CSPA
Lower Mokelumne River
Letter to SWRCB, September 8, 1997
Re: Water Right Permit 10478
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
BEFORE THE STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD
East Bay Municipal Utility District, Petitioner
Water Right Permit 10478 (Application 13156)
Pardee Reservoir, Camanche Reservoir, and Mokelumne Aqueduct No. 2
Lower Mokelumne River
Petition For Temporary Change, Involving the Transfer of 3,000 acre-feet of Water to an Area Within Eastern San Joaquin County, Under the East Bay Utility Utility District's Water Right Partmit 10478 (Application 13156)
Objections to Temporary Change Petition by
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and
Committee to Save the Mokelumne
East Bay Municipal Utility District (hereinafter known as "EBMUD") filed a Petition for Temporary Change under Section 1725 et seq. of the California Water Code with the State Water Resources Control Board (hereinafter known as "SWRCB") on July 28, 1997. The petition was noticed by the SWRCB on August 20, 1997. If approved, the East San Joaquin Parties Water Authority's (hereinafter known as ESJPWA) Beckman Injection/Extraction Test Project area would be temporarily added to the authorized place of use and groundwater recharge, irrigation, and industrial uses would be temporarily added as purposes of use under EBMUD's permitted application 13156. The temporary change would be effective five (5) days after the date of petition approval, or December 1, 1997 (whichever is later), and continue for a period of one (1) year.
EBMUD plans to provide up to 3,000 acre-feet of Mokelumne River water, currently stored in Pardee Reservoir and Camanche Reservoir, to the ESJPWA for use in a conjunctive use pilot project. The water would be delivered to ESJPWA from EBMUD's Mokelumne Aqueduct No. 2, at an existing air valve and piped to the Beckman Injection/Extraction Test Site located adjacent to the aqueduct. The Beckman Site is located in San Joaquin County.
The pilot project will investigate the feasibility of utilizing various strata within the east San Joaquin aquifer for water storage. The proposed project involves drilling up to four (4) injection wells and up to four (4) monitoring wells for the purpose of injecting high quality Mokelumne River water from EBMUD's Mokelumne Aqueduct No. 2 into the various strata of the groundwater aquifer and performing groundwater extraction tests to determine the rate and quality of the water extracted.
According to the SWRCB notice, basically up to 8 acre-feet of water per day will be injected over the course of a year; routine tests such as a general mineral analysis and pesticide and organic materials analysis will be preformed on the surface water bfore, during and after injection and extraction.; and in addition, turbidity tests and bacteriological tests will be performed regularly.
According to the SWRCB notice, toward the end of the year, groundwater extraction tests will be performed to determine the rate of recovery and the quality of recovery water; and the water extracted from the wells will than be used for irigation, and/or industrial uses.
According to the SWRCB notice, the transferred water will be beneficially used by the ESJPWA to further the state policy of encouraging conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater supplies; and EBMUD and ESJPWA are currently developing plans and other documentation for the pilot project, which is scheduled to begin this fall.
EBMUD requests that the SWRCB temporarily add groundwater recharge, irrigation, and industrial uses to the subject permit to accommodate the pilot project.
According to the SWRCB notice, pursuant to Water Code 1725 et seq., the SWRCB is authorized to issue temporary change orders, allowing the transfer or exchange of water or water rights ater completing an evaluation sufficient to determine that the proposed temporary change:
1. Would not increase the amount of water the permittee or licensee is entitled to use;
2. Involves only water that otherwise have been consumptively used or stored by permittee or licensee;
3. Would not injure any other legal user of the water; and
4. Would not unreasonably affect fish, wildlife, ot other instream beneficial uses.
According to the SWRCB notice, if the SWRCB cannot satisfy, in a timely manner, the provisions of Section 1725 et seq. of the California Water Code, then the SWRCB must schedule and notice a hearing regarding the proposed tansfer or exchange of water.
We reference SWRCB public notice of August 20, 1997; Petition For Temporary Change, Involving the Transfer of 3,000 acre-feet of Water to an Area Within Eastern San Joaquin County, Under the East Bay Utility Utility District's Water Right Partmit 10478 (Application 13156).
