On September 16, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a three-bill legislative package,comprised of AB 1739 (Dickinson), SB 1168 (Pavley) and SB 1319 (Pavley), collectively known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). These bills enacted statewide standards intended to protect groundwater elevations, quality and surface water-groundwater interactions.
Among various requirements, the SGMA calls for the establishment of a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) to be formed by a local agency or a combination of local agencies by July 1, 2017. This entity will be required to develop a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) by January 31, 2020, and will have certain responsibilities and authorities including;
- Defining an appropriate and acceptable definition of local groundwater sustainability and determining the need for groundwater management.
- Preparing and adopting a Groundwater Sustainability Plan along with implementing rules and regulations.
- Proposing and updating fees in order to implement the locally adopted Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
- Monitoring compliance and enforcement of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
In late 2014, the Water Resources Association of Yolo County (WRA), of which the County is a member, requested support from its member agencies for its effort to become the planning forum for development of a groundwater sustainability agency. The WRA, having been critically involved in water resource planning in Yolo County for over 20 years and actively engaged in the SGMA legislation, was the logical choice for this endeavor. The County formalized support of the WRA acting as the GSA planning forum when the Board adopted Resolution 2015-22 on February 24, 2015. Also in 2015, the WRA partnered with the Yolo County Farm Bureau for SGMA implementation outreach efforts in Yolo County. In April 2016, all eligible GSAs, which are local public agencies that have water supply, water management or land use responsibilities within the Yolo Subbasin, including the County, created a Working Group to begin development of a Joint Powers Authority Agreement and formation of the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency.
Since 2014 there have been over 150 public meetings regarding SGMA implementation in Yolo County. (See Attachment C for public outreach log)
ANALYSIS
Over the past year, the Working Group agreed to the following for developing the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency (Agency) and ultimately, a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP):
- Consolidation of the four Bulletin 118 groundwater subbasins into a county-wide Yolo Subbasin;
- Formation of Management Areas based on defined hydrogeological characteristics of the subbasin;
- Merging of the WRA with the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency;
- Creation of a governance structure that maintains governance at the lowest level and preserves existing authorities and jurisdictions of local agencies;
- Establishment of a one vote per entity voting structure, and a fee allocation based roughly on existing WRA-dues and the estimated administrative and planning costs of developing a GSP;
- Inclusion of Affiliated Parties (non-eligible-GSA entities) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Agency;
- Review and adjustment of the Agreement in the first two years, if necessary; and
- Development of water balances for each participating entity to assess overall sustainability.
These principles have either been incorporated into the proposed Agreement or will be used in the development of the GSP. The GSP will outline how the Agency will achieve the groundwater sustainability goal for the Yolo Subbasin within 20 years of implementation of the plan and will include measurable objectives as well as interim 5-year milestones that can be reviewed, assessed and modified as necessary.
The Agency membership will be comprised of the eligible entities, local agencies as defined by SGMA, located in the subbasin, which includes the Cities of Davis, West Sacramento, Winters and Woodland, Yolo County, the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conversation District, Dunnigan Water District, Esparto CSD, Madison CSD, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and Reclamation Districts 108, 787 and 2035.
Non-eligible entities, listed in the Agreement as Affiliated Parties, are not eligible entities under the strict definition in Water Code §10724, but do have water supply, water management or land use authority, will be invited to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Agency. Current affiliated parties include California American Water Company (Dunnigan), Colusa Drain Mutual Water Company, Environmental Party (to be determined), University of California, Davis and the Yolo County Farm Bureau. Other entities may request to be included as an Affiliated Party, subject to Agency Board of Directors (Board) approval by supermajority vote. Each eligible entity and affiliate party will have a voting seat on the Board and will need to appoint a primary and an alternate Board Director. Eligible entities and Affiliated Parties may voluntarily leave the Agency and are also subject to involuntary removal by the Board for noncompliance. Eligible entities that leave the Agency will be required by the SGMA to form an individual GSA and develop an individual GSP.
To meet the June 30, 2017 deadline set by the SGMA for GSA development, the County must hold a public hearing, as required by Water Code §10723(b), approving and authorizing execution of the Agreement. The proposed Agreement, attached to this report as Attachment A, has been reviewed and approved by each eligible entity’s legal counsel and the staff involved in the Working Group. The Agreement exhibits are still in draft form as the final list of participating agencies and the related fee structure are still pending. Even if the final list of participating entities ends up with less entities than in the draft, the proposed fees listed in Exhibit D of the Agreement will remain the same for the confirmed participating entities, such as the County. Staff is requesting that the Board authorize County Counsel to approve the final Agreement and exhibits provided there are no material changes.
As indicated in the fiscal impact section of this report, County participation in the Agreement costs significantly less than the cost to form an individual GSA and develop an individual GSP. For that reason, and because the WRA has the most knowledge and experience with the SGMA and groundwater monitoring, staff recommends that the County execute the Agreement to establish and become part of the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency instead of taking the individual approach.
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
The Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement includes financial provisions that insulate agency members from liability for any debts of the new JPA (Section 5.2) and, in addition, provide various safeguards intended to ensure responsible budgeting, audit, and financial management practices are followed (e.g., Sections 5.5, 5.7-5.10). Many of these provisions align with recommendations in a January 2013 memo (Attachment D) to the County Audit Committee (no longer in existence) intended to create a high level of financial responsibility and oversight for special districts and JPAs. Oversight could be enhanced further, however, if the JPA were to deposit its funds in the County treasury and designate the County Department of Financial Services as its Auditor and Treasurer. Alternatively, a similar level of financial oversight would result if the JPA Board were to designate a City to fulfill these roles.
For these reasons, staff's recommended action "C" includes the provision that the Board's approval of the JPA agreement is with an understanding that the Yolo Groundwater Agency's Board will undertake these steps and (if needed) otherwise adhere to adopting the County's Financial Accountability included in Attachment D. In coordination with Tim O'Halloran, staff intend to prepare a draft MOU or similar mechanism for presenting this issue to the JPA Board for consideration at its first meeting. If for any reason the JPA Board does not take these steps--which staff does not presently anticipate--staff will return to the Board of Supervisors for further direction.
FISCAL IMPACT
Participation in the Agreement will include a $40,000 annual fee paid to the WRA for their work to develop the GSP and administer the Agency. The County's current membership dues of $25,500 (general fund) and groundwater monitoring fee of $8,126 (gravel mining fee revenue) will be applied to this fee with a remaining balance due of $6,874 (general fund). This fee amount is proposed for the first two years where the bulk of the work will be completed, after which time the Agreement re-opener clause will allow for revision of the fee structure. It is expected that ongoing costs will be less than the initial start-up costs. If the County chose to initiate an independent GSA and GSP, cost estimates from other localities are anywhere from $50,000 to $565,000 for annual GSA management and $500,000 to $1.65 million for GSP development. |