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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 359-05DISCUSSION In response to the need for regional integration, BAWAC worked with other relevant groups including the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA), the Bay Area Clean Water Association (BACWA), and other organizations to create an integrated compilation of proposed projects for funding that would meet the state and federal grant program requirements. The working relationship for developing the Bay Area Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (lRWMP) is outlined in the Letter of Mutual Understandings (LOMU) between the participating agencies. The goals of the IRWMP are: 1. To facilitate regional cooperation in providing water supply reliability, water recycling, water conservation, water quality improvement, storm water capture and management, flood management, recreation and public access, wetlands enhancement and creation, and environmental and habitat protection and improvement; 2. To foster coordination, collaboration and communication between Bay Area agencies responsible for water-related issues and to achieve greater efficiencies, enhance public services, and build public support for vital plans and projects; and 3. To improve regional competitiveness for state and federal grant funding .. The LOMU outlines the working relationship to develop the IRWMP. The "mutual understandings" in the LOMU include: 1. There is a need for a San Francisco BayArea IRWMP 2. The IRWMP scope will include water supply, water quality, wastewater, recycled water, water conservation, storm waterlflood control, watershed planning and aquatic habitat protection and restoration. 3. The geographical scope ofthe IRWMP includes the nine Bay Area counties. 4. The approach to developing the IRWMP is: 1) develop subject area technical coordinating committees (TCCs) whose members work together to compile their individual management plans to see where cooperative efforts could be employed; 2) designate an overall TCC to place all the plans into one integrated document; and 3) seek consensus decision-making. 5. The IRWMP is not subject to approval by anyone agency, group, organization or entity. 6. Participation in this IRWMP effort is non-binding. 7. The IRWMP effort will not suggest any prioritization of project development or funding. 8. It is expected that agencies will contribute the personnel. and financial resources necessary to develop the IRWMP. The IRWMP will have four functional areas, or chapters: 1) water supply and water quality; 2) wastewater and recycled water; 3) flood protection and storm water management; and 4) watershed management and habitat protection and restoration. The IRWMP Technical Coordinating Committee submitted two complementary and coordinated applications for planning grants to fund the development of an· Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (lRWMP). Zone 7 Water Agency was the lead agency to submit the water supply/water quality and wastewater/water recycling components of the integrated plan. The State Coastal Commission was the lead agency submitting the storm water/flood protection and watershed/ecosystem components. In addition, in July, a Step 1 Implementation Grant Application (under Chapter 8 of Proposition 50 ) was submitted, containing a long list of Bay CMR:359:05 Page 2 of4 Area projects which includes the Recycled water Pipeline to Mountain View's Shoreline Regional Park Community. If this project is selected by the State for Step 2 application submittal, more information would be submitted to Council at that time. The Mountain View project allows for future use by Palo Alto and is therefore partially funded by Palo Alto . . As of August 1,2005, the following agencies have signed the LOMU: 1. Alameda County Water District 2. Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency 3. Contra Costa Water District 4. East Bay Municipal Utility District 5. San Francisco Public Utilities Commission 6. Santa Clara Valley Water District 7. Sonoma County Water Agency 8. Zone 7 Water Agency 9. Association of Bay Area Governments 10. Bay Area Clean Water Agencies . 11. Solano County Water Agency 12. Marin Municipal Water District 13. Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District 14. Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative 15. North Bay Watershed Association 16. City of Napa 17. State Coastal Conservancy If the City of Palo Alto signs the LOMU, it will signal its support for its objectives and integrated regional water planning in general. RESOURCE IMPACT Palo Alto staffwill spend a limited number of staff hours reviewing drafts of the IRWMP. POLICY IMPLICATIONS Signing the LOMUdoes not represent a change in existing City policies. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW Signing the' LOMU does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act, therefore, no environmental assessment is required. ATTACHMENT Letter of Mutual Understandings PREPARED BY: CMR:359:05 Jane Ratchye, Senior Resource Planner Joe Teresi, Senior Engineer Page 3 of4 CMR:359:05 ATTACHMENT protection and restoration. It is acknowledged that the management plans of each individual public agency are based, in part, on appropriate land-use plans. Therefore, the resultant IRWMP will by design have incorporated the land-use plans and assumptions intrinsic to the respective water-related service function. 5.3. Geographical scope of the IRWMP. The San Francisco Bay Area for this is defined as the nine Bay Area counties -Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma -even though some areas of some counties and individual agencies may lay outside the San Francisco Bay Area Watershed. 5.4. Approach to developing the IRWMP 5.4.1. A reasonable approach towards developing the IRWMP is first for the agencies involved in an individual service function as defined above to create a technical coordinating committee whose members work together to compile their individual management plans to see where cooperative efforts could be employed. The document also would serve to identify needs and potential solutions for the service function and list projects that may qualify for funding under various state and federal grant and loan programs. Once compiled, the IRWMP will not supersede any individual agency's management plan. 5.4.2. The proposed forum for this regional planning effort is the associations, coalitions, or other entities to which the majority belong, inviting others agencies and entities to participate in the effort. As mentioned above, those associations include the Bay Area Water Agencies Coalition (BAWAC) for water supply and quality; Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA) for wastewater and recycled water; and Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA) for stormwater. An appropriate entity would lead efforts to compile plans dealing with watershed management and habitat and fisheries restoration. . . 5.4.3. The service-function technical coordinating committees also should refer to any already completed and on going compilation efforts such as the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program (BARWRP) and the Napa Salt Marsh Project for information and input. 5.4.4. Once there has been a compilation of plans for the separate, service-function areas, the San Francisco Bay Area Technical Coordinating Committee will place all the plans into one integrated document. As stated above in ·'definitions," the first phase would be to list the plans "horizontally" within each service function across and among the responsible agencies. Then the plans would be categorized and linked "vertically" to identify where existing linkages occur among plans of separate service functions and to see where plans of separate service functions may further interrelate, e.g. wastewater treatment and water recycling or habitat restoration. . 5.4.5. Attached is a diagram that illustrates the process described above. Page ~ of 11 I,.:.'.