AttP_PlanSupplemental_1of2
A. Impacts and Benefits
Integrated Approach and Multiple Benefits
The integration of planning efforts will result in a broad range of benefits to both stakeholders and the environment. A watershed plan will provide greater benefits than individual project implementation because individual projects usually do not consider the overall needs of the watershed. Through a watershed based planning effort that includes intensive stakeholder involvement, projects can be evaluated at a screening level to resolve watershed issues more effectively. These processes lead to a prioritization of projects that address multiple benefits in a more cost effective manner, garner broader public support and are in a better position to leverage State and Federal funding.
The multiple benefits that will be considered and achieved with this project will include: watershed planning, water quality protection and improvement, groundwater management, land use planning, nonpoint source pollution control, environmental and habitat protection and improvement, recreation, water supply reliability, and improved land management practices.
Communities and Groups that will benefit from the Plan
Approximately 95% of the water used in Monterey County comes from groundwater. The Nacimiento and San Antonio Reservoirs are used to recharge the Salinas Groundwater Basin and reduce flood risk. This Plan will benefit the communities that exist within the Salinas Valley, which are, south to north San Miguel, Bradley, San Ardo, King City, Greenfield, Soledad, Gonzales, Chualar, Salinas, Marina and Castroville. These communities all rely on groundwater for their water supplies. The multibillion-dollar per year agricultural industry, which uses the majority of the groundwater within the Salinas Valley will also benefit from the plan.
In San Luis Obispo County, the Nacimiento Water Supply Project will provide Lake Nacimiento water to the communities of San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Templeton and Atascadero. Currently residents around Lake Nacimiento are using it for potable water uses.
Other groups, such as fishermen, water contact recreational users, campers, hikers and wildlife observers will benefit from the Watershed plans that will provide protection for water quantity and quality, sensitive habitat and recreational uses.
Evaluation and Mitigation Process for Negative Impacts
This project will create a Watershed Management Plan and in itself will have no negative impacts. However, the final plan may include projects that need to be evaluated for negative impacts. If that occurs, when the implementation for that project begins, it will be evaluated for negative impacts in accordance with CEQA and NEPA and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program will be developed and adopted as necessary.
B. Technical/Scientific Merit & Assessment & Performance Measures
Describe studies that have been or will be conducted to support the planning process
Task 2 of the work plan is dedicated to identifying the studies that have been conducted or the data gaps that may require further studies to be conducted. There is no such inventory of studies at this time. The only known watershed studies in this area are the Upper Salinas Watershed Action Plan completed by the Upper Salinas Las Tablas Watershed Task with help from the local RCD, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Basin Plan and the Salinas River Watershed Management Action Plan; it is anticipated that a variety of other studies exist in several different places. Documents that have been created by governmental agencies, such as General Plans, zoning ordinances, water quality monitoring programs, soil surveys, census data, demographic data, septic system inventories, transportation master plans and/or road construction information will be identified. Colleges, universities and non-governmental organizations will be contacted for any environmental research that may have been conducted and is appropriate. State and federal agencies will be asked for information regarding biological, hydrological and water quality information that pertains to the watersheds. Stakeholders will be asked to help identify sources of existing studies to help ensure that what is existing will be located and put to its most beneficial use.
Describe the type and amount of data that are available
Currently the exact types and amounts of data that are available to support the development of the Plan are not known. Task 2 of the work plan is focused on gathering that specific information. However, there are five main categories of data that is known to exist that will be investigated. Those five types are physical and natural features, land use and population characteristics, waterbody conditions, pollutant sources and waterbody monitoring data. Within those categories there are many reports and data sets that can be utilized for the inventory. For example, within the physical and natural features category there is information available about hydrology, topography, soils, habitat and wildlife. The land use and population characteristics category has data that relates to land use and land cover and demographics. Waterbody conditions can be assessed using water quality standards, 305(b) reports, 303(d) lists, TMDL reports and source water assessments.