Statement of Facts and Reasons for Objection by California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and the Committee to Save the Mokelumne
1. Pardee Reservoir, Camanche Reservoir, and the Mokelumne Aqueduct No. 2 are licensed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (hereinafter known as "FERC") as the Lower Mokelumne River Project No. 2916. EBMUD operates that project under the authority of the FERC pursuant to federal law.
EBMUD is required to file an amendment to its FERC license with the FERC to provide water and changes to its operations for the proposed project. Without the approval of the proposed project by the FERC, the SWRCB does not have the authority under federal law and the FERC license to approve the proposed project. The SWRCB has no choice but to deny approval of the proposed project or until FERC approves the proposed project.
2. The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and the Committee to Save the Mokelumne filed a formal complaint against EBMUD. The SWRCB held a hearing on the complaint in 1992. To date the SWRCB has not made a decision regarding the complaint and the hearing. We reference the hearing record.
Five years have passed without the SWRCB making a decision on the hearing record for the CSPA and the Committee complaint. That is highly unreasonable. The SWRCB cannot protect the beneficial uses of the Lower Mokelumne River water as a result of the proposed transfer without the SWRCB making a decision on the CSPA and Committee Complaint. Consequently, the SWRCB should deny the proposed temporary transfer until it makes a decision on the CSPA and Committee Complaint so that the beneficial uses of the waters of the Lower Mokelumne River are protected as required by law.
At that hearing the California Department of Fish and Game (hereinafter known as "CDFG") presented the CDFG's Lower Mokelumne River Fisheries Management Plan. The CDFG testified at that hearing that riverflow less than the flow recommendations in the management plan would violate California Fish and Game Code 5937. We reference the hearing record.
Since the hearing EBMUD has not been releasing water from their Lower Mokelumne River Project No. 2916 in accordance with the recommended riverflow recommendations in the CDFG's fisheries management plan. Consequently, EBMUD is presently in violation of California Fish and Game Code 5937.
Section 1725 et seq. states that the temporary change would not (and cannot) unreasonably affect fish, wildlife, or other beneficial uses of the state's water. The proposed temporary change will unreasonably affect the anadromous fisheries of the Lower Mokelumne River because EBMUD has not released water in accordance with the riverflow recommendations in the CDFG's Lower Mokelumne River Fisheries Management Plan. The SWRCB cannot approve the proposed temporary change unless the SWRCB orders the riverflow recommendations in the CDFG's management plan because releases of water less than the CDFG's management plan riverflow recommendations would violate California Fish and Game Code 5937 (state law). The SWRCB is required to comply with the state law when approving projects.
Under Section 1725 et seq. of the California Water Code the proposed temporary transfer must involve only water that otherwise have been consumptively used or stored by permittee or licensee. At the SWRCB hearing in 1992, EBMUD alleged that it could not meet the flow recommendations in the DFG's management plan because it would affect water used in their service area. Out of the blue, EBMUD is now proposing getting into the water ranching business by diverting and using water that would be used for consumptive purposes at their service area. The SWRCB should approve the CDFG's flow recommendations for the proposed temporary transfer because water is available to protect the public trust resources and public trust beneficial uses of the Lower Mokelumne River.
3. The SWRCB should hold a hearing regarding the proposed project and temporary change because of the above stated reasons.
Respectfully Submitted
_________________________________________
Robert J. Baiocchi, Consultant
For: California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and Committee to Save the Mokelumne
P.O. Box 357
Quincy, CA 95971
Bus Tel: 916-836-1115 or 916-283-1007; Faxes: 916-283-5017 or 916-283-4999
September 8, 1997
By Fax to Bert Parkinson, Division of Water Rights, at 916-657-1485
Service List
Bert Parkinson
Division of Water Rights
P.O. Box 2000
Sacramento, CA 95812-2000
Steve Volker, Counsel for
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
Committee to Save the Mokelumne
Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund
180 Montgomery Steet, Suite 1725
San Francisco, CA 94104-4209
Bill Jennings, Chairman
Committee to Save the Mokelumne
3536 Rainier Avenue
Stockton, CA 95204
Jim Crenshaw, President
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
1248 East Oak Street, Suite D
Woodland, CA 95695
John Skinner
East Bay Municipal Utility District
P.O. Box 24055
Oakland, CA 94564
Interested Parties
For further information contact Bob Baiocchi at either 530-836-1115 or
at e-mail address: cspa@psln.com