Monterey Peninsula Water Management District

MPWMD is the lead agency to process a permit application by Cal-Am to expand its water distribution system by constructing the CRDRP. Cal-Am’s application was accepted by MPWMD as complete in March 1997. This project would be a 24,000-af dam and reservoir on the Carmel River, located about 0.5 mile downstream of the existing Los Padres Dam, which is also owned and operated by Cal-Am. The CRDRP is physically identical to MPWMD’s earlier NLP project proposal. The CRDRP has been characterized by Cal-Am as a "no growth" project because it would be operated in a way that does not allocate approximately 3,400 af to be used for development (i.e., new connections to the water supply system and remodels) that would have been accommodated by the NLP project. Instead, the water would remain in the Carmel River system to improve drought protection and provide increased environmental enhancement. Extensive environmental documentation and alternatives evaluations, presented in a 10-volume EIR/IS and two EIR addenda, were prepared by MPWMD over the 1988-1995 period for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWMD 1994a-d, 1995a-c). Based on this information, the MPWMD Board of Directors determined in August 1995 that the NLP project was the most feasible, least environmentally damaging project that met MPWMD’s project purposes. The board set an election date of November 1995 to seek voter approval for MPWMD financing of the NLP project (Measure "C") as required by MPWMD law. Measure "C" was not approved by the voters, however. Since then, MPWMD has focused on non-dam-related water supply alternatives while maintaining the state water rights permit and federal Section 404 permit that were obtained for the NLP project in 1995. In November 1996, Cal-Am announced its proposal to construct the CRDRP. That announcement was in response to SWRCB Order WR 95-10, Cal-Am’s assessment of various alternatives, and the results of a commissioned survey of nearly 16,000 voters conducted after the November 1995 election on the NLP project. According to Cal-Am, results of the survey indicated that defeat of the project was primarily based on concerns over its growth-inducing potential, not necessarily on the merits of MPWMD’s project. The CRDRP, with its "no growth" component, is thought by Cal-Am to be the best option to respond to community concerns and meet the requirements of the SWRCB order (which states that Cal-Am could construct, as one means of compliance, a project similar to the NLP project to legalize its water supply). Because none of the project water yield is envisioned to be used for new connections and remodels within the community, the existing Cal-Am production limit of 17,641 af/yr would not change as a result of the CRDRP. Cal-Am has requested that MPWMD license or transfer the use of MPWMD’s existing state and federal permits for the dam to Cal-Am. The federal permit is Clean Water Act Section 404 permit 20364S09, issued to MPWMD by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in June 1995. The state permit is SWRCB water rights permit 20808, issued in October 1995 based on Decision 1632. In February 1998, the SWRCB issued Order WR 98-04 as a result of the settlement of litigation on SWRCB’s Carmel River decisions. Order WR 98-04 amended certain aspects of Decision 1632 and Order WR 95-10. Notable provisions include restoration of certain MPWMD water rights that had been revoked, use of year-round water diversions from the Carmel River, extended deadlines for project construction, establishment of a maximum Cal-Am production limit from the river basin, and actions to minimize diversion from the Carmel River in the low-flow season. Order WR 98-04 is provided in Appendix G. The MPWMD Board of Directors will determine whether to certify the SEIR and approve Cal-Am’s application to amend its water distribution system and will resolve the disposition of MPWMD’s existing permits for the NLP project in mid-1999. The CPUC will then hold separate evidentiary hearings to determine whether to approve Cal-Am’s application to construct the dam, which would result in changes to water rates. The CPUC determination is anticipated in early 2000. In December 1995, the Monterey County Superior Court determined that the 1994 NLP Final EIR was deficient. As a result, the court ordered that MPWMD rescind its September 1994 certification of the Final EIR and ordered that a focused supplement be prepared to address concerns raised by owners of vineyards near the proposed dam site. This ruling was upheld by the Appellate Court in August 1997. Consistent with that ruling, the alternatives evaluation in the 1994 NLP Final EIR is the baseline for new information on alternatives evaluated in this appendix. California AB 1182, passed in August 1998, requires the CPUC to identify an alternative "water resources plan" to the CRDRP proposal that could be implemented if the CRDRP is not approved or is not implemented. This legislation was signed into law by Governor Pete Wilson on September 23, 1998. In a similar action on August 6, 1998, the CPUC approved Decision 98-08-036, which directed Cal-Am to identify a long-term contingency plan describing the program or combination of programs that Cal-Am would pursue if, for any reason, the new Carmel River Dam does not go forward.