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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 4.C 11/02/2015Agenda Item #4.0 DATE: November 2, 2015 TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council through City Manager FROM: Da St. CE — Director, Public Works and Utilities Leah alker, P.E. — Environmental Services Manager SUBJECT: Report and Discussion of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and Groundwater Sustainability Agency Formation RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council review the report and engage in a Report Discussion of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and Groundwater Sustainability Agency Formation. BACKGROUND In September 2014, Governor Brown signed historic legislation requiring that California's critical groundwater resources be sustainably managed by local agencies. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) gives local agencies including cities, counties and water districts or agencies, authority to sustainably manage groundwater over the long -term. SGMA requires the formation by June 30, 2017 of a new Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) for each medium and high - priority groundwater basin as designated by the California Department of Water Resources (D)VR). In Sonoma County, three of the county's 14 groundwater basins, Santa Rosa Plain, Sonoma Valley and Petaluma Valley, are designated as medium - priority and none is currently designated as high - priority. A countywide map showing these basins is included as Attachment 1. DWR may reprioritize basins and sub - basins in the future, which could require additional GSA formations. The GSA is required to assess the conditions in its local basin and to adopt a locally -based Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP). GSP's must be completed by January 31, 2022 and be designed to achieve basin sustainability within 20 years of adoption. SGMA defines sustainable management as managing and using groundwater in a way that can be sustained over a long , period of time. Sustainable yield is defined as the amount of groundwater that can be withdrawn annually without causing "significant and unreasonable impacts" related to any of the following "undesirable results ": chronically lowering groundwater levels, causing seawater intrusion, degrading water quality, causing land subsidence or depleting interconnected surface water including creeks, streams and rivers. SGMA empowers GSA's to use a number of new management tools to achieve the sustainability goal. GSA's may conduct investigations, require registration of groundwater wells, determine the sustainable yield of a basin, measure and limit groundwater extractions, assess fees for groundwater management, and enforce the terms of a GSP. GSA's also may request a revision of a groundwater basin boundary, including the establishment of new sub - basins. SGMA requires increased coordination between water supply and land use planning agencies. The GSA must consider land use assumptions contained in local general plans when it prepares the GSP. Prior to any substantial amendment of a general plan, land use planning agencies are required to review and consider a GSP and to refer a proposed general plan amendment to the local GSA for review. As part of this process, a GSA is required to provide the local land use - planning agency with the anticipated effects of a proposed land -use plan amendment on the implementation of the GSP. SGMA also allows GSA's to request that counties provide well construction applications to the GSA's for consideration and comment, but counties maintain well permitting authority for State public health regulations unless the County delegates that power to the GSA. The chart below includes key milestones for complying with SGMA. If these milestones are not met, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) may intervene, which could lead to loss of local control, possible curtailment of water use and state - imposed fees. Time Action June 30, 2017 Formation of GSAs January 31, 2022 Completion of groundwater sustainability plans 20 years after adoption of plan Basins achieve sustainability Existing Groundwater Management in Sonoma County: The Sonoma Valley and Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basins have groundwater management plans developed under pre -SGMA groundwater management planning statutes instilled by AB 3030 and SB 1938. The Sonoma County Water Agency was the lead agency in these efforts, working with basin advisory panels to develop and implement groundwater management plans in each basin. The basin advisory panels included representatives from agriculture, environmental groups, residential well owners, the County, cities, tribes, and community water districts. These voluntary, non - regulatory plans were a first step toward groundwater sustainability, and will advance those basins' ability to comply with SGMA by establishing a data collection and monitoring program and by promoting, studying and implementing programs and projects aimed at sustaining the basins' groundwater resources. These existing plans also fostered stakeholder coordination and public outreach, both of which are essential elements of SGMA. These plans, however, do not meet the more stringent requirements of the new law and will need to be updated to ensure that basins meet the requirements of the Act. 2 The Petaluma Valley Groundwater Basin stretches from Penngrove south to the Marin County line and San Pablo Bay, encompassing about 94 of the approximately 146 square miles of the Petaluma River Watershed. The