File #: 15-0488    Version: 6 Name:
Type: Water Utility Enterprise Item Status: Agenda Ready
File created: 10/26/2015 In control: Board of Directors
On agenda: 11/10/2015 Final action:
Title: Quarterly Update on the Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) Process.
Attachments: 1. Original 10-Day Board Agenda Memo, 2. *Supplemental Board Agenda Memo, 3. *Supplemental Attachment 1: FAHCE Water Rights Petition Schedule, 4. *Attachment 4: Handout 4.2 A Julie Gantenbein Email
BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT:
Title
Quarterly Update on the Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) Process.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Discuss the status of the FAHCE Settlement Agreement (Settlement Agreement) - Fish Habitat Restoration Plan, and of the water rights change petition process.

*B. Extend the schedule to complete the Fish Habitat Restoration Plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to December 31, 2016 to accommodate implementation of the FAHCE Modeling Study Plan, which was developed per the request of the Guadalupe - Coyote Resource Conservation District (GCRCD).

*C. Direct staff to: 1) modify the existing environmental consulting agreement scope of services with HDR, Engineering, Inc. to support the additional services needed to implement the FAHCE Modeling Study Plan; and 2) allocate existing funds from the FAHCE project budget to support the legal services agreement for consulting services from water resources modeling expert, Dr. David Purkey of Stockholm Environment Institute.
Body
SUMMARY:

This item provides a status on Board direction (September 23, 2014) to submit the petitions for change in water rights to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to address the Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement was initialed in 2003 by the District, Guadalupe - Coyote Resource Conservation 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), to address a water rights complaint filed by the GCRCD. The complaint alleges that District water supply operations on Coyote Creek, Guadalupe River, and Stevens Creek adversely impact steelhead trout and Chinook salmon. A key Settlement Agreement provision is the Fish Habitat Restoration Plan (Fish Plan) which proposes changes in reservoir releases to sup...

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