DATE:
October 16, 2019
10
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
NOTICED PUBLIC HEARING:
AUTHORIZATION FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO TO WITHDRAW AS A GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY AGENCY FOR THE BORREGO VALLEY GROUNDWATER BASIN (DISTRICT: 5)
Body
OVERVIEW
On October 19, 2016 (1), the Board of Supervisors (Board) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Borrego Water District (BWD) to establish a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) over the Borrego Valley Groundwater Basin (Basin) (Attachment A) as required by the State of California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The purpose of a GSA under SGMA is to develop a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (Sustainability Plan) to achieve long-term groundwater sustainability in a basin.
The MOU defined roles and responsibilities for the County of San Diego (County) and BWD during development of the Sustainability Plan for the Basin. Although BWD is the agency with water supply and water management responsibilities in the Basin, the County provided the initial funding and hired the consultant to develop the Sustainability Plan in collaboration with BWD. The County undertook this effort to support the community and ensure the timely completion of the Sustainability Plan. After a 60-day public comment period, the draft Sustainability Plan was finalized on August 30, 2019; thus, satisfying the objectives of the MOU. SGMA further requires the GSA to adopt and implement the Sustainability Plan by January 31, 2020 unless an alternative is submitted to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).
As an alternative to the adoption and implementation of a Sustainability Plan by a GSA, SGMA allows water rights holders in the Basin to decide their water rights by agreeing to terms in a Water Rights Holders Stipulated Agreement (Stipulated Agreement). Representatives from agriculture, golf courses, and municipal groundwater pumpers in the Basin have been negotiating terms for a Stipul...
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