Water Agency and the City of Petaluma are currently engaged in a 3 -year United States Geological Survey study of the Petaluma Valley basin initiated in September 2014, to analyze groundwater use and conditions. The study is using data from about 600 wells to define the lithology of the basin. The geochemistry evaluation preliminarily indicates poor water quality confined to shallow alluviums and some increases in nitrate values, possibly from septic systems and in arsenic values. There are indicators of salt -water intrusion, albeit not to significant levels. A digital groundwater model is under development and when finished can be used to project sustainable yields and simulate effects of droughts and management.options such as groundwater recharge associated with conjunctive use strategies. Determining the effects of continued and future groundwater use, and identifying efficient strategies for groundwater management are both necessary components in assuring that groundwater continues as a reliable back -up water supply for the City. DISCUSSION A workgroup of GSA - eligible entities in Sonoma County is working on the implementation of SGMA and the formation of GSA's. The collaborative process to form a FSA began in April 2015 and will provide significant opportunities for public input during the two years prior to the FSA formation deadline of June 30, 2015. The workgroup has developed initial strategies and recommendations for implementation of the SGMA requirements in the County. Current status, issues, and upcoming actions are described below. GSA Formation: SGMA requires the formation of a single or multiple GSA's by June 30, 2017. Any local public agency or a combination of local agencies that has water supply, water management, or land use responsibilities within a groundwater basin may elect to form a GSA through a joint powers authority or other legal means such as a memorandum of agreement. The County would become the default GSA in any basin or portion of a basin where no other entity steps forward by June 30, 2017. If the County declines to form a GSA, the State Water Board will step in. In Sonoma County, several public agencies are eligible to be a member of two or three of the basins' GSA. The County and the Water Agency could be a part of all three while the North Bay Water District could join the GSA's for Petaluma Valley and Sonoma Valley. In addition, cities and water districts within a particular groundwater basin could be in the GSA for the part of the basin over which they have jurisdiction. Structurally, there are three overarching governance options: one countywide GSA; a separate GSA for each basin; or a hybrid using countywide resources with basin - specific GSA management decisions. More detailed information on the GSA - eligible local agencies in each basin, a Decision - Making Framework, Agreements and Considerations for Forming Groundwater Sustainability Agencies in Sonoma County is included in Attachment 2. In the Petaluma Valley basin, the GSA - eligible members are the County, the Water Agency, the City, and the North Bay Water District. Preliminary Agreement on Recommended Structure: Staff of the GSA - eligible entities have reached a preliminary recommendation on a skeleton structure for the formation of GSA's within the County. Staff is briefing boards and councils on this structure to solicit feedback and guide staff as they develop more details about the governance and legal structure. Public workshops are being planned for fall 2015. The proposed structure is one GSA and one GSP per basin. Each GSA would be responsible for implementing SGMA in its basin, would possess all GSA authorities provided for in the law, and be responsible for developing and implementing the GSP. Each GSA would develop its own legal agreement and voting structure. As envisioned in the "hybrid model ", it is recommended that a coordinating body be formed to ensure close coordination of all three GSA's and to assure sharing of technical and management resources to help control costs. Draft principles for developing governance options are included as Attachment 3. Coordination Between Basins: Under the "hybrid model" GSA's would be committed to information and resource sharing across basins. Coordination between GSA's would occur for all activities and for developing frameworks to support groundwater management, e.g. data management systems or new well registration requirements. Each GSA would agree to coordination of agreed upon activities. Each GSA would retain its own authorities and need to ratify recommendations that emerged through the coordinating committee. The GSA's would acknowledge coordination between basins initially through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or agreement and only increase the level of formality if needed in the future as the scope and authority of the GSA's increases. Funding: One of the advantages of collaboration between basins is to better compete for funding as a region. Sonoma County, even with three medium - priority basins, is small compared to large basins in the Central Valley and Southern California, many of which are experiencing severe groundwater overdraft. The Water Agency recently submitted a request to DWR for facilitation services to assist in the development of GSAs. DWR has indicated that they are more supportive of regional efforts. It is anticipated that GSA member agencies would need to provide seed money to initiate formation and bridge operations until a fee structure could be adopted. Basin meetings: The GSA - eligible entities have begun to have meetings within each basin to