BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Update on Implementing the Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) Settlement Agreement's Conditions Precedent and Sole Source Agreement with Fishbio for Vaki Riverwatcher Fish Monitoring System, for a Not-to-exceed Total Amount of $226,363.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Discuss the status of the FAHCE Settlement Agreement (Settlement Agreement) Process - Fish Habitat Restoration Plan (FHRP), Environmental Impact Report, and Water Right Change Petition Process; and
B. Approve the sole-source procurement of three Vaki Riverwatcher fish monitoring systems for an amount not-to-exceed $226,363 to support FAHCE biological monitoring.
Body
SUMMARY:
This item updates the progress on the FAHCE process aimed at resolving a water right complaint before the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) filed by the Guadalupe-Coyote Resource Conservation District (GCRCD). The FAHCE process is expressed in the 2003 Settlement Agreement initialed by the District, GCRCD, Trout Unlimited, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), collectively referred to as the Initialing Parties.
In December 2016, the Board accepted an updated schedule and budget for the Fish Habitat Restoration Plan (FHRP) and biological evaluation to support the environmental review required to implement the Settlement Agreement. These are critical elements for developing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for FAHCE under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); and to also allow the SWRCB to begin its review of the District's water right change petitions. An EIR Scoping Meeting has been scheduled for June 19, 2017, and will provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the EIR process prior to the project impact and alternative analyses.
Fish Habitat Restoration Plan and Environmental Review.
Staff and District cons...
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