Identify data gaps were additional data is needed
Task 3.1.4 of the work plan will determine data gaps where additional data is needed. Only missing data that is essential to understanding the problem and allowing adequate identification and characterization of the problem will be considered for additional collection. The three major types of data gaps that will be considered are temporal, spatial and informational. A temporal data gap is where there is existing data that can be used, but it wasn’t collected in the required timeframe. Spatial data gaps occur when data is collected in the required timeframe, but not at the necessary location. Informational data gaps occur where there is no data to address the identified indicators of a current watershed condition.
Discuss the data, technical methods and analyses that will be used in strategy selection
After the current watershed conditions have been evaluated and the target goals and objectives established, screening criteria will be used to evaluate strategies for selection. The screening criteria will be comprised of items such as feasibility, effectiveness, cost and acceptability to stakeholders.
Decision criteria will be developed to identify and prioritize the strategies that are most desirable and most likely to succeed. The decision criteria will include considerations relating to willingness of landowners to participate, positive net benefits, environmental concerns, cost, political support, options for cooperative approaches and regulatory feasibility and compatibility with other local planning objectives and policies.
The steps in the watershed planning process are to identify and gather existing data in order to create a watershed inventory, conduct a data review to identify gaps and collect additional data if necessary, then using that information, characterize the existing conditions and identify causes and sources. Finally it will be necessary to estimate pollutant loads from those sources in order to properly choose management strategies.
Discuss measures that will be used to evaluate the planning process
Evaluation of the planning process is an important step that will indicate whether or not the effort is successful and provide a feedback loop for improving project implementation. The Plan will utilize the adaptive management method of evaluating the planning process. This will allow continual improvement over time based on stakeholder input.
Identify how appropriate expertise will be integrated and used
Task 1.4 of the work plan describes the formation of a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that will be utilized to advise the watershed group on scientific matters and be able to make recommendations based on technical review. Members of the TAC will be solicited from community, local, state and federal agencies that have the desired expertise and interest in the area. The TAC is scheduled to meet six times, independently of the watershed group over the course of the project.
Describe how project effectiveness will be evaluated
Project effectiveness will be evaluated utilizing a Project Assessment and Evaluation Plan (PAEP). The goals of the PAEP will be to provide a framework for assessment and evaluation of the project, identify measures that will be used to monitor progress toward achieving the project goals and outcomes, and quantify the value of public expenditures to achieve environmental results. The final PAEP will be developed at the beginning of the contract and submitted to the Grant Manager for approval (See Task 6.1.3). Project Performance Tables are attached that will be the basis for that PAEP.
Describe performance measures and how they relate to project outcomes
The performance measures identified include opinion surveys, meeting sign-in sheets, amount of feedback and where it came from, the number and magnitude of stressor identified, and the number of characterized land use categories. The performance measures relate to project outcomes by indicating what the project is accomplishing and if the desired results are being achieved. These performance measures will assist in focusing resources and efforts to achieve effectiveness and will keep the Watershed Group focused on the key goals.
Describe how the assessment and performance measures will be documented
Meeting sign in sheets, agendas and minutes will document the assessment and performance measures. The decision making process will be documented by identifying the sources of information, and maintaining records of public outreach as well as records of feedback. Quarterly progress reports will be completed and submitted to the Grant Manager. The draft Plan will be circulated for comment and the final Plan will incorporate as many comments as possible.
Describe the steps that will be required to implement the proposed Plan
After the Watershed Plan is completed, the Watershed Group will identify gaps in skills and resources that will be necessary to implement the recommendations of the Plan. Some of the skills that may be needed for implementation are project management, specific technical expertise and group facilitation. Those gaps will be considered and those projects will be designed to fill these gaps as necessary. It is likely that a subcommittee of the Watershed Group will be established whose responsibilities include implementing tasks and identifying and taking advantage of funding sources. The overall Watershed Plan will be used as a foundation for preparing work plans. These work plans will outline implementation plans in a designated time frame (3-5 years for example) as a specific “to-do” list that will result in fulfilling the goals and objectives of the overall Watershed Plan.
C. Relation to Local Planning and Agency Coordination
Relation to established planning documents
Salinas Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan
The MCWRA is currently developing the Salinas Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan that has a primary objective to provide a sound basis and road map for future water resource management within the Salinas Valley Watershed. As a first step in this plan, MCWRA has sought and received funding from the U.S. EPA to 1) develop an urban water supply plan, 2) assess urban supply needs for quantity and quality and 3) evaluate the Salinas Valley water quality. The watersheds of the Nacimiento and San Antonio Rivers and the respective reservoirs provide the majority of the water that is used in the Salinas Valley. In order to meet the objective of the SVIRWP, the source of that water must be protected. Development of Watershed Management Plans for these watersheds is a crucial step in that protection.
Integrated Regional Water Management Plans
Monterey County Water Resources Agency and two partners (Marina Coast Water Agency and Castroville Water District) have adopted a Functionally Equivalent Plan (FEP) to stand in place of an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan. This FEP describes the region as the boundaries of the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin, which includes parts of the Nacimiento and San Antonio Rivers and their watersheds. The water supply projects that are identified in the FEP rely on the water from the Nacimiento and San Antonio Rivers and Reservoirs, which is used to recharge the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin. The development of watershed plans for these two watersheds begins to address the protection of the source water for existing and future water supply projects. The FEP has a Long Term Regional Priority to implement integrated watershed management in the Nacimiento and San Antonio Watersheds to improve the water quality in the rivers and reservoirs as well as in the riparian and aquatic ecosystems of the Salinas River and the Salinas River Groundwater Basin. The completion of these plans will be the beginning of fulfilling that Long Term Priority and this Plan will become an additional document that support the FEP.
San Luis Obispo County’s draft Integrated Water Management Plan includes all of the Nacimiento River Watershed within it’s regional description. This Plan includes the Nacimiento Water Project. The San Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District has an entitlement to 17,500 acre-feet per year of water from the Nacimiento Reservoir, in accordance with a 1959 agreement with Monterey County. In response to the need for water supply reliability within San Luis Obispo county, water quality issues related to groundwater pumping, a desire to preserve groundwater resources for agricultural use, and recognition that other regional alternatives posed unacceptable environmental impacts, the Nacimiento Water Project proposes to construct a 45-mile water transmission pipeline from the Nacimiento Reservoir. The population of these urban areas represents approximately 45% of the entire county. A watershed management plan for the Nacimiento Watershed will tie the two regions more closely together and provide a strong foundation for collaboration on future projects. It will also provide a basis for protection of a water supply that may be used for a large percentage of the county’s population.
General Plans
The area within the Nacimiento and San Antonio River Watersheds is covered by the respective County General Plans; additionally San Luis Obispo County has a Nacimiento Area Plan, which covers much of the watershed is located in that county. These General Plans determine the timing and location for new developments and integrates elements relating to Water Supply, Water Quality, Flood Protection and Environmental Enhancement. Any project that is developed under the proposed Watershed Management Plan will be consistent with the prevailing General Plan.
Existing documents for formation of local watershed management plan
Currently there are three identified existing documents that will be utilized in forming the local watershed plan. These documents are the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Basin Plan, the Salinas River Watershed Management Action Plan (October 22, 1999), the Upper Salinas Las Tablas Resource Conservation District’s Upper Salinas Watershed Action Plan (July 25, 2004). Task 2 of the proposed project (See Task 2 in Work plan) will identify any additional existing documents, reports, data and information that will be used in the formation of the watershed management plan.
Coordination with local land-use planning decision makers
Local planning agencies staff and decision makers are considered stakeholders and will have representation on the TAC that is formed a part of Task 1.