BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Creation of the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors' Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) Ad Hoc Committee, Appointment of Members; Establishment of Specific Purpose and Terms in Accordance with Board Governance Policy GP-8 (Board Member Request R-16-0014).
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Create the FAHCE Ad Hoc Committee, appoint members, and establish the purpose and terms in accordance with Board Governance Policy GP-8.
Body
SUMMARY:
Background
The Board provided, at its September 23, 2014 and subsequent meetings, direction to staff to expedite the resolution of the water rights complaint to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) as specified by the FAHCE Settlement Agreement, which 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 before the SWRCB alleges that District water supply operations on Coyote Creek, Guadalupe River, and Stevens Creek adversely impact steelhead trout and Chinook salmon.
Key actions needed to support the District's planned petition before the SWRCB to remove the water rights complaint are completing (1) the environmental analysis and documentation of the FAHCE program, and (2) the fisheries habitat restoration plan. While recent progress is encouraging, efforts to achieve both of these items have, for several reasons, taken far longer than any of the Settlement Parties anticipated.
It is also imperative that the Settlement Parties formalize their agreement that completion of an habitat conservation plan is no longer a requirement prior to seeking dismissal of the water rights complaint and commencing implementation of the FAHCE restoration p...
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