Title
Approve and authorize the Chair to sign the letter to California Coastal Commission in Support of the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project Slant Test Well Application. (ADDED VIA ADDENDUM)
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Approve and authorize the Chair to sign the letter of support of the settling parties to the California Coastal Commission concerning the Coastal Development permit application for a Test Slant Well, in substantially the same form as submitted.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
CalAm applied to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for approval of the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project and several organizations intervened. After months of negotiations they reached an agreement that addresses major areas of concern were addressed, and establishes specific technical, environmental, organizational, and financial requirements for the project. These include the investigation of the feasibility of using subsurface slant wells at the active sand mining operation on the CEMEX, Inc. property in the City of Marina as the preferred location for the source water intake. The Cal-Am Slant Test Well Project is specifically proposed to complete the necessary feasibility analysis.
The site of the proposed Slant Test Well Project was agreed upon after numerous meetings with local, state, and federal permitting agencies. The Slant Test Well Project was designed through a collaborative technical working group comprised of two hydrogeologists selected by the Monterey County Farm Bureau and the Salinas Valley Water Coalition, one selected by Cal Am and one selected by the CPUC.
Use of subsurface intakes rather than open-ocean intake is a clear policy preference of the SWRCB, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and the California Coastal Commission itself, among other agencies that will need to approve the overall project before it can be constructed. The proposed Slant Test Well Project is intended to satisfy these policy requirements.
If the test demonstrates that the site and technology are feasible, the development of permanent source wells at the site will be the subject of a separate Coastal Development Permit, which will be accompanied by the EIR for the full desalination project.
Currently fifteen parties plan to sign the letter of support to the California Coastal Commission since each has a significant stake in the future of water supply on the Monterey Peninsula, in the health of the Carmel River and our groundwater supplies; and in the protection of our Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. The parties include Landwatch Monterey County, Monterey Peninsula Regional Water District, Monterey County Farm Bureau, Salinas Valley Water Coalition, Planning and Conservation League Foundation, among others. The settling parties would like the County and Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) to support the use of test slant well to determine the viability of subsurface intakes for the project. Minor modifications to the letter may be made after approval of County Counsel.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
MCWRA General Manager was consulted on this report.
FINANCING:
Not applicable.
Prepared by: Approved by:
Sandra Ontiveros Charles J. McKee
Acting Management Analyst County Counsel
Dated: October 31, 2014 Dated: October 31, 2014
Attachments: Draft Letter to California Coastal Commission