Title
a. Approve Amendment No. 4 to Joint Funding Agreement No. 16WSCA600466210 with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), increasing the not-to-exceed amount by $25,000, funded by an increase in USGS match contribution, to allow USGS to complete final updates to the Salinas Valley Integrated Hydrologic Model; and
b. Authorize the Resource Management Agency Director to execute Amendment No. 4 to Joint Funding Agreement No. 16WSCA600466210.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve Amendment No. 4 to Joint Funding Agreement No. 16WSCA600466210 with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), increasing the not-to-exceed amount by $25,000, funded by an increase in USGS match contribution, to allow USGS to complete final updates to the Salinas Valley Integrated Hydrologic Model; and
b. Authorize the Resource Management Agency Director to execute Amendment No. 4 to Joint Funding Agreement No. 16WSCA600466210.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
New policies implemented with the adoption of the 2010 General Plan for Monterey County to address groundwater overdraft resulted in litigation. As part of a settlement agreement reached in 2012 in one of the lawsuits (Salinas Valley Water Coalition et al. v. County (Monterey Superior Court Case No. M109451), the County considered and adopted an amendment to Policy PS-3.1 of the Public Services Element of the General Plan. Per the amended policy, the County is conducting a five-year study to assess the general health of the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin (SVBG) with regard to its ability to provide a sustainable supply of water for land-use activities projected through Year 2030 to meet the County General Plan projected development ("Investigation").
In March 2016, the County entered into a Joint Funding Agreement No. 16WSCA600466210 (Agreement) with USGS to configure and calibrate an integrated comprehensive hydrogeologic model to assess the general health of the S...
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