Title
Consider adopting a resolution authorizing the General Manager to sign the "Opt Out Agreement" for individual wells under the Protection of Domestic Drinking Water Supplies for the Lower Salinas Valley project; and authorize the General Manager to adjust language of the "Opt Out Agreement" template as may be necessary, upon the approval of County Counsel.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors:
a. Adopt a resolution authorizing the General Manager to sign the "Opt Out Agreement" for individual wells under the Protection of Domestic Drinking Water Supplies for the Lower Salinas Valley project; and
b. Authorize the General Manager to adjust language of the "Opt Out Agreement" template as may be necessary, upon the approval of County Counsel.
SUMMARY:
The Monterey County Water Resources Agency ("MCWRA") is implementing the Protection of Domestic Drinking Water Supplies for the Lower Salinas Valley project ("Project"), which is funded in part by a Proposition 1 grant from the State Water Resources Control Board ("SWRCB"). The Project is located primarily within MCWRA Zone 2B and activities under the project aim to eliminate conduits for vertical migration of impaired groundwater and fulfill the terms of MCWRA Ordinance No. 3790 ("Ord. 3790"). The full extent of the Project area includes some acreage outside Zone 2B but Ord. 3790, the appeal process, and "Opt Out Agreement" discussed herein are not applicable to wells outside Zone 2B.
DISCUSSION:
In part, Ord. 3790 "provides for the management of all groundwater wells within the Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project area, known as Zone 2B, following completion and start-up of the Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project." In addition, Ord. 3790 states that all costs for the destruction of all non-exempt wells in Zone 2B shall be borne by MCWRA, though it does not identify a funding source for well destruction, stating instead that "the G...
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