID Board Minutes Page 11 of 11 September 1, 2015 No. 23 Fudge Reservoir No. 24 Imperial Dam No. 25 Air conditioners No. 26 PMO quarterly rept Ismael Gomez, assistant water manager/chief engineer, stated that staff had posted Primary Request for Proposal No for sediment removal from the Fudge Reservoir. Five responsible bids were received and reviewed, with the recommendation to award it to Spiess Construction Company, Inc., as the lowest responsible bid of $492,550. Doug Cox, assistant water manager, Operation and Maintenance, reviewed a major work authorization in the amount of $1,150,700 for the purchase of 72 electric motors/reduction gearbox combinations for clarifier Basin Nos. 1, 2 and 3 at Imperial Dam. The units cannot be replaced due to their age. It was stated that about 25 percent of the cost will be funded by other stakeholder entities. Jennifer Goodsell, interim manager, General Services, submitted a major work authorization for the replacement of seven heating ventilation and air-conditioning units at the Water Control Center, at a total cost of $283,600. These units were installed 22 years ago and have reached their useful life. Eddie Lutz, Portfolio Management Office, provided the 2015 second quarter summary report of projects that PMO tracks. During the quarter, the following number of projects were completed: eight in water, four involving system conservation, 16 energy capital, 13 energy minor capital and 11 classified as OATT/external major customer. A graph was also provided of all the customer service proposals in both the Imperial and Coachella valleys. ADJOURNMENT 4:35 p.m.