Title
Consider authorizing execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Vega Economics for a maximum amount payable of one hundred seventy thousand dollars ($170,000) to perform a dam ownership regulatory program cost study. (Staff: Ara Azhderian)
Report
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency’s Board of Directors:
Authorize execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Vega Economics for a maximum amount payable of one hundred seventy thousand dollars ($170,000) to perform a dam ownership regulatory program cost study.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Monterey County Water Resources Agency (Agency) owns and operates three dams: Nacimiento Dam in San Luis Obispo County, and San Antonio Dam and the Salinas River Diversion Facility, both in Monterey County. Ownership of these dams entails significant resources to safely operate and maintain them in compliance with state and federal regulations, and the costs of these operations and maintenance measures have increased significantly since the dams’ construction. This study will analyze and quantify the Agency’s costs associated with planning for and ensuring compliance with existing regulatory regimes into the future, and further will identify a proposed cost recovery mechanism (or mechanisms) to recover the costs of this necessary work.
The Agency currently levies charges related to some elements of dam operations through Zone 2C, which was approved by voters in 2003. Zone 2C was created to fund the operation and maintenance of the existing Nacimiento and San Antonio Dams and Reservoirs to increase storage conservation and groundwater recharge; the modification of the spillway at Nacimiento Dam as necessary to meet Division of Safety of Dams ("DSOD") requirements; and to fund construction of the Salinas River Diversion Facility. This regulatory cost study will recommend whether its proposed cost recovery mechanisms would complement or replace the existing funding mechanism.
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