Title
a. Consider options for short-term and long-term actions in response to Board of Supervisors' Referral No. 2017.25 for Action Plan on Salt Water Intrusion in the Salinas River Basin; and
b. Provide direction to staff.
Proposed CEQA Action: This report is statutorily exempt per CEQA Guidelines section 15262.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Monterey and Monterey County Water Resources Agency:
a. Consider options for short-term and long-term actions in response to Board of Supervisors' Referral No. 2017.25 for Action Plan on Salt Water Intrusion in the Salinas River Basin; and
b. Provide direction to County and Water Resources Agency staff.
SUMMARY:
The Board of Supervisors' Referral No. 2017.25, issued on November 14, 2017, requests the Board to consider initiating short and long-term actions "to address the increasing salt water intrusion in the Salinas River Basin," including an urgency ordinance on new wells, in response to the Monterey County Water Resources Agency's (MCWRA) October 2017 special report addressing seawater intrusion in the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin. Per Board direction on November 14, County Counsel is returning to the Board with this joint report to the County and MCWRA to outline the framework and authority respectively of the County of Monterey, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, and the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (SVBGSA) to take action in response to the MCWRA recommendations. Options for near term actions include the following:
1. The Board of Supervisors sitting as the governing body of the County of Monterey could direct County staff to return to the Board with an urgency interim ordinance to prohibit new wells in a defined area of impact and/or at a defined depth, pending study of development of County regulations addressing the subject matter.
2. The Board of Supervisors sitting as the governing body of the Monterey ...
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