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CPUC Certifies Final Environmental Impact Report for Coastal Water Project (Dec 18, 2009)The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Coastal Water Project Thursday, December 17, 2009. View or Download FIER Documents The CPUC and its administrative law judge assigned to the Coastal Water Project application are expected to consider adoption of components of the Coastal Water Project early next year. Simultaneously, the boards of the Marina Coast Water District, Monterey County Water Resources Agency, Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency along with Cal Am – the partners in a local publicly owned alternative – will consider the components for adoption on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) using the Final EIR as a basis of their deliberations. “Going forward with a NEPA evaluation opens up doors for federal grants and low-cost state loans to reduce final design and construction costs, thus making the publicly owned project cheaper and rates lower when water is delivered to Central Coast customers,” said Jim Heitzman, general manager of the Marina Coast Water District. The California Public Utilities Commission has expressed support for the Regional Water Project among the alternatives, and Cal Am, which has been ordered by the State Water Resources Control Board to reduce pumping from the Carmel River aquifer, is negotiating with the public water agencies to support the Regional Water Project in financing and purchase of future water supply. Cal Am needs to find an alternative source to the Carmel River aquifer for about 10,000 acre-feet of water per year. “That is why planning and implementation of the Regional Water Project has become critical. There is a need to replace that water supply to sustain the lifestyle and economy of Monterey County,” Heitzman said. “The Peninsula is being told by the state to dramatically lower water use. We need to provide alternative water supplies now.” “The Regional Desalination Plant location meets Coastal Commission restrictions on open ocean intake and treats a combination of ocean and brackish groundwater,” Heitzman said. “Potential use of nearby Monterey Regional Waste Management District methane gases to generate power contributes to reduction of greenhouse gases and supplies a sustainable energy source.” Desalinated water could come online as early as 2012. View or Download FIER Documents Fort Ord Reuse Authority Endorses Regional Water ProjectOn November 14, 2008, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution in support of the proposed Regional Water Project water resource project. This project was presented to the board by representatives from Marina Coast Water District and Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control District. The project is designed to ensure safe, reliable and environmentally sustainable water supply for the entire region at a comparatively low cost, and includes a combination of desalinated and recycled water resources that provides the full range of blended resources necessary to serve existing and approved water replacement needs on the former Fort Ord and the Monterey Peninsula while benefiting farmers and others in the County. Discussions about theRegional Water Project began in January 2007 when the Division of Ratepayer Advocates of the California Public Utilities Commission entrusted a collaboration of Monterey County public agencies, stakeholders and citizens with the mission of developing an affordable and sustainable regional water supply strategy. A team of experts was assembled to identify water supply needs and potential project components. Their efforts resulted in the project that includes aquifer storage and recovery in the Seaside Basin, recycled water for non-potable and replenishment needs, water from the Salinas River Diversion Project, and regional desalination facilities along with storm water recovery and conservation. The resolution approved by FORA’s Board of Directors states, in part, that the Regional Water Project has been designed to be cost effective for ratepayers, yield significant regional benefits and offer an acceptable implementation strategy. Recognizing the critical nature of the region’s water supply, the city councils of both Seaside and Monterey have passed similar resolutions in support of theRegional Water Project in the past several months. FORA urges each political and quasi-political entity within Monterey County to support this project by participating in the evaluation and planning process so as to assure the successful implementation of this outstanding regional water project. “The Regional Water Project is environmentally superior, resource efficient and cost effective, benefiting citizens from Carmel to Castroville and Salinas,” states FORA Chair Joe Russell. He added; “This regional effort, by far, is environmentally the best plan on the table. It’s a “win win win” solution—good for the environment, good for the ratepayers and good for the governing jurisdictions and agricultural businesses of northern Monterey County.” “FORA staff and Board Members have been participants in the collaborative effort that fostered theRegional Water Project,” says FORA First Vice Chair Ralph Rubio. “Since the FORA Base Reuse Plan was approved in 1997, the redevelopment program always envisioned the need to utilize both desalinated and recycled water to meet the region’s water needs.” Draft Environmental Impact Report Released on January 30, 2009The Draft EIR for the CalAm
Coastal Water Project includes an analysis of the Monterey
Regional Water Supply Project proposed by the Regional Water Project
as a community developed, long-term water supply alternative.
The regional project would integrate the development
and Documents (PDFs) specific to the Monterey Regional Water Supply Project are:
| "It is about time that somebody has finally come up with a practical, environmentally sound, lower cost proposal to solve Monterey County's water supply problem. "The Regional Water Project proposal is environmentaly sound in that it does not suck ocean creatures into the system. Nor does it discharge highly concentrated brine back into the ocean. Using brackish water from intrusion will use less energy to desalinate and discharge water into the ocean at about the salinity of existing seawater and it will serve to stop further intrusion into our on shore aquifers. It will therefore require less desalinating equipment and significantly lower the capital and operating cost thereby saving the taxpayers a significant amount of money. "Using methane gas from the garbage dump will further lower operating costs and reduce the carbon emissions that using other energy sources would require. "All in all, a great win-win situation for everybody." — Ron Pasquinelli, President,Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association |