DATE: October 18, 2016
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Fresno and Westlands Water District for the Westside Groundwater Subbasin
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Authorize the Chairman to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Westlands Water District for implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in the Westside Groundwater Subbasin, and designate the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning as the principal contact person for Fresno County.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action would authorize execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the County and Westlands Water District to address sustainable groundwater management for the Westside Groundwater Subbasin within Fresno County to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the subbasin, and to establish a process to coordinate development and implementation of the required Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) that would avoid/minimize conflicts between the GSP and the County's exercise of its land use planning authority.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
The Board may determine not to approve the recommended action.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended action would result in a Net County Cost. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) provides that each party shall bear all costs with respect to its activities under the MOU. Activities related to this MOU are anticipated to result in a cost of approximately $12,000 to $13,000 in FY 2016-17. These costs will be absorbed within the Departments existing net County cost allocation. If there are significant implementation costs that go beyond the Department's allocated resources, staff will return to the Board for direction and to request additional resource allocation.
DISCUSSION:
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), signed into law in September of 201...
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