discuss GSA formation and SGMA implementation issues particular to each basin. For Petaluma Valley, meetings were held on August 26 and September 14, and included representatives from the County, the Water Agency, the City and the North Bay Water District. Topics discussed included ongoing facilitation needs, outreach, implementation costs and GSA formation issues such as format, representation, funding, and stakeholder involvement. A public meeting for the basin is tentatively scheduled for this fall. Basin Boundary Adjustments: SGMA established a process for local agencies to request that DWR revise the boundaries of a groundwater basin, including the establishment of a new subbasin. DWR will begin accepting requests for boundary revisions on January 1, 2016 for a period of 90 days. A subcommittee of GSA - eligible entities is developing recommendations on boundary changes to the workgroup. For the Petaluma Valley basin, no boundary changes are M recommended at this time. There may be some minor changes for the Santa Rosa Plain and Sonoma Valley basins based upon studies and earlier groundwater. Outreach: SGMA requires a strong focus on public engagement. The workgroup of the GSA - eligible entities has established an outreach subcommittee to coordinate communication and public involvement during the GSA formation process. The outreach subcommittee is developing an independent website devoted specifically to SGMA in Sonoma County to augment the Water Agency's SGMA website, holding workshops to provide background on SGMA efforts to the public and stakeholders, and developing outreach materials for use by all GSA - eligible entities. Future outreach activities will include public hearing(s) as required by SGMA; ongoing outreach via paid ads, free media, the website and social media; and regular updates to the interested party mailing list, which is required by SGMA. Participation by the City in the groundwater sustainability efforts is consistent with General Plan 2025 Goal 8 -G -6: "Preserve and maintain the City's groundwater resources" and Goal 8 -P -20: "Manage groundwater as a valuable and limited shared resource by protecting potential recharge areas and stream sides from urban encroachment within the watershed." FINANCIAL IMPACTS This item is informational only; no financial impacts are expected as a result of this report. ATTACHMENTS 1. Sonoma County map showing medium - priority groundwater basins 2. Decision - Making Framework, Agreements and Considerations for Forming Groundwater Sustainability Agencies in Sonoma County 3. Principles for Developing Governance Options 5 i Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Petaluma City Council Meeting, November 2, 2015 Presented By: Dan St. John, Director of Public Works & Utilities, and Leah Walker, Environmental Services Manager Presentation Overview • What is SGMA? • Why SGMA now? • What it means for City and Surrounding Region • What is happening in Sonoma County? • Proposed next steps SUSTAMABLE 640UNOWATER MF.4A6E11FHt AC Gf 2014 3/17/2015 1 Why SGMA NOW? • California is LAST Western State to Regulate Groundwater Extraction from Aquifers • State -wide Problem with Over Drafted Groundwater Basins have led to: — Dropping water table causing wells to be drilled deeper — Loss of groundwater storage — Land Subsidence — Saltwater Intrusion — Degradation of groundwater quality — Negative impact on stream flows • A Sustainable Groundwater Basin will Address These Negative Impacts of Over Pumping Aquifers SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MV4AGE1CNT Att OF Mm 4 What It Could Mean to Us • City Participation in GSA. • Public Process to Establish a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) by 2022 • Funding: Set fees to cover cost of GSA management • If Aquifer is determined to be STABLE — Monitoring of Wells — Possible restrictions on New Wells or Increased Pumping • If Aquifer is determined to be STRESSED — Active management of Aquifer — Restrictions on Well Pumping — Implement Groundwater Recharge Program — Enforcement of Regulations SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER C!.,YACi MEHf ACi OF 101i. 3/17/2015 3 GSA - Eligible Agencies in Sonoma County Note: County and SCWA can be on all three GSA's 415'USTAINAD F 2W4 ldAH AGi Id EOl7 ACY q 2614 General Principles for Developing rnance Options ❑ Build upon existing cooperation and successful water management efforts in Sonoma County ❑ Reinforce "local management" principles in SGMA ❑ Share resource and identify cohesive approach ❑ Costs should be equitably shared ❑ Represent community stakeholders ❑ Conduct robust and transparent outreach SUSTAINABLE 6ROUNDWATEO RanuncewertrncI Or mia 3/17/2015 5 Next Steps: Proposed Schedule Masi boundaries • k (req "d by DWR) ..... r SUSTMAWC EE MT ACT WATER Mt.NP.f_EMEN1 ACT OF iql c What is happening in Sonoma County? ❑ Initial Stakeholder Assessment Completed ❑ Formation of Staff Working Group of GSA - eligible agencies ■ Learning about SGMA and GSA requirements ■ Draft principles for developing GSA options ■ Outreach plan developed ■ Public workshops scheduled for November /December ❑ Seeking Grants for Formation Activities and SGMP @'SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER aia rt,+enr Herne tav, 3/17/2015 h Council Discussion • Questions about Sustainable Groundwater Management Act • Provide feedback on Principles for GSA Formation • Provide feedback on Proposed GSA Structure (AISUSTAINAS GROUNDWATER MANAGEM kM /ACr Oh'2o14 Questions? Resources can be found at: www.sonomacountygroundwater.org AISTARIJAGU DITA(I f2014 r.ve+,arenr tnr nrr oe :m,, 3/17/2015 f