DATE: October 23, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Fresno County Management Areas A and B Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Designate Supervisor Buddy Mendes as Representative, Supervisor Brian Pacheco as First Alternate Representative; and either Bernard Jimenez, Assistant Director of Public Works and Planning; Glenn Allen, Division Manager of the Water and Natural Resources Division; or Augustine Ramirez, Senior Engineer of the Water and Natural Resources Division, as the second Alternate Representative to represent the County of Fresno, for Fresno County Management Areas A and B, on the groundwater sustainability agency Coordination Committee for the Delta-Mendota Groundwater Subbasin.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will designate Supervisor Mendes and Supervisor Pacheco as the representative and first alternate, and a representative from the Department of Public Works and Planning as a second alternate to represent the County of Fresno, for Fresno County Management Areas A and B, on the Delta-Mendota Subbasin Coordination Committee. The Coordination Committee will coordinate groundwater sustainability agencies within the subbasin to move towards development and implementation of six Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs), within the Delta-Mendota Subbasin, as required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), approved by California Legislature in 2014. This item pertains to locations in District 1.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose not to approve the recommended action; however, it would likely result in delay of the preparation of the State Water Resources Control Board (State) required GSP by the January 31, 2020 deadline. If the GSP is not submitted by the deadline, intervention from the State could occur, which could result in the State managing local groundwater resources in the Delta-Mendota Subbasin.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions will be absorbed through Fresno County Management Areas A and B appropriations allocated within the Interest and Miscellaneous Expenditures Org 2540 FY 2018-19 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
The SGMA, signed into law in September of 2014, established a new structure for managing California’s groundwater resources at a local level by local agencies. SGMA allows the formation of locally controlled GSAs in the State’s higher priority groundwater basins. Each GSA is then required to develop and implement a GSP to meet the sustainability goal of the basin to ensure operation within its sustainable yield, without causing undesirable results, by January 31, 2020. Failure to implement a GSP in a groundwater basin could result in the State asserting its power to manage local groundwater resources.
In an effort to assure compliance with SGMA within the Delta-Mendota Groundwater Subbasin, Department staff has participated in regular meetings with representatives from the local participating GSAs within the Subbasin. The County serves as the exclusive GSA for two areas designated as Fresno County Management Areas A and B, approved by the Board on May 2, 2017, located within the Delta-Mendota Subbasin.
Both Supervisor Pacheco and Supervisor Mendes have been greatly involved with SGMA since 2015 and continue to be stewards of the County regarding groundwater related issues. On March 10, 2015, the Board of Supervisors appointed Supervisor Buddy Mendes and Supervisor Brian Pacheco to serve as the County’s representatives for the Fresno County SGMA Working Group. On March 24, 2015 the SGMA Working Group membership list was approved by the Board. Successively, both Supervisors have been appointed to represent the County on various GSA Boards within Fresno County. Supervisor Pacheco currently represents the County and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Central Delta-Mendota Multi-Agency GSA within the Delta-Mendota Subbasin, he; is also on the Board for the McMullin Area GSA and North Kings GSA, within the Kings Subbasin. Supervisor Mendes currently represents the County as a member of the Board for the Kings River East GSA and North Fork Kings GSA within the Kings Subbasin.
Twenty-four GSAs have formed within the Delta-Mendota Groundwater Subbasin. Of which, six GSP Groups, see Exhibit A, have formed to work towards GSP development. The agencies, other interested parties, and Department staff have coordinated since August 2017 to develop a Coordination Agreement pursuant to SGMA, approved by your Board on August 21, 2018 to further facilitate and coordinate GSP development among the local GSP Groups within the basin, see Exhibit B. Fresno County Management Areas A and B will be one of the six GSP Groups. As a requirement of the Coordination Agreement, each group shall designate one Representative and an Alternate to serve on the Coordination Committee. Supervisor Mendes is willing to serve as the Coordination Committee Representative and Supervisor Pacheco is willing to serve as the First Alternate Representative, with a designee from the Department of Public Works and Planning as the Second Alternate Representative, for Management Areas A and B for a portion of the Delta-Mendota Subbasin.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #45, August 21, 2018
BAI #11, May 2, 2017
BAI #13, May 2, 2017
BAI #10, March 24, 2015
BAI #8, March 10, 2015
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa