DATE: January 7, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Groundwater Sustainability Plan for Fresno County Management Areas A and B
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Adopt Resolution adopting the Groundwater Sustainability Plan for Fresno County Management Areas A and B within the Delta-Mendota Groundwater Subbasin.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will adopt the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) for Fresno County Management Areas A and B within the Delta-Mendota Groundwater Subbasin (Subbasin), as required by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), to maintain and manage local groundwater resources. This item pertains to locations in District 1.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may determine not to approve the recommended action; however, it would result in delay of submitting the required GSP by the January 31, 2020 deadline, as the County would be obligated to prepare a GSP for the portion of County lands that have been included in the GSP. If the GSP is not submitted by the deadline, intervention from the State Water Resources Control Board (State) could occur, which would result in the State managing local groundwater resources in the Subbasin.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Agreement No. 18-189 provides $581,186 to Luhdorff and Scalmanini, Consulting Engineers for GSP preparation, offset with the receipt of $207,505 for GSP planning and development from the Proposition 1 Grant awarded to the GSAs within the Subbasin by DWR, including the County. In addition, the Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) within the Subbasin, including the County, have applied for the Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGM) Planning Grant - Round 3, funded through Propositions 1 and 68, which the County anticipates receiving approximately $40,000 to further offset costs. Sufficient appropriations a